Infos zum Grand Canyon NP

Grand Canyon: Skip the entrance line, ride the Tusayan shuttle

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The Grand Canyon is a wonder of the world, but long lines and crowded parking lots at Grand Canyon National Park can have visitors wondering if they’ll ever get out of the car to see it.
Shuttle service from Tusayan, a mile south of the park entrance, to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center in the park can save time and stress. The service starts March 1, just in time for the busy spring-break travel period, and continues through Sept. 30.
Shuttle buses run at 20-minute intervals from 8 a.m.-9:45 p.m. daily. Riders must have a valid park pass, which can be purchased online in advance or in Tusayan at the IMAX Theater, RP's Stage Stop, Canyon Plaza Resort or Red Feather Lodge.

Avoid the long entrance line
There are several reasons not to drive into the park.
Shuttle riders bypass the long lines of cars waiting to enter. Waits can be more than an hour during the busiest times.
Parking lots often fill up by 11 a.m.
Drivers have to deal with road work in the park.
About 211,000 riders used the shuttle last year. Officials say that meant about 35,000 fewer vehicles entered the park.
"Riding the shuttles helps protect resources, reduces crowding on park roadways and reduces our carbon footprint,” Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Chris Lehnertz said in a press release. “We hope visitors and residents will continue to use and enjoy the Tusayan Route this year."

Four stops in Tusayan
Shuttle riders can park their vehicles anywhere in Tusayan. The shuttles make four stops: the IMAX Theater/RP’s Stage Stop, Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn, The Grand Hotel and Big E Steakhouse and Saloon.
Buses take riders to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. There, visitors have easy access to walking paths, scenic viewpoints and other services. They can also hop on the free shuttle buses to hotels, trailheads, Grand Canyon Village and other highlights.

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South Rim Construction Zones and Projects

Update March 27, 2018

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Closures include South Entrance Road from Yavapai Geology Museum to Park Headquarters. The geology museum is open. Vehicles longer than 22 feet attempting to drive to Yavapai Geology Musuem and Yavapai Point must turn around at Grand Canyon Visitor Center.

In addition to the projects listed below, Yaki Point Road and South Kaibab Trailhead Road will also have construction. Shuttle buses will still service the Kaibab (Orange) Route, although schedules and stops may be altered.

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South Rim Roads Improvement Update: Paving to begin on Village Loop Drive Thursday, April 19

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Another major phase of the South Rim Roads Improvement Project is set to begin this week, when contractors begin paving Village Loop Drive. This work, starting Thursday, April 19, is expected to take three to three-and-a-half weeks from start to finish.

Starting on April 19, all Village Loop Drive Traffic will be one-way, with all phases of paving occurring in the opposite lane. No street parking will be allowed. Visitors and residents can expect some delays associated with the work; however, all roads will be open. There will be limited access to businesses on Village Loop Drive for four to six hours on a single day the last week of the paving schedule, approximately May 2 to May 9. Two days prior to paving operations that will limit access, notices will be provided to the businesses to notify guests and service providers of specific area closures.

In addition to the paving work in Grand Canyon Village, South Entrance Road from Yavapai Geology Museum to Park Headquarters is anticipated to reopen Thursday, April 19, and traffic will no longer take a detour through the Market Plaza area. Work at the Yaki Point/South Kaibab trailhead area should be open to permissible traffic by Monday, April 23; however, milling for asphalt paving will begin on April 30. There will be no parking in the South Kaibab trailhead parking lot through approximately May 14. During the four day paving operation, anticipated to be May 7 to 11, there will be no shuttle service to Yaki Point or the South Kaibab trailhead. The closest shuttle stop is at Pipe Creek Vista, approximately one mile from the South Kaibab trailhead, via the Greenway Trail. The Maswik Lodge shuttle bus stop will be closed from about April 17 to April 23 to allow for concrete to be poured and cured.

As always in construction zones, drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists should be on the lookout for large machinery, and follow detour signs and flaggers.

