Ellis Family Vacation: Grand Canyon
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Ellis Family Vacation: Grand Canyon
This trip follows the Grand Canyon episode of Ellis Family Vacation. See the views from Mather Point and Hopi Point, ride the Grand Canyon Railway, then stay for a night of canyon stargazing.
In the episode, Devale and Khadeen Ellis take their sons to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. This trip explores the same canyon, from the paths along the rim to the sky above it. The link at the end opens the full trip, and you can change any part of it.
The South Rim
The South Rim is the part of the canyon built for visitors, with viewpoints, lodging, and trailheads gathered around Grand Canyon Village. The village is your base, the place to eat, rest, and set out from each day.
Your first stop on the rim is Mather Point, a wide-open overlook where the canyon spreads out in layers of rock all the way to the far side. The colors shift with the light, so it rewards a slow look. From there, the Trail of Time follows the rim as a walkable timeline of the canyon’s geology, so an easy stroll doubles as a lesson in how old the rock beneath you is.
For a view from inside the canyon, Bright Angel Trail drops below the rim. Walk down as far as feels right, then climb back up, and you will have seen the canyon from two angles. To arrive in a different way, add the Grand Canyon Railway, the train that runs into Grand Canyon Village.
Exploring the Grand Canyon by rail is a relaxing way to discover the national park.
From the Air
Day 2 is the one you will talk about longest. The Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour runs 45 minutes and shows you how big the canyon is in a way no viewpoint can. You fly over the Colorado River, the force that carved the canyon, and past the Little Colorado River, the North Rim, and the Dragon Corridor. The flight also crosses Kaibab National Forest and the Painted Desert, so you see forest and desert color that sit well beyond the rim.
It is a short flight with a long afterglow. The rim walks from the day before make more sense once you have seen the whole canyon laid out below you.
Desert View and a Free Day
Back on the ground, head to Hopi Point, another rim viewpoint with a long sweep of canyon in front of you. Then continue to Desert View Watchtower, a stone tower on the rim that gives you a high vantage point over the canyon and the land around it.
Day 3 is a free day on your own, so the itinerary leaves the pace up to you. Return to a viewpoint you liked, walk more of the rim, or take the day slowly. Each evening, you return to El Tovar, the itinerary hotel at the canyon’s edge. If you want to end a night outdoors, add canyon stargazing, which lets you look up after a few days of looking down.
Desert View Watchtower offers some of the best 360 degree views the park has to offer.
Open the trip below to see the full itinerary, then adjust the days, stops, and extras to fit your family.
Ellis Family Vacation: Grand Canyon
This trip follows the Grand Canyon episode of Ellis Family Vacation. See the views from Mather Point and Hopi Point, ride the Grand Canyon Railway, then stay for a night of canyon stargazing.
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