Grand Canyon South Rim Travel Guide: Best Viewpoints, Desert View Drive & Visitor Tips
We’ve seen some pretty incredible canyons during our travels.
Then we saw the Grand Canyon.
There’s a reason they call it grand.
Standing on the South Rim and looking across that enormous landscape was completely different from seeing it in photographs. As photographers, we tried to capture it.
We really did.
But photographs simply don’t convey the scale of this place.
We visited the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park twice while camping near Williams, Arizona. That gave us a chance to see the canyon under different lighting conditions, explore several overlooks along Desert View Drive, visit the Desert View Watchtower and learn a few things about crowds, weather and using Williams as a base.
If you’re planning your first Grand Canyon South Rim visit, here’s what we learned.
Why Visit the Grand Canyon South Rim?
You can look at thousands of pictures of the Grand Canyon before your trip.
They won’t prepare you.
The sheer scale is difficult to comprehend until you’re standing on the rim.
Layers of rock disappear into the distance.
Canyons sit within canyons.
Mountain-like formations rise from inside the gorge.
And somewhere far below everything is the Colorado River.
Ed actually had an interesting realization after our first visit.
He’d been looking across the canyon and assumed he was looking toward the opposite rim.
Later, while studying satellite imagery, he realized some of what he’d been looking at was terrain inside the Grand Canyon itself.
That’s how enormous this place feels.
We Stayed in Williams Instead of Moving Closer
Our original plan was to move the trailer closer to the Grand Canyon.
Then we started looking at the weather.
We were already dealing with cold temperatures and snow around Williams in late April, and the area closer to the South Rim was even colder.
We decided there wasn’t much point in moving.
Instead, we left the trailer near Williams and drove the truck to the park.
That decision had another advantage.
During our stay, groceries and gasoline were less expensive for us in Williams than they were closer to the park.
So we stayed put.
The drive took us about an hour to the entrance, but for us, the combination of camping, services and lower everyday expenses made Williams a good Grand Canyon base.
Late April at the Grand Canyon Was Cold
Don’t assume Arizona means hot weather.
We learned that lesson repeatedly on this part of our trip.
We spent about 11 days in the Williams area in late April, and the weather was all over the place.
We had snow.
We had cold.
We had clouds.
And out of those days, we initially had only one afternoon when the conditions were good enough for the kind of Grand Canyon photography we wanted to do.
Eventually another weather window opened, allowing us to return in the morning and photograph the canyon under different light.
The lesson?
If you’re visiting the South Rim in spring, bring layers and watch the forecast.
Elevation changes everything.
Our First Stop: Mather Point
Our first major stop was Mather Point, near the main visitor area.
This is one of the places where many first-time visitors get their first real look into the Grand Canyon.
And what an introduction.
You step up to the rim and suddenly the landscape opens in front of you.
No photograph can really reproduce that moment.
Mather Point is popular for good reason.
We visited it on both of our Grand Canyon days and even found another surprise waiting for us there on the second trip.
But more about that in a minute.
Driving Desert View Drive
After stopping at Mather Point, we learned more about Desert View Drive and decided it sounded perfect for us.
We wanted photographs.
Lots of photographs.
And we wanted different perspectives of the canyon rather than standing at one overlook all afternoon.
Desert View Drive gave us exactly that.
During our visit, the drive stretched for roughly 25 miles through the eastern portion of the park, with various places where we could stop and photograph the canyon.
For photographers and sightseers, this was a wonderful way to experience the South Rim.
Rather than seeing one view, we watched the canyon change as we moved from overlook to overlook.
Don’t Rush Between the Overlooks
The temptation at a place as famous as the Grand Canyon is to try to see everything.
We’d rather slow down.
The different overlooks along Desert View Drive gave us different angles, foregrounds and lighting.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is simply stand there for a while.
Look down.
Look across.
Then look farther across.
The longer we looked at the Grand Canyon, the more enormous it seemed.
We Found Elk Along the Road
We hadn’t traveled very far along Desert View Drive when we encountered another Grand Canyon attraction.
Elk.
They were right beside the road, calmly feeding.
Naturally, the cameras came out.
Wildlife encounters are always one of our favorite parts of traveling, but they’re also a reminder that national parks aren’t zoos.
Give wildlife plenty of room, follow park guidance and never approach an animal just to get a better photograph.
Use that zoom lens.
Desert View Watchtower
At the eastern end of our Desert View Drive exploration, we reached the Desert View Watchtower.
The structure immediately stands out against the landscape.
After miles of natural scenery and enormous canyon views, suddenly there’s this impressive stone tower rising near the rim.
It made a great destination for our scenic drive and gave us another distinctive part of the Grand Canyon to photograph.
Even if you’ve already stopped at several canyon overlooks, Desert View is worth including simply because the setting feels different from the central visitor area.