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North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to Open Tuesday, May 15 for 2018 Season

Grand Canyon officials share important reminder after squirrel video goes viral

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You've probably seen it by now. A viral video of a visitor giving a drink of water to a squirrel at the Grand Canyon.
While the video may appear cute and heartwarming, officials from the Grand Canyon National Park have a message to everyone who watches the clip: resist the urge to feed wild animals.
"It can be hard to resist helping what seems to be a helpless woodland creature, but remember that they can always find their own water and food -- they're wild," a Facebook post read from the park read.
The reminder is an effort to limit the unnecessary interactions between people and wildlife.
"Please practice being safe and keep our wildlife wild. Bites and injuries from animals like squirrels and elk occur when these wild animals get used to people food and develop aggressive behaviors," reads the post.

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Grand Canyon gets the most lightning strikes among popular parks

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There's a dubious accolade for Arizona's biggest tourist attraction:
Among the most-visited U.S. national parks, Grand Canyon gets the most lightning strikes.
Grand Canyon National Park averaged 15,854 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per year from 2008 to 2017, according to the National Lightning Detection Network.
Zion National Park in Utah was second with about 5,700 lightning strikes per year, followed by Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee with about 4,000.
The National Lightning Detection Network is based in Tucson and operated by Vaisala, a Finnish company that provides extensive lightning and other data to meteorologists.

Mehr hier mit ein paar schönen Bildern

Wer nur ein bisschen am/im Grand Canyon wandern will, für den gibt es hier ein paar Infos (für beide Rims getrennt):

7 easy hikes at the Grand Canyon, plus 3 not-too-difficult ones that go below the rim

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Describing hiking trails at Grand Canyon as easy sounds like a contradiction, but just it’s a matter of choosing the right direction. Start walking east or west and you’ll generally enjoy a lovely woodland stroll. Turn north or south and you’ll encounter a pretty steep drop-off.
So give your knees and lungs a break. Here are the best easy trails at Grand Canyon National Park (with a couple of moderate ones). Stay mostly atop the rims and enjoy the cooler temperatures. And, oh yeah, the views aren’t bad either.

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Grand Canyon National Park Implements Temporary Road and Trail Closures on the North Rim; Obi Fire Grows to 2,270 Acres

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Grand Canyon National Park will implement closures of the Cape Royal Road, Cape Final Trail, and Cliff Spring Trail tomorrow August 4th, 2018 at 9:00 pm. This closure is for public and firefighter safety as crews continue to prep the Walhalla Plateau. Park visitors currently planning on driving along Cape Royal Road or hiking at Cape Final or Cliff Spring are required to be out of the area by 9:00 pm. tomorrow. The temporary closure is in effect until further notice. The road to Point Imperial and all other North Rim trails and facilities are open at this time.

The Obi Fire is approximately 2,270 acres. Growth today was primarily in the northern and eastern portions of the fire perimeter. Light southwesterly winds throughout the day allowed fire to grow through pine needles and downed logs. Fire behavior was active with single tree torching and surface fire of one to four foot flames where the fire was consuming dead logs. "While crews continue prep of the Walhalla Plateau, we would like to acknowledge the inconvenience it creates for visitors and appreciate their understanding in prioritizing firefighter and public safety," said Incident Commander trainee Bryan Hakanson.

Located in the far southwest corner of the Wahalla Plateau above Obi Point, the Obi Fire started on July 21st. Fire managers plan to continue the strategy of confining and containing the lightning caused fire in a predetermined area while providing for point protection of identified sensitive natural and cultural resources.

Smoke from the Obi Fire is visible from both the North and South Rims of the park. Visitors may see increased smoke or haze filling the canyon.

Each fire start is evaluated by fire management officials for the most appropriate management strategy. Firefighter safety, resources at risk, location of the fire, available resources, regional and national preparedness levels, and weather forecast are taken into consideration when responding to a wildfire ignition.

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Havasupai campground reopens; Humane Society offering aid for animals

