Williams (Grand Canyon)
Not surprisingly, this is a pretty remote location and there isn’t much to do here besides visit the Grand Canyon, but that’s what you’re here for, right?! Upon arrival at the national park, Grand Canyon Village has multiple lodges, restaurants, visitor centers, stores and gift shops, as well as a full bus route system so that you can explore multiple areas efficiently (this is so helpful with little kids!). The Grand Canyon is so expansive, but due to the bus routes at the South Rim, it is very doable with kids - I promise, so don’t be intimidated! A bus comes by each stop every 10-15 minutes, so be sure to stop by a visitor center to get a bus route map and confirm times, as this changes per season.
Our Favorite Hikes/Bus Stops with Small Kids in Grand Canyon National Park:
Park at Verkamp’s Visitor Center (get there early - it’s a small parking lot and fills up quickly), explore the Hopi House, Kolb Studio, and Lookout Studio then hike the Rim Trail from Verkamp’s Visitor Center to Mather Point. At Mather Point (an awesome lookout point!), there is also the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and another park store. This route along the rim trail is 2.5 miles (and completely paved, so it is stroller friendly!), has some amazing lookout views along the way and also passes you by the Yavapi Point & Geology Museum. This was a great walk for our family and highly recommend it with smaller kids. Then you can hop on the blue bus route for a short ride back to Verkamp’s Visitor Center.
Park at Bright Angel Lodge and hop on the red bus route. This bus route stops at multiple lookout points, but we stopped at Powell Point and walked the short 10-minute walk to Hopi Point. Then from Hopi Point, we got back on the bus and rode three more stops to Monument Creek Vista. At Monument Creek Vista, we began hiking the 2.8 mile hike to Hermits Rest, which is the last stop on access to the canyon via roads. This can be a paved trail if you want it to be, or you can hike along the unpaved trail most of the way (it can get a little close to the edge of the canyon at times, so tread carefully with littles ones or if you are afraid of heights!). Hermits Rest has a store, which also has coffee and snacks. (pro-tip: before you hop on the bus, stop in at the Bright Angel Lodge, there is a store that samples their homemade fudge, then if you buy a piece, everyone is happier on the hike :))
As always, don’t forget to pick up a Junior Ranger book at any visitor center so that you can earn that national park badge!
Stay for the sunset. The changing colors of the canyon during sunset is truly spectacular. There are MANY great places to watch the sunset, including Hopi Point, Mather Point, etc. We opted to hang out on the porch of El Tovar Hotel and watching it from that location because we were parked nearby and hopping on the bus with the kiddos (and riding back after sunset at their bedtime) seemed a little daunting. Pro tip: grab a drink from the bar at El Tovar and watch the sunset from the porch - it’s a perfect end to a Grand Canyon day and there is plenty of room at this viewpoint for the kids to run around (safely, since there is a wall build at this location that prevents you from walking off the edge of the canyon).
Where we stayed: Raptor Ranch RV Park - this RV park is just 30 minutes outside of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim entrance. Unless you stay inside the park, this is as close as you’re going to get to the entrance. This location has 36 RV sites, a camp store on site, fire rings, free WiFi, laundry facilities, and bath/shower house. The coolest part of this RV park is Bedrock City, which is a replica of the famous Flinstone’s town! Campground guests get in free and our kids loved playing here - it was actually a blast for the whole family. We enjoyed our stay at Raptor Ranch and would recommend it for an RV location close to the Grand Canyon.
Beer Garden Spotlight: Grand Canyon Beer Garden - this beer garden is located along the Rim Trail in the national park, just adjacent to the Kachina Lodge. Outdoor seating with views of the Grand Canyon and beers from local breweries on tap make this a really enjoyable stop after a long hike! They even have snacks, like pretzels and chips, for the kiddos if they have drained your snack stash dry on the hike!