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View Full Version : Tips for Grand Canyon / Sedona next week



Peter Rip
15-Oct-2003, 20:31
Hi all:

I am taking my first ever trip to these two locations next week. Normally I don't try to mix the 4x5 with a family vacation, but my wife is understands this is an exceptional opportunity. So I want to be really efficient with my time on this. I realize they've been done to death, but I still have to do it.

Can anyone suggest any preferred locales around the South Rim and in Sedona? I have just a few days in each location and I want to make the best of it.

Thanks!

Merg Ross
15-Oct-2003, 21:58
Peter, Take a look at Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon off SR 89A. It has great potential. Merg Ross, Oakland.

Marco Frigerio
16-Oct-2003, 02:48
Grand Canyon NP: - Yaki Point; hike on you right (150 metres, sorry, I'm italian, I don't know anything about feet and miles ;)))following the canyon rim and you'll see a dead tree very close to the rim, it's one of the most photographed foreground subject.

- Hopi point: the best sunset location.

Grand Canyon nearby: if you're not scared to hike 18 miles round trip here's the place to go:

http://www.havasupaitribe.com

Have fun Ciao Marco

neil poulsen
16-Oct-2003, 06:10
At Sedona, consider the Westfork Trail. It's really nice. I believe it's on the road between Sedona and Flagstaf, closer to Sendona than the latter. Ask the locals, like an information center.

Walnut Canyon is interesting. They have some Indean dwellings there. I forget how far this is away from the Sedona/Grand Canyon area.

I don't know from which direction you are coming, but the North Rim is incredible. I prefer it. On the South Rim, one has broad vistas where you can see the canyon below. On the North Rim, the scenery is right in your face and up close. It's a lot more dramatic. Plus, the North Rim is less frequented.

Dave Benfer
16-Oct-2003, 11:17
A second vote for the NORTH RIM!!!!

Ron Mc
16-Oct-2003, 13:14
I too prefer the North rim, but places to stay are harder to find unless you are camping. I believe access is limited about this time as well??

I enjoyed working around Sedona, but don't remember names. If you have time take one of the tours through the area. I helped me find places I wanted to try for images.

Ron

Michael Pry
16-Oct-2003, 17:32
I use to live in Prescott and I was up in Sedona allot on bus. Yes it's a beautiful place but I would like to point you just a little bit south of there to a charming old, quiet ghost town named "Jerome". It is a wonderful town with some very cool shops(for the wife) and lots of very interesting subject matter. It was a copper mining town and there are over 80 miles of tunnels right underneath the town. The place is so laid back and you also can look across the valley to the red rocks of Sedona. The Verde River at the bottom of the Verde valley basically seperates Sedona and Jerome. Jerome is perched way up on the side of Mingus Mt. Trust me it's really nice and unless you're into crowds and commercialism it's a hundredfold nicer than Sedona. Hope I've helped a little!

Mike Pry

Peter Rip
16-Oct-2003, 22:55
Thanks everyone!

Marco Frigerio
17-Oct-2003, 08:48
Not to disagree with other posts, North Rim is great!!, but I think that the South Rim offers more photographic opportunities...anyway, I think that the best location in the North Rim is Toroweap Point, but you need a 4wd to get there...here you can see some pictures (the article is in italian, sorry!!) that we took when we attempted this trip:

http://www.fotoavventure.it/toroweap_point.htm

The photos are awful (we were not "pohographers" at that time, we were more interested in hicking and backcountry 4wd adventures) but they give you an idea of this fascinating place...

QT Luong
17-Oct-2003, 12:51
Honestly, I don't really have any "favorites" on the South Rim. As far as I remember, all the designated overlooks yield somewhat similar views. Which, on the other hand is good news because it means that you cannot go wrong anywhere there. Torroweap is interesting because it does look different. The road is actually passable with a passenger vehicle, but to make the most of it, you'd have to camp at a primitive site. If you get tired of the overlooks, you could try to hike down a bit on the South Kaibab trail, or try to catch an helicopter ride to Havasu (you don't have enough time to hike there).

Nicholas Fiduccia
17-Oct-2003, 21:30
I have been to Sedona. Schelbey Hill Road in Sedona has some very interesting mountains, but make sure you have a high clearence vehicle as the road is very rugged.

Another fun location is going down to oak creek to get shots of Cathedral Rock with the creek in the foreground. To get to the creek, head south on 179 to the town of Oak creek. When you get into town, turn right (northwest) on Green Valley Road (I am not sure about the name). This road will take you all the way to the river. From what I remember you will have to park in the parking lot about 1 block from the river but you can drive all the way down to an overlook near the river to scope things out. You can walk down to the river and look left and you should see a small bridge. From here you can take the classic "Cathedral Rock with Oak Creek in the foreground shot.

Another possibility is staying on the south of the creek and take the trail that heads toward Cathedral rock to the east. Walk about 2 blocks and then find a path toward the creek and you should be able to find a different framing of "Cathedral rock and river".

If you get real adventurous, you can go back to the trail and follow the signs to the top of Cathedral rock. I didn't have a chance to do this last time I went but it is on my list! Enjoy your trip!

bob carlisle
19-Oct-2003, 17:34
Just got back from Grand Canyon South Rim. If you're lucky it will be a cloudy day. That will make for a better photo. I agree that most all points are good for photography but I would suggest early morning versus late afternoon shooting. Even way out there in the middle of nowhere it still gets hazy (at least when I was there) I took digital shots. Just now trying to get into 8x10 view camera that I just received as a gift from my uncle. Hope I buy the right lens. bob carlisle P.S: go to the airport in Sedona for a great panoramic lookout of the Sedona Valley.

Sal Santamaura
20-Oct-2003, 09:04
"Even way out there in the middle of nowhere it still gets hazy (at least when I was there)."

Just 75 miles upwind of 'way out there' is the 1,580-megawatt Mojave coal-fired electrical generating plant; it's one of many on the Colorado plateau. This chart (http://www.grandcanyontrust.org/images/photos_new/chart1.gif) shows what each of them pours into the atmosphere. Let's not even think about emissions from fixed and stationary sources in the southern California megalopolis a bit further upwind. At least some new controls are being implemented at Mojave, though the more stringent emission limits associated with them need not be met be until 2005.