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Lodging and tourism facilities will reopen on the Havasupai Reservation more than a month after a catastrophic flash flood tore through the campground.
Several waves of flooding hit Supai village and Havasu campground July 10 and 11, stranding 200 tourists and washing out trails and footbridges. The storm caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to facilities, forcing the tribe to close down all tourism, the main driver of its economy. Supai was cut off from most necessities, such as food, mail and medical supplies, for several weeks as tribal and National Park Service crews worked to removed large boulders blocking the only trail into and out of the village.
The tribe reported Aug. 29, however, that all necessary repairs have been completed and the campground and lodge will reopen as planned Sept. 1. Tribal officials advise visitors to be prepared for rain storms typically associated with monsoon season, which can last through the end of September.
Tourists and tribal members weren’t the only ones affected by July’s floods — animals on the reservation were also impacted. To help replenish food stores for the animals, the Humane Society of the United States donated about $5,000 worth of food and supplies.
“We were saddened to learn of the recent damage from flooding in Supai, a village we visit several times a year to provide care and treatment to area animals as a part of our partnership with the Havasupai Tribe,” said Kellye Pinkleton, Arizona’s senior state director for HSUS. “We were honored to provide feed and hay to area horses, dogs and cats to assist in their disaster recovery efforts.”
Among the items delivered were 20 50-pound bags of dog food; 10 40-pound bags of cat food; 40 salt blocks; 12 bales of Bermuda hay; 12 bales of alfalfa hay and 320 50-pound bags of horse feed. The supplies were purchased from Olsen’s Grain in Flagstaff and were transported by the Coconino County Emergency Management Department to a storage warehouse maintained by the tribe, whose animal control office will be responsible for distribution of the items to tribal members.
“The unstable and dangerous conditions of the affected areas make it difficult for us to get the needed supplies for our animals in Supai,” said Havasupai Chairwoman Muriel Coochwytewa. “We are grateful for the ongoing support from the Humane Society of the United States.”

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Ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon will stand

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The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear a mining industry challenge to a 20-year ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon National Park. The ban was put in place in 2012 to protect drinking water and the outstanding natural and cultural significance of the Grand Canyon watershed.
Scott Miller, The Wilderness Society’s Senior Regional Director for the Southwest Region welcomed this announcement as a victory, ending six years of unsuccessful litigation by the mining industry:
“There are places where drilling and mining do not belong, and the Grand Canyon watershed is one of those places. With the ban on new mining securely in place, this crown jewel of our public lands will remain protected from a new rush of uranium mining activity that has already left a toxic legacy in parts of the Grand Canyon region, including tribal lands.”
The Wilderness Society congratulates the Havasupai Tribe, the coalition of conservation groups, and their attorneys at Earthjustice who fought to defend the ban.

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US-Nationalpark Grand Canyon feiert im kommenden Jahr Jubiläum

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Der Grand-Canyon-Nationalpark in den USA feiert im kommenden Jahr den Jahrestag seiner Gründung vor 100 Jahren. Im Jubiläumsjahr erwarten Besucher zahlreiche Veranstaltungen rund um die gewaltige Schlucht.

Darüber informiert die Tourismusvertretung Arizona.

Vom 22. bis 29. Juni wird etwa die „Star Party“ gefeiert, bei der Hobby-Astronomen mit Teleskopen die Sterne beobachten können. Dazu gibt es ein Sommerfest.
Am 8. und 9. August werden zu den „North Rim Native American Heritage Days“ elf indianische Stämme gewürdigt. Vertreter der Stämme präsentieren und erklären ihre Lebensweise.

Der Grand Canyon im Bundesstaat Arizona befindet sich im Südwesten der USA und ist eine der berühmtesten Sehenswürdigkeiten des Landes. Er wurde am 26. Februar 1919 als Nationalpark unter Schutz gestellt.

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Info auf der NPS-Page des Grand Canyons gibt es hier:

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Go Grand

On February 26, 2019, Grand Canyon National Park celebrates 100 years at Grand Canyon. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Grand Canyon welcomes approximately six million domestic and international visitors each year. After 100 years, whether its hiking a corridor trail, taking a stroll on the rim or enjoying the landscape from an overlook, Grand Canyon continues to provide a space for all visitors to connect with the outdoors.

This 2019, Grand Canyon National Park will commemorate the past and inspire future generations to experience, connect with, and protect the park's unique natural, cultural, and historic resources.

Whether you are a regular visitor, a national park traveler or virtual explorer, Grand Canyon National Park hopes that you are inspired to experience and connect with a park that has inspired 100 years of stewardship and will continue to delight visitors and stewards for another 100 years! Come, be inspired, and Go Grand.

