Trips to the Grand Canyon

If you are looking for spectacular natural beauty and a multitude of attractions and activities then a visit to the Grand Canyon is everything you could wish for. In a short day trip from Sedona, Arizona you'll discover awe-inspiring views are everywhere you turn in this rugged red rock landscape. Located 2 hours north of Sedona, through the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon up to the Colorado Plateau, the drive itself is worth the trip.

Millions of years of erosion created the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River and its tributaries slowly etched their way through billion year-old rocks to create the broad stripes seen today and leave the amazing record of the canyon's geologic history in its cliff walls. A mile below the rim, at the canyon's bottom, the Colorado River has exposed some of the oldest rocks visible anywhere on the earth.

In 1919 the federal government established the Grand Canyon National Park. The park contains 227 miles of the Colorado River and rim to rim, the canyon measures up to 18 miles across, with an average width of 10 miles and an average depth is one mile.

There are many plants and animals living in the Canyon. These plant species such as sagebrush, golden columbine, ponderosa pine, mountain mahogany, hedgehog cactus, Utah juniper, pinion pine, gambel oak, cliff rose and the fern bush have managed to adapt themselves to the sometimes erratic climate of the Grand Canyon in order to survive. The Colorado River is home to sixteen different species of fish as well as providing the life giving water source to many reptiles and amphibians, including twenty two types of lizards and twenty four types of snakes. It is not unusual today to see many different mammals in the canyon as well. Bighorn sheep, bobcats, mule deer, albert squirrels, coyotes and mountain lions all call the Grand Canyon home as well as the increasingly friendly rock squirrels often seen begging for handouts.

Today about five million people visit the Grand Canyon each year by car, on foot, atop mules, on motorized rafts, aboard trains, buses, planes and in helicopters. Any and all of the these options can be booked from Sedona, AZ. Sedona is home to a multitude of experience tour guides, each offering different and varied services designed to meet your Grand Canyon needs. Ask about them today.