North Rim or South? A Grand Canyon question. - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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For those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the Grand Canyon, do you have any suggestions as to which Rim would be best to visit? I'm wondering if I shouldn't consider the North Rim instead of the South (which is the most popular with 90% of visitors going to this side).
Any advice or suggestions?
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LisaJ
I've stayed at: Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk Inn, Beach Club, Yacht Club and Port Orleans Riverside.
I have been to both, usually to the South Rim. It is the one with the great majority of the attractions. Many of the more well-known pictures of the canyon are from the south rim. If you want to see the real thing that you know from pictures, choose the south. Of course, if you really want to do it up good, go to both!
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Sharon - Kitty and me
2013 Scrapbook pages count: 631 / 350
2014 Scrapbook pages count: 60 / 250
I'm not certain if a mule trip leaves from the north rim. The one we took was from the south rim, and I don't find anything on the internet about trips from the north. A word about the mule trip: get ready now! Riding a mule should not be undertaken unless you have been riding mules / horses for a while to get in shape! I should know We grabbed at the chance to take a mule ride several years ago. By the time I had made it to the end of the trail and back, I couldn't even stand up straight! There were so many people watching the mules return, that I know somewhere there are pictures of me getting off the mule and trying to stand. I can look back on it and laugh now, but it took me two days to even begin to feel human again.
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Sharon - Kitty and me
2013 Scrapbook pages count: 631 / 350
2014 Scrapbook pages count: 60 / 250
I think the North Rim is better, but we like quiet and remote. The North Rim is a good hours drive from any civilization and difficult to access if you don't stay in the park. We loved staying in a pioneer cabin, although it is very rustic. When you wake up in the morning, there are deer outside your door. There is a very good sit down restaurant in the park and one counter service and one coffee shop. If you like a variety of dining options, you are probably better off on the south rim.
If you want more action, go to the south rim. If you want to enjoy a really quiet natural setting the North Rim is better, and not at all "touristy"
Words cannot describe the canyon itself. Some one told me that when you look out at the canyon, it is hard to believe it is real. I didn't know what he meant until we saw it. Every needs to see the Grand Canyon.
I don't know when you are going, but park lodging fills up quickly. Where you can get accommodations, may determine which rim you see. At the Grand Canyon, you must stay in the park!
Maybe I'm weird but I liked the more "touristy" South Rim. If I'm not mistaken, they recently built a great glass observation deck there. I personally liked the aerial view of the Grand Canyon even better, though. Now the size of the plane (small, smaller, smallest) and the high winds (gusty, gustier, gustiest ) is another story!
If your trip is planned for when the north rim is actually open (summer months), then I would take in the north rim for sure, just because it is not always open and there are less crowds. However, it is out of the way and takes quite a bit of travel time to get there. Looks very different from the north rim.
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