Las Vegas - Road Trip to the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon seems pretty close to Vegas. Look at a map and it sits nicely in a green circle, just a bit to the right of Vegas. Let me tell you. It’s not close at all. It’s a fricking long way away. That called for one thing – a road trip!


Hiring a car in Vegas is a pretty straight forward task. There are rental cars in just about every hotel. Compared to Europe or Australia, the rental prices are also amazingly low. I hired a car from Dollar rentals and picked it up the day before my trip from the TI resort. All the casinos offer free parking and have massive car parks, so finding somewhere to keep it was a cinch.

I got up early in the morning and set out on the road. The first stop is Hoover Dam. See the separate article on that. It’s a short hop. Less than an hour out of town. The main road actually passes along the top of the Hoover Dam, so it’s a no brainer that you stop and have a look.

After that, it’s a whole lot of nothing. The road after the dam is long, flat and devoid of anything interesting to look at. I got excited whenever there was a bend in the road. At least it was some variation! The area is typical dessert – dry and brown with a few stubby trees thrown in. Interesting for the first ten minutes, but very monotonous soon after.

That didn’t seem to stop people from living there, however. Dotted along the road, were some very run down little houses with people living in them. There were also lots of signs advertising sales of land. Who on earth would want to live there though? Apart from Lex Luthor planning his next super villain scheme, the area is pretty horrible. I couldn’t help thinking that the only reason people would live here, would be to have a handy spot to bury all the bodies from your latest homicidal rampage. It was that grim!

Eventually, the I-95 road comes to an end at the town of ??? Nelson? I stopped here to get some fuel. I didn’t want to be the guy in that movie who stops and asks some psycho for some petrol. After that, it was another two hours along a different, though similarly long and straight piece of road.

This road was a bit more interesting. Parts of it were the old Route 66. For lovers of motorway numbering, I guess this is exciting. As I went along, the scenery started to change. Gone were the low scrubby bushes. Eventually, they were replaced by actual trees. There were even a few hills now and then. You were spoilt for chose for things to look at! By the time you reach the turn off to the Grand Canyon road, you’re in the middle of a lush pine forest on rolling hills. That’s a pretty big change from the turgid dessert.

I stopped for a yummy lunch at Denny’s Diner. It was enough to keep me going for the rest of the day, but I don’t think my arteries approved of it very much!


An hour after lunch, you actually reach the Grand Canyon. The drive is through some very nice forests, but beware of suicidal deer. The road side was covered in rotting deer corpses.

After wandering around the canyon, it was then time to get back in the car and go back to Vegas. IT was a five hour trip there, a two hour walk around the canyon, then five hours home again. I had considered getting a plane or helicopter there, but the road trip had its own special charm.


As I approached Vegas, the sun was setting. It gave the countryside and amazing look. What had looked barren and turgid on the way up now looked beautiful and peaceful on the way home. To greet me, all the lights of Vegas were blazing. It was an amazing sight and a trip well worth the effort.