Saturday Versus a Weekday at the Grand Canyon
One of the most useful things we learned came from visiting twice.
Our first trip was on a Saturday.
It took us approximately 45 minutes just waiting in line to get through the entrance gate.
Our second visit was during the week.
What a difference.
That time, we were through the entrance within a couple of minutes.
Obviously, crowds vary tremendously by season, weather, holidays and other factors, so our experience isn’t a guarantee.
But if your schedule gives you flexibility, we’d certainly consider a weekday visit.
Based on our experience, it made a substantial difference.
Morning Light Versus Afternoon Light
Visiting twice also gave us something we particularly wanted as photographers.
Different light.
Our first successful photography day gave us afternoon views of the South Rim.
When the weather finally cooperated again, we returned in the morning.
The Grand Canyon changes with the light.
Shadows move.
Rock formations become more or less prominent.
Colors change.
If photography is important to you and you have more than one day available, don’t assume you’ve “seen” the canyon after one visit.
Go back under different conditions.
More Elk at Mather Point
On our second Grand Canyon day, we saved Mather Point until later.
And there they were.
More elk.
A group of them was hanging around the visitor center area, giving us another opportunity for some wonderful wildlife photographs.
We’d gone to the Grand Canyon expecting spectacular geology.
The elk were a bonus.
Grand Canyon Wildlife Deserves Respect
We also encountered signs warning about wildlife—including mountain lions.
That one caught our attention.
Whatever animals you encounter, remember you’re visiting their habitat.
Follow current National Park Service wildlife guidance, maintain required distances and don’t feed or approach wildlife.
The fact that an animal appears comfortable around people doesn’t make it tame.
How Much Time Should You Allow at the South Rim?
We wouldn’t try to squeeze the Grand Canyon into a quick photo stop.
Even though weather limited what we could do, we were glad we had enough time in the area to visit twice.
If you’re interested only in seeing the canyon from a major overlook, you can obviously spend less time.
But if you want to explore Desert View Drive, stop at multiple overlooks, photograph wildlife, see the Watchtower and experience the canyon under different lighting, give yourself room in the schedule.
This isn’t somewhere we’d want to rush.
Photography at the Grand Canyon
Ed said it repeatedly during our visit:
Pictures don’t do it justice.
That’s particularly frustrating when you’re a photographer!
The challenge isn’t simply getting a technically good picture.
It’s conveying scale.
The Grand Canyon is so large that the camera compresses it into a little rectangle and takes away some of what makes standing there overwhelming.
We still took plenty of photographs.
Of course we did.
Our best advice is to photograph from different viewpoints and at different times of day.
But every now and then, put the camera down.
Just look.
Some things are meant to be experienced rather than captured.
What We Enjoyed Most at the Grand Canyon South Rim
Our South Rim highlights included:
- Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time
- Mather Point
- Driving Desert View Drive
- Stopping at multiple scenic overlooks
- Visiting Desert View Watchtower
- Photographing the canyon in morning and afternoon light
- Seeing elk along the road
- Finding more elk near the visitor center
- Experiencing the incredible scale of the canyon
- Using Williams as our base rather than moving the RV again
We didn’t hike to the bottom.
We didn’t try to see every possible attraction.
We experienced the Grand Canyon in the way that worked for us.
And it was spectacular.
Tips for Your First Grand Canyon South Rim Visit
Based on our experience, we’d keep several things in mind.
If you have flexibility, consider visiting on a weekday. Our weekday entrance experience was dramatically easier than our Saturday visit.
Check the weather carefully, particularly during spring and other shoulder seasons. The South Rim sits at high elevation, and Arizona can be surprisingly cold.
Give yourself time for Desert View Drive rather than visiting only one overlook.
Bring layers.
If photography matters to you, consider visiting at different times of day.
Give wildlife plenty of space.
And don’t assume you have to stay immediately outside the park. Depending on your travel style and budget, Williams can make a practical base for exploring the South Rim.
Always check current National Park Service information for road conditions, entrance procedures, closures, wildlife guidance and seasonal services before your trip.
Is the Grand Canyon Worth Visiting?
Yes.
Absolutely.
We had already seen enormous canyons during our travels.
Beautiful ones.
Dramatic ones.
Places we’d thought were almost impossible to top.
Then we walked up to the South Rim.
The Grand Canyon operates on a completely different scale.
It’s one of those rare destinations where the famous photographs actually undersell the place.
Ed tried to photograph it.
We tried to describe it.
Neither really works.
You have to stand there.
You have to look down into that enormous landscape and realize that the formations you’re looking across aren’t necessarily even the other side.
Then you begin to understand why this particular canyon got the name it did.
It really is Grand.
And we’ll see you down the road…and Over the Hills!
Continue the Journey
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