Grand Canyon National Park – THE Ultimate Playbook

🎫 TICKETS Car: $35 / 7 days (all rims) Annual National Parks Pass: $80 ← pays for itself after 3 parks No reservation needed for South Rim (enter before 10 a.m. to skip gate line) ⏰ OPEN 24/7 – SEASON CHEAT-SHEET Summer (Jun-Aug): 100 °F by 11 a.m. = sunrise hikes only + 3 L water Winter (Dec-Feb): snow-dusted rims, 20 °F sunrise = layer like onion Shoulder (Mar-May / Sep-Nov): 60-75 °F = goldilocks weather + thinner crowds 🚗 SOUTH RIM = 99 % OF VISITORS (OPEN YEAR-ROUND) Big drive: Vegas → I-40 E → AZ-64 N → South Entrance → Grand Canyon Visitor Center ≈ 4.5 hrs In-park shuttles (FREE, no tailpipe views) Red – Hermit Road = 10 viewpoints, cars banned May-Oct Purple – Tusayan town ↔ Visitor Center (park-&-ride) Blue – hotels / market / transfer to Red line Orange – rim loop for sunrise chasers 🕹️ RIM-SHOT BINGO (sunrise → sunset) Mather Point – 2-min walk from VC = first “OMG” panorama Yavapai Point – geology museum = classroom Hopi Point – classic sunset, widest horizon, most people Mohave Point – Colorado River glint + long-angle river shot Powell Point – my secret sunset = fewer elbows, same fire sky 🌅 SUNRISE TOP 4 (arrive 30 min before) Mather → Yavapai → Yaki → Hopi (east-to-west glow) 🌇 SUNSET TOP 4 (arrive 45 min before) Hopi → Powell → Lipan → Desert View (west-to-east fire) ✨ STARRY TOP 3 (no moon = Milky Way soup) Mather (easy) → Desert View (east rim, 25 mi drive) → Moran Point (less cars) 🏨 SLEEP Tusayan (5 min to gate) – $$$ but pre-dawn shuttle access Williams / Flagstaff (1 hr) – cheaper motels, more food, Polar Express train for kids Camp: Mather CG ($25) – rim-side, no hook-ups, reserve months ahead 🧺 PACK 3 L water (desert air is sneaky) Wide-brim hat + SPF 50 (elevation = closer sun) Headlamp for pre-sunrise/post-sunset walks Portable phone charger (cold drains battery fast) 💰 SAMPLE DAY COST (per person) Entry: $35 split × 4 = $9 Shuttle: $0 Sunrise coffee: $5 Lunch sandwich: $12 Sunset beer on rim: $9 Total ≈ $44 = cheaper than one Disneyland corn dog. 📸 SHOT LIST (no filter needed) Mather first light – orange rim against indigo sky Yavapai geology window – telephoto compression of layers Hopi sunset silhouette – human on ledge, sun behind Night long-exposure – star-trail over black canyon = Windows wallpaper energy Lock the date, set the 4 a.m. alarm, and go let 2 billion years of geology humble your inbox. The Grand Canyon is open 24/7—your ego isn’t. 🌄✨ #US