I usually assumed that whenever I wanted to go rafting the Grand Canyon that I'd have to be a part of a two-week mega-tour. Well, that's simply not the way it is. There are lots of day trips to choose from and honestly they're very rewarding and incredibly fun.
The most well-liked one day rafting tours are at the South Rim inside the National Park. These are all-day trips and are open to all including kids four years of age and older. Choices include going on a plane or bus ride to Page, AZ, where you board your pontoon raft at the base of magnificent Glen Canyon Dam.
The bus version of this tour is cheaper than the airplane one. Both start off from Grand Canyon Village or from Grand Canyon Airport. The journey to Page is quite interesting. You go along the South Rim to the East Rim just before heading north past the Navajo Indian Reservation and the Painted Desert.
The coach package goes directly to the Colorado River. The plane trip incorporates a Jeep side-trip to Antelope Canyon, an amazing landscape of unique, pastel-colored rock structures. To get to the banks of the river, you have to drive through a two-mile access tunnel.
These pontoon rafts are massive and can seat up to 19 people. They are built with an outboard motor and can essentially handle any sort of water conditions. Nevertheless, this is a smooth-water float tour, which means there won't be any rapids.
The first major highlight is Horseshoe Bend, an exquisite curve in the Colorado River that is distinguished by bright orange sandstone and turquoise blue waters. This region has been photographed extensively and is known worldwide for its natural contrasts.
This one day float trip includes pulling out on a beach and taking an effortless walk to a cliff wall which has been etched with petroglyphs, an indication that ancient peoples settled and thrived in this area millennia ago. Many visits stop here for lunch.
The total float trip is 15 miles and ends at Lee's Ferry. Only an historic fort and an abandoned trading post still stand. There's a load of activity here, however, as it's here where all of the big, commercial whitewater rafting trips start.
You'll clamber aboard a climate-controlled luxury coach for the ride back to your accommodations on the South Rim. Keep your eyes peeled on the return as you'll be treated to an brilliant canyon sunset, which, if you ask me, is the ideal bookend to this extraordinary trip.
There are plenty of activities at Grand Canyon National Park. However I think one of the best day trips is the
1 day smooth-water rafting tour, especially when you bundle it with an airplane flight to the Glen Canyon Dam. The sense of having accomplished something special pervades you after you complete this adventure. And it should. You've literally seen the canyon from top to bottom, and that's something few individuals can claim.
