Grand Canyon in April

[Anonymous]

Thinking ahead to next year's spring break. Has anyone been to the South Rim in April? Did you freeze? What other (relatively) nearby things did you see during the trip?

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you posted as I am also thinking about Grand Canyon for next Spring Break.

One question for you OP - I'm not familiar with that part of the country so don't know how everything is laid out (although I get that everything is far apart). I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on other nearby things to do, etc.

[Anonymous]

We did this trip a few years ago. Flew into Phoenix and spent a couple nights at the JW Marriott (great pool) and went to spring training baseball game. Drove to South Rim and it was cold (hats and gloves), still snow on the ground. Drove in one entrance and stopped at nearly every lookout. Had dinner and spent the night inside the park. Toured a little more in the morning and left around noon for Sedona. I think 1 day was enough at the South Rim. Spent 2 nights in Sedona and then back to PHX for flight home.

[Anonymous]

We went this past Spring Break. Cold, windy, and crowded. That said, the last time I was there was Spring Break 20 years ago and it was warmer (sweatshirts / shorts) with fewer people.

The weather can't be controlled, of course, but the hoards of people in April was shocking to me.

The kids still enjoyed it, even with the wind, and we did a bit of hiking. Lunch was a madhouse. We spent one day there and the rest of the week was spent seeing other sites along Rte. 66, Havasu, and Phoenix. Although I hate to say it, those days were all more enjoyable.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the replies. We'd definitely want to hike some. We'd like to camp, but sounds like it might be chilly for that.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't camp. Go ahead and get reservations inside the park. They open 12-13 months ahead of time, so look now. Spring break would be more crowded, so I'm sure some people have already booked. The NPS will charge you 1-2 nights off the top, but it is refundable. You can usually cancel up until right before the trip.

Great idea to see a spring training game in PHX, but assuming your break is tied to Easter, the regular season will have already started.

There is family friendly hiking in the Grand Canyon. There is also harder hiking! If you hike into the canyon any, the temps will warm up, so take layers. How old are the kids?

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP. Kids are 2 & 6 right now. The little one is worn for longer hikes but can hike a mile or two now. Of course, not falling off cliffs will be a concern. Good point about booking ahead and being able to cancel.
No interest in baseball, but in other naturey things/history.

[Anonymous]

we went to Tuscon this Easter and had a great time. Not the scenery or rafting of Grand Canyon, but some good hikes (with much less of a risk of kids falling off cliffs--just teach them not to touch cacti) in Saguaro national park. We liked the east park better as it had a network of short trails, but west seemed to have more petroglyphs.

Plenty of good food (we especially enjoyed some fun Mexican restaurants) and weather that is typically in the 70s and sunny this time of year...it was low 80s for us and we enjoyed it being warm enough to swim in the daytime and use the hot tub at night.

[Anonymous]

April weather at that elevation is a total crapshoot. You could get a snowstorm or it could be 70 degrees.