This if my fourth and final blog post about my visit to the Grand Canyon in November of 2024. I appreciate all of you that have joined me for the series. For my final post I wanted to focus on things you can do in the park or that don't involve hiking or just staring at the view; which granted you should allow plenty of time for both. Here are a few other things you don't want to miss. Reminder all of these involve items on the south rim as we did not visit the north rim on our trip.
Desert View Watchtower
I had mentioned Desert View in 3 of my 4 posts, for a good reason. The views are unique, the area isn't as busy, and its a cool spot to hang out. Don't forget to go inside the actual stone tower you see standing on the rim. This tower was meticulously made using mostly local source by architect Mary Colter. The rocks were placed carefully during its design. Inside, there are views of the canyon from inside but the rooms design and artwork pay homage to the history and Native American culture in the area.
Kolb Studio
This building sits right on the rim close to Bright Angel Trailhead. It was built in honor of the Kolb brothers who built a house there and established a photography business there in the early 1900's. When you first enter you will notice a little gift shop, but if you past that and head to the back, you will find my favorite part. Its a gallery that display numerous paintings, from various artists in different techniques, of the Grand Canyon. Some absolutely amazing creations worth checking out.
Park Store at the Visitor Center - Grand Canyon Conservancy
I had to mention at least one place to shop while inside the park. The Grand Canyon Conservancy has a few stores throughout the park, but the largest is the one by the visitor center. This place has all your souvenir needs from books, to patches, to pins, to mugs, and apparel. The shirt designs are pretty cute as well. I bought a sweatshirt from there that I love and wear all the time. Its not only has a beautiful design, but is warm and very comfy. A bonus to shopping here is that the proceeds go to help protect and conserve the park. Plus the items are tax free since they are a non profit! Triple bonus, if you forgot something you can order stuff online!
Hopi House
Another building designed by Mary Colter, this building you can find by the El Tovar Hotel. The building itself is really cool. Inside it combines Native American art you can admire as well as a store, with Native American created items for sale. I personally loved some of the pottery.
Tusayan Pueblo Museum
This museum is close to Desert View area but we didn't get to check it out, as it was closed when we visited. It sounded cool though as the site says it interprets a small Ancestral Puebloan village with artifacts. I wanted to put on the list for those who may be visiting when it is open; as it sounded interesting.
Stargaze and Ranger Programs
First this is an excellent place to stargaze at night due to minimal light pollution. We didn't do this too much as it was cold at night there but we did stop on walks back from dinner to admire the view and stars a few time. Also don't forget to check the NPS website when visiting to see what free Ranger programs and talks may be happening during your visit. There are even ones that combine the two with rangers pointing out constellations!
Wupatki National Monument
This is not located in Grand Canyon National Park. Its about a 50 minute drive south east of the park. This was a place we checked out on our way back to Phoenix once we left the park. Originally our plan was to scope out the town of Williams on the way back to Phoenix but opted for this instead once it was recommended to us by a friend.
The monument is the remains of am impressive size pueblo that was once 104 rooms. It is the largest free standing pueblo in North America. When you arrive you first want to visit the center and gift shop. Inside their is a trail guide you can purchase for just a few dollars. I highly recommend getting that. Various areas are numbered along the trail and each number in the pamphlet explains what you are viewing and some history of the area. The trail wont take too much of your time and the walking is flat and easy, so no concerns if you have mobility issues. There is also a natural blow hole that you don't want to miss next to the pueblo!
You will also notice on the drive to the monument you will pass some smaller remains of pueblos and there are some other ones close by. You can stop and visit those as well. One even has a sink hole you can see close by. It was extremely windy the day we visited and these were perched on hills, making the wind gusts very powerful. We didn't spend much time there.
This concludes my Grand Canyon series. I hope you found these posts helpful and would love to hear of your experiences to those who have visited!
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