Grand Canyon North Rim (Joel‘s Journeys #15)

Submitted by Bubbling Sprin… on
Photo of the Grand Canyon.

Ninety percent of people who travel to Grand Canyon National Park go to the south rim. The north rim of the Grand Canyon is about 600 miles from Ventura County and just 100 miles beyond the south rim. 

By driving a little farther it’s possible to avoid some of the crowds. The north side is 1,000 feet higher in elevation (8,000 feet) so it’s greener with more trees and cooler in the summer. The one problem is that the north rim is only open from about May 15th till around October 15th, depending on winter storms, and this is why this blog is presented now. The fastest way to get there is to take Interstate 15 past Las Vegas to St. George, Utah, and on south into Arizona. This involves exiting I-15 and taking Utah Highway 9 for about 10 miles to Highway 59. This changes to Highway 389 in Arizona and then becomes Highway 89 Alt. When you reach the small town of Jacob Lake you turn south onto Highway 67 all the way into the park. When your blogger visited the Grand Canyon North Rim he was surprised to see bison grazing along the highway! Even if you aren’t lucky enough to see bison, you will still experience more trees and cooler temperatures with your Grand Canyon experience on the north side than at southern parts of Grand Canyon. When you exit back north on Highway 67, you can turn east on Alt 89 back to regular 89 and north to Page Arizona. 

Just before Page, Arizona, the Colorado River makes the spectacular turn creating the Horseshoe Bend. 

 

 

 

 

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