So you’re in Las Vegas and only have one day and you want to visit the Grand Canyon. You came to the right place. If you follow these directions, you can maximize your experience.
First, before you go, you’ll want to bring water, a hat, and some sunscreen and maybe lunch. Then you’ll want to start early, hit the road by 8:00 am at the latest. The speed limit is 75 most of the way, but it will still take you a good four hours to get there. Just head east on Interstate 40 until you see signs for Grand Canyon.
When you arrive, you pay the entry fee, $ 30 for cars. Then proceed to the Visitors center, but don’t go there, just park. Follow the trail about a half-mile to Mather Point, maybe take some pictures. It’s already worth the drive.
The shuttle buses are free, part of your admission fee. You want to take the Blue bus line first. This is called the Village Bus route. Skip the first few stops and get off at the Bright Angel Lodge stop. Just follow the signs and take the trail a few hundred meters to the overlook. You’ll probably want to wander back and forth a while. There is a store there where you can buy all sorts of stuff, T-shirts, books, gifts, etc.
Continue on the trail walking west stopping at the overlooks until you reach the bus transfer station. Here you will want to switch to the red route that takes you to Hermits Rest. It’s just across the street from the end of the blue bus line.
The three best places to stop on the red bus line are Hopi Point, the next stop Mojave Point and Pima Point. Hopi Point and Mojave Point are close enough so that you can walk from one to the next. We actually finished taking pictures at Hopi Point before our bus left so we just jumped back on. Pima Point is pretty far; unless you want to hike, take the bus. From Pima Point the bus goes to Hermits Rest, its last stop. This is where bus drivers take a break or have lunch, so you’ll be there 20-30 minutes before you can get underway again, possibly on the same bus.
You might want to make a decision at this point about waiting to see the sunset on the Grand Canyon. The times for sunset and sunrise are on the brochure you got at the entrance gate. It takes a long time to get to the visitor center from here. It will take about 30 minutes to get back to the blue bus line and about another 30 minutes from there back to the Visitor Center.
By now you’re probably pretty tired and may want to call it a day. There is still one more bus line, the orange line. There are only two stops worth visiting, the Yaki Point and the Pipe Creek vista. If you still have energy go for it! But I think by now you will want to return again, perhaps next time to do some hiking or raft down the Colorado river—you should be hooked by now.