Carolyn Always Earley

Drive to Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – December 2025

My husband had never been to the Grand Canyon before, in all his 42 years of living in Arizona, so of course we had to go before we move to the East Coast. Grand Canyon National Park is approximately 4-4.5 hours from the Valley depending on which route you take. We chose to take the “Flagstaff route” (not exactly through Flagstaff but near it) instead of the Sedona route since we’ve been to Sedona before and it was faster. If you’re planning a trip to northern Arizona, I highly recommend visiting Sedona for a day and also traveling up to Page to check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshow Bend (Page is approximately 2-2.5 hours from the South Rim).

During the winter, only the South Rim is available to visit – and most people prefer that vantage point anyways. We were surprised to find that there was an approximately 20-minute wait to get into the park because of how many visitors there were that day. We also discovered that quite a few people, like us, had brought their dogs.

It was 45 degrees and sunny with a bit of wind, which was surprising since it had been calm the whole drive up. Upon arrival, you have to buy either a resident pass, a non-resident pass, or you can get in for free if you are a veteran or have an annual pass (see https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/fees.htm for more info). You also receive two maps of the park and its amenities. Once we parked, we walked over to Mather Point, the closest vantage point from the visitor center. We were able to get some amazing pictures and found that, although it was very busy, people were mostly courteous and would take turns getting the perfect shot. I’ve posted a couple of my favorites below.

We only stayed for about an hour, but there are plenty of things to do there if you want to spend more time there (multiple view points, sitting areas, hiking trails, and even a cafe). On the way back, we drove through Flagstaff and stopped at Fratelli Pizza, just past Snowbowl. They serve slices until 4 PM, so my husband got pepperoni and I got the special, which was pesto, mozzarella, sausage and mushroom. So delicious!