100th Anniversary Celebration

Besonders toll finde ich die geschichtlichen Stories zum Grand Canyon:.
Centennial Stories: Historic Accounts
Hier ein paar Beispiele mit interessanten Geschichten und schönen alten Bilder:

1902 - Breaking A Trail Through Bright Angel Canyon

1914 Metz Car - To the Colorado River in a Metz 22 Speedster

1922 - Into the Grand Canyon and Out Again by Airplane

1925 - Building the Kaibab Trail

Our stories need to be told’: Grand Canyon park enlisting Native input as it marks 100 years

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The Grand Canyon, carved by water over millions of years, is a geologic wonder that has inspired poets to dream and scientists to ponder. Most of us are lucky to visit once or twice in a lifetime.
But for several Native American tribes, the Grand Canyon is their home.
“Most Americans think Native Americans are gone, but we’re still here,” said Carletta Tilousi, a Havasupai Tribal Council member who grew up in the Grand Canyon. “I’d like them to know that this was a home – is the home – of Native Americans, and our stories need to be told.”
In the late 1800s, the federal government sequestered the Havasupai to a side canyon until 1975, when they were given back some of their ancestral land.
“It’s been a really long, bitter relationship with the park,” Tilousi said. “The park forcefully removed my family, my great aunts and my great grandfather. And that really made me personally very angry as a child.”
Today, the National Park Service is required to consult with tribes when making changes that might have an impact on their land or their people.
Grand Canyon National Park celebrates its centennial next year. To mark the occasion, the National Park Service is working with 11 tribes traditionally associated with the canyon to tell their stories, converting the Desert View scenic overlook and watchtower from a traditional visitor-services area into an cultural heritage site.
“I think Havasupai, we’ve been ignored for a long time and not given the opportunity to voice our concerns on lands that were occupied by our family members,” Tilousi said.
Only in the past decade has Tilousi been willing to sit down with park staff members. In those meetings, tribal leaders have asked the park for an opportunity to tell their stories.
When the concessionaire Xanterra Travel Collection dropped Desert View Watchtower from its contract three years ago, former Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga invited tribal leaders to help park officials design a cultural heritage site there.
“What is really forward-thinking … about this project is the way that the relationship is changing,” said Jenn O’Neill, partnerships and planning coordinator for Grand Canyon National Park.
“Recent superintendents have used those other authorities available to them to change the conversation (with tribal leaders) to do more listening and less speaking, and to really build the trust. I mean, this whole project is propped up on trust that we will do what we say we will do.”
In addition to providing a venue to tell their own stories, the National Park Service also wanted to preserve existing cultural treasures, including Hopi artist Fred Kabotie’s murals inside the watchtower, which serves as the park’s eastern entrance. Architect Mary Colter modeled the steel and stone structure after towers erected by ancestral puebloan people of the Colorado Plateau. Built in 1932, it now is a National Historic Landmark.
“Every time I come in here, I see something new that I never saw before,” O’Neill said.
With the help of a grant, she said, the park hired conservators to clean the Kabotie artwork.
“They have spent the last three years cleaning with Q-tips and brushes every square inch of the murals,” she said.
Once the intertribal cultural heritage program is up and running, O’Neill hopes the rest of the park will follow suit.
“We don’t want to dispatch all things Native to the farthest corner of the park,” she said. “We want to create a program that works and is sustainable and then it will move into the larger park,” giving Native Americans a greater presence throughout.
Mable Franklin, who is Navajo, sees the heritage site at Desert View as a positive step.
“We actually are going to have a voice in the Grand Canyon again, and that’s one of the things I like about this heritage site,” Franklin said, although she’d like to see more.
Park officials only let Native artists sell their artwork under strict regulations. Artists are limited to selling only the crafts they’ve shown visitors how to create in cultural demonstrations.
“We would like to see our communities put their wares and generate revenue from that because in our community we have a lot of people that are vendors and that’s their way of life and that sustains them out here,” Franklin said.
For now, she hopes the 6 million annual visitors to Grand Canyon National Park will consider taking a side trip to Cameron Trading Post, about 30 miles east on the Navajo Nation, where artists earn a living selling their work.

