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Two ways to drive to Grand Canyon: South Gate vs. East Gate.

How do you drive to Grand Canyon? Which of the two entrances is better? Should you use South Gate or East Gate? There are two ways to drive to Grand Canyon, the South Gate and the East Gate. The South gate is faster and more crowded, the East Gate is less used, prettier, and offers insight as to the formation of the Grand Canyon. • The South Gate is by far the most used gate to Grand Canyon. It is a straight shot from Williams Arizona, up State Route 64 to the Grand Canyon. There are no views of the Grand Canyon on this stretch of two lane road. There are occasional passing zones, and state and local police enforce the speed limit about half the time. • Before the 1930's, visitors accessed the Grand Canyon mostly by train, the tracks of which parallel this stretch of road. In 1932, visitor traffic started switching to automobiles, and route 64 was built to the Grand Canyon Village. • There’s not much to see on the way from Williams to the South Gate. Maybe the most significant landmark is Flintstone’s Bedrock City in Valle, a mostly defunct roadside attraction, but that is not saying much • Right before you reach the South Gate is the town of Tusayan, with hotels and restaurants that serve the Grand Canyon. Gas prices are usually at least a dollar a gallon more than market here, so it is a good idea to buy gas before you leave the interstate and head up to Grand Canyon. • The South Gate admits the largest number of visitors to Grand Canyon, and the wait times can be up to 3 hours during the high season. Luckily, the Canyon provides a webcam ( https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/photos... ) that allows you to monitor the line, and when the webcam is down, you can use your navigation program, but the most reliable source of traffic information is AZ511.gov, which provides real time reports of traffic at the gate and on the roads of Arizona. • South Gate dumps visitors into Mather Point for their first view of the Canyon, a nice but crowded viewpoint that requires a 15-minute walk to get there. A better alternative if you enter the Canyon from South Gate is to go to Grandeur Point. • It should be pretty obvious by now that if I were to plan a first time visit for a friend or relative to Grand Canyon, I would not encourage them to use the South Gate. The best introduction to the Grand Canyon, especially if you have time or you are traveling from East to West, is to use the East Gate. • But even if you are traveling from West to East, coming in from LA or Las Vegas, the drive to the East Gate is not too much longer. But the rewards are numerous. • From the East to West, using East gate is only about 10 more miles, and the travel times are longer if you follow the speed limits, but on the wide open Western roads, following the speed limits is rare. There is less speed enforcement going to East Gate than South Gate. • But even if you are arriving from the West, the trip to East Gate is not that much longer. The drive from Williams to South Gate is about 60 miles, while the drive from Williams to East Gate is 139 miles. But if you plan to go North from Williams and then visit Desert View Watchtower, that adds 50 miles round trip to your drive, making the drive to East Gate, which leads you right to Desert Watchtower, only about 30 miles more than entering the South Gate. • Also, during peak season, the wait at South Gate can stretch to 3 hours, while I have never waited at East Gate more than 10 minutes. • Please also be aware that neither gate accepts cash for the entrance fee, you must pay by charge card. • If you are coming from the East, the drive to East Gate can be trimmed even more by exiting the Interstate at Winona and taking surface roads to Route 89. • Taking Route 89 North from Flagstaff gives you views of Humphreys Peak, the tallest peak in Arizona, which you can also see from Grand Canyon. There is snow on the peak for much of the year and the Aspens in fall are lovely. • You turn from route 89 to route 64 in Cameron Arizona, a town named after Grand Canyon entrepreneur, who later became a US Senator, Ralph Cameron. Route 64 from Cameron to the East Gate was opened in 1935. • The journey is beautiful in its own right, but it is most meaningful to me because you can see how the combination of the uplift of the land and the carving effect of the Colorado River created the Grand Canyon. Unlike the drive to South Gate, which gives you no views of the Canyon, the drive to the East Gate gives you a gentle introduction to the Canyon. • Immediately after East Gate is the Desert Watchtower, designed by Mary Colter, with a bit of a Disneyland vibe, but is a must see for the first time visitor. Two stops down the road is Lipan Point, my favorite view of the Grand Canyon. • Grand Canyon is stunning, no matter how you get there. I hope you enjoy your trip to Grand Canyon, and thank you for watching.