Arizona

Who to travel with:

- I traveled with 1 friend.

- It is safe to travel solo here as well.

- Safety Note:

If you are doing advanced hiking alone, make sure you are an experienced and strong hiker and you let people know where you are and what trail hike you are on.
Dehydration is the #1 cause of death in the Grand Canyon, so I recommend always being with someone else if you are planning to do long extreme hikes here!

What not to miss:

Grand Canyon National Park:
- Hike here! It’s the best way to see the park and appreciate the size!
- Rim Trail: easy, you can walk it. The bus can pick you up and drop you off at any stop along the rim.
- For advanced hikers: South Kaibab Trail, Bright Angel Trail
- If you have lots of time (1+ week): raft down the Colorado River

Petrified Forest National Park:
- Hike Blue Mesa Trail
- Stop at Kachina Point: great view
- Painted Desert Rim Trail- stop at Tawa Point along the trail

For the below places, I did not make it here, so I cannot give any recommendations on the locations. But check it out if you have time! It's on my future to-do list when I return!
- Saguaro National Park
- Phoenix
- Sedona

Tips:

Buy a USA Park’s Pass: $80 for a year of access to US national parks (worth it if you are going to more than 1 national park/ each park entrance fee is $35 each)
Safety tip:
- Dehydration is the #1 cause of death in the Grand Canyon. Always hike with another person!
- It is extremely hot in the summer (the day I did the 19 mile hike, it was 118 F) – I recommend not hiking in the middle of the day in the summer.
Check out my packing lists page for what to pack for day hiking!
Pack lots of sunscreen and bugspray!
- Use the bug spray wipes (they are great for traveling and packing lightly!)

Time Saving Tip: Go to Horseshoe Bend right before or after going to Antelope Canyon- they are only 10 min away from each other

Antelope Canyon: you can’t go here by yourself, you have to book a tour
- I did the Lower Antelope Canyon- I recommend this one (less crowded, double the length of Upper Antelope Canyon, more fun- tight squeezes through the canyon)
- I booked my Lower Antelope Canyon through Ken’s Tours: $52 per person, 1 hour tour through the canyon- a short walk from the parking lot to get to the canyon.
- Very touristy- tons of people ahead and behind your tour group/ I think it was still worth it but definitely don’t expect to have any part of the canyon to yourself…
- Tours book up quickly- so book in advance!

Grand Canyon:
- The number 1 cause of death in the Grand Canyon is dehydration - bring TONS of water (1 L of water for every 2 miles when hiking in the hot summer)
- Don’t hike in the middle of the day in the summer (it was 118 F on my 19-mile 1-day hike in the middle of summer…) or BE PREPARED- drink LOTS of water, wet your clothes, eat enough and take breaks, bring salty snacks + Gatorade to get electrolytes
- It is recommended to hike down into the canyon on 1 day, camp there overnight (permit needed, buy way in advance because they sell out quickly!), and hike back up the canyon the following day. I did it in 1 day (19 miles), which is not recommended… If you do want to do it in 1 day, I recommend not doing it in the summer- hike the South Kaibab Trail down and the Bright Angel Trail back. There is no water for the first 12 miles if you do the hike this way, so you must carry at least 5 L of water per person with you! There are then 3 water stops the rest of the 5 mile hike back up.

Vaccines: no extra ones needed as long as you are up to date. Ask your doctor.

Hi, I'm Tiffany!