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Tribal land in the Grand Canyon known for waterfalls won’t allow tour guides this year

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The thousands of tourists who travel to a remote Native American reservation deep in the Grand Canyon each year to camp near a series of picturesque, blue-green waterfalls will have to do so without the benefit of professional guides.
The Havasupai Tribe has decided not to allow outfitters to escort visitors this year down the long, winding path that leads to its small, roadless reservation and on to its main tourist draw: towering waterfalls that cascade into swimming holes that are warm year-round.
Tourists can visit the waterfalls, either by reserving a room at the tribe’s only lodge or by snapping up a coveted permit for one of its hundreds of camping spots scattered amid a creek. But starting in February, they’ll have to find their own way to the reservation’s waterfalls and caves, and carry their own food and gear.
Abbie Fink, a spokeswoman for the Havasupai Tribe, said the Tribal Council’s decision isn’t a reflection on the outfitters. Rather, she said the tribe wanted to manage all tourist traffic itself.
“It’s not solving a problem. It’s returning the enterprise to the control of the tribe,” she told The Associated Press.
For years, the tribe has set aside spots for tour companies, which often bought permits in bulk. The outfitters paid a licensing fee of several thousand dollars, and some had elaborate setups with gourmet meals, inflatable couches and massage therapists. Most brought just the essentials.
Fink couldn’t say exactly how much tour guides paid or how many licenses have been issued in the past. She said the Tribal Council would re-evaluate outfitter licenses for 2020.
The tribe relies heavily on tourism and estimates that between February and November, it gets 30,000 to 40,000 visitors per year to its reservation deep in a gorge west of Grand Canyon National Park that’s accessible only by foot or helicopter, or by riding a horse or mule. The tribe does maintenance in the campground and on the trails in December and January.
The tribe doesn’t allow day hikes, so visitors wanting to take in its waterfalls and other sights must reserve overnight trips in the campground or at the sole lodge.
Rooms in the lodge, which can be booked only by phone, are sold out for the rest of this year. Reservations for 2020 start June 1.
Permits for 2019 camping spots become available online Feb. 1 and are expected to sell out in minutes. People on social media have been strategizing for months about how to boost their chances, including by setting up an account early, recruiting friends and family to try to book a trip and repeatedly refreshing multiple internet browsers.
The permits are $100 per person per night Monday through Thursday, and $125 a night Friday through Sunday, slight increases over last year. The tribe grants about 300 camping permits a day, Fink has said.
Adam Henry, co-owner of Discovery Treks, books between 100 and 200 people on the Havasupai trip each year but has had to stick to offering trips in other spots of the Grand Canyon. He says that’s not always welcome news for tourists intent on venturing to the waterfalls.
The hike takes tourists 8 miles (13 kilometers) down a winding trail through desert landscape before they reach the first waterfall. Then comes the village of Supai, where 600 tribal members live year-round. Another 2 miles (3 kilometers) down the trail is the campground with waterfalls on both ends.
“The blue-green water is what people want to see,” Henry said. “It’s certainly a significant bummer for people who aren’t going to be able to get out there on their own.”
Christine Miller, who works with the tour guide company Wildland Trekking, said tourists can find packing lists online and videos on Havasupai to help plan their trip. The advantage to having a tour guide is knowing how to reach the sights off the main trail, including other waterfalls, caves and swimming pools.
“There are not really any good maps out there to tell you when to cross, when not to cross” the creek, she said.
The tribe temporarily suspended licenses for outfitters in 2016 in part to review the impact that supplies loaded onto pack animals had on the animals and the trail. Fink did not respond to questions about what came out of that review.

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Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy to Celebrate 100th Anniversary with Fee-Free Entrance and Commemoration Ceremony on February 26th

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Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy invite the public and park partners to join National Park Service staff in celebrating the 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon’s designation as a national park. To celebrate this significant milestone, Grand Canyon National Park will waive entrance fees for visitors coming to the park on February 26.

Grand Canyon was designated as a national park on February 26, 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson after 35 years of dedicated efforts to protect this impressive landscape. The 100th anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park is an occasion to celebrate the park’s incredible impact on Arizona’s citizens and economy, global reputation, and to inspire future generations to experience the park and protect its beauty, natural resources and cultural significance.

Commemoration activities will start at 10 am with cultural demonstrators and family activities at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center on the South Rim. Flagstaff's Sechrist and Knoles Elementary school choirs will present two concerts in honor of Grand Canyon at 10 am and 12 pm. Visitors are invited to participate in the commemoration ceremony at 1 pm featuring remarks from Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy leadership, and a commendation reading and plaque reveal by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. After the ceremony, Grand Canyon School’s 4th Grade Class will lead a Happy Birthday sing along.

In the evening, visitors are welcomed to join Sunny Dooley for a program on Diné winter stories at 7 pm at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center Theater.

Visitors are encouraged to join the fun online by following Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy on Facebook and Instagram for special contests and activities.

These commemorations kick off a yearlong celebration with events at Grand Canyon and throughout Arizona. All centennial activities are a joint effort between Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Canyon Conservancy to engage with the next generation of park stewards. For a full list of centennial events please visit, https://go.nps.gov/2019_events.

Whether you are a regular visitor, a national park traveler or virtual explorer, Grand Canyon National Park hopes that you are inspired to experience and connect with a park that has inspired 100 years of stewardship and will continue to delight visitors and stewards for another 100 years! Come, be inspired, and Go Grand.

The fee-free designation does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions. Interagency Senior and Annual Passes are available for purchase at the park's Headquarters, open from 8 am to 5 pm. Those who plan to spend time in the park beyond February 26 will need to pay the regular entrance fee for the remainder of their stay. The next fee-free day will be April 20 for National Park Week.

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Tusayan Route Shuttle Bus Operations to begin March 1—Park and Ride; We'll be Your Guide

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The National Park Service (NPS) will again offer shuttle bus service between Grand Canyon National Park and the neighboring town of Tusayan in 2019. In anticipation of large spring break crowds, the route will begin Thursday, March 1. The Tusayan Route will run at 20-minute intervals between 8 am and 9:30 pm daily.

Grand Canyon receives more than six million visitors annually, and spring break can be one of the busiest times of year in the park. Visitors can expect to wait an hour or more at the entrance stations between 10 am and 4 pm, and parking lots can reach capacity as early as 11 am. Riding the shuttle from Tusayan can help visitors avoid entrance station lines and parking frustrations and reduce vehicular congestion in the park.

Visitors must have a valid park pass, including lifetime or annual passes, to board the shuttle in Tusayan. Visitors can purchase park passes, including lifetime and annual, at the IMAX. RP’s Stage Stop, Canyon Plaza Resort, Red Feather Lodge, and the Grand Canyon Chamber & Visitor’s Bureau also sell standard entrance passes for vehicles, individuals and motorcycles. Visitors can park anywhere in Tusayan, including the Best Western Premiere Inn, Grand Hotel, Big E Steakhouse, IMAX/RP’s Stop, and the park-and-ride lot on the north end of town by the second roundabout. The park-and-ride lot works especially well for trailers and RVs, which have limited parking options inside the park.

The first bus into the park leaves Tusayan at 8 am from the IMAX Theater. The first bus from the park to Tusayan departs the Grand Canyon Visitor Center at 8:25 am. The last buses leave IMAX at 9:45 pm and Grand Canyon Visitor Center at 9:30 pm each night.
Shuttle buses make the following stops in Tusayan:

IMAX Theater/RP’s Stage Stop
Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn
The Grand Hotel
Big E Steakhouse and Saloon
After making four stops in Tusayan, the shuttle bus heads to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center, where visitors can access trails, scenic viewpoints, and the free in-park shuttle bus system. Green stripes and NPS arrowheads make all Grand Canyon National Park shuttle buses easily identifiable. Buses are wheelchair accessible, fueled with clean-burning compressed natural gas, and have bike racks that can hold up to three bicycles.

In 2018, there were approximately 221,000 boardings on the Tusayan Route, which represents a reduction of about 37,000 vehicles entering the park. Last year, there were approximately 7.5 million boardings on the park’s shuttle system, representing a reduction of about 2.5 million short in-park vehicle trips.

Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Christ Lehnertz said of the service, “We are pleased to provide this service to park visitors and local residents. Riding the shuttles helps protect resources, reduces crowding on park roadways, and reduces our carbon footprint. We hope visitors and residents will continue to use and enjoy the Tusayan Route this year.”

Additional shuttle bus information is available online at http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/shuttle-buses.htm. Find parking and road conditions on Twitter @GrandCanyonNPS.

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Possible radiation exposure at Grand Canyon National Park investigated

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Grand Canyon National Park officials say they are investigating whether anyone was exposed to radiation at unsafe levels while samples of uranium ore sat in plastic buckets in a park research building.
Three 5-gallon buckets have been removed from a building about a half-mile from the South Rim that houses the park’s archives and artifacts. About 550 people tour the collections each year, mostly by appointment.
The National Park Service is working with Arizona health and workplace safety officials on the investigation. The agency also plans to set up a hotline for anyone concerned about potential radiation exposure, said spokeswoman Vanessa Lacayo.
“One of the important pieces is looking and determining the level of exposure and risk,” she said.
The Arizona Republic cited the Grand Canyon’s safety director, Elston “Swede” Stephenson, in saying the park failed to warn workers or the public of the potential harm that existed for years. Stephenson did not return messages left by The Associated Press at his work email and on social media. A call to a number listed for him in a park directory went unanswered.
Uranium is naturally occurring in northern Arizona and was mined for decades, including at the Orphan Mine on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon that ceased operations in 1969. A temporary ban prohibits the filing of new mining claims within 1 million acres outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The Navajo Nation no longer allows uranium mining after it left a legacy of death and disease on the reservation.

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Grand Canyon feiert 100-jähriges Jubiläum als Nationalpark
Für viele USA-Reisende steht ein Besuch des Grand Canyon ganz oben auf der Top-Liste. Er zählt zu den Naturwundern der Erde und ist UNESCO-Welterbe. Als Nationalpark feiert er am 26. Februar seinen 100. Geburtstag.

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Ob der Grand Canyon nur sechs oder sogar 70 Millionen Jahre alt ist, darüber streiten die Wissenschaftler. Sicher ist, dass der Colorado River ziemlich lange gebraucht hat, um diese 450 Kilometer lange Schlucht zu erschaffen, die bis zu 30 Kilometer breit und 1800 Meter hoch ist.
Der größte Teil des Grand Canyon steht seit dem 26. Februar 1919 als Nationalpark unter besonderem Schutz. Das verdankt er, wie auch andere US-Nationalparks vor ihm, Bemühungen von frühen Naturschützern wie dem Schriftsteller Henry David Thoreau, dem Naturphilosophen John Muir und nicht zuletzt einem der beliebtesten US-Präsidenten.

Kulturen erleben und Sterne gucken
heodore Roosevelt nutzte sein Amt, um zahlreiche amerikanische Landschaften per Dekret zu schützen. So erklärte er den Grand Canyon schon 1908 zum National Monument: "Lasst ihn, wie er ist. Der Mensch kann den Canyon nicht schöner machen. Zeitalter haben sich an ihm abgearbeitet, der Mensch kann das nur beschädigen."

Während Roosevelt Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts noch mit der Eisenbahn zum Canyon kam, nehmen viele Reisende heute die berühmte Route 66 bis nach Flagstaff. Die kleine Stadt im Bundesstaat Arizona gilt als Tor zum Grand Canyon. Von hier aus sind es noch etwa 80 Kilometer bis zum Südrand, der am besten erschlossen und das ganze Jahr für Besucher geöffnet ist. Der höher gelegene Nordrand kann nur im Sommerhalbjahr besucht werden.
Zum 100-jährigen Jubiläum als Nationalpark gibt es rund um den Grand Canyon zahlreiche Veranstaltungen. Von einer Hommage an Theodore Roosevelt in Flagstaff bis zu Beiträgen der vielen Indianerkulturen. Die Geschichte der Hopi und Navajos ist eng mit dem Grand Canyon als Lebensraum verbunden. Höhepunkt zur Sonnenwende im Juni ist ein mehrtägiges Fest für Sterngucker. Die Gestirne am nächtlichen Himmel über dem Canyon sind wegen fehlender Licht- und Luftverschmutzung dann besonders gut zu sehen.

Gefahren für das Ökosystem
Aber auch die Bedrohung der Natur wird Thema sein. Das Moratorium von Barack Obama gegen den Abbau von Uranerz im Nationalpark wollen die Republikaner unter Donald Trump wieder kippen. Dabei hat der Mensch in den letzten Jahrzehnten schon vielfältig in das Ökosystem eingegriffen. Der 1963 gebaute Glen Canyon Dam hat die Fließgeschwindigkeit und die Wassertemperatur des Colorado River verändert. Einheimische Fischarten wie der Chub, eine Karpfenart, sind vom Aussterben bedroht.

Der Colorado River ist immer noch die Schlagader des Ökosystem des Grand Canyon. Und wer nicht nur von den Rändern aus das große Naturspektakel sehen will, der sollte auch das Innere des Canyons entdecken. Entweder auf Wanderungen wie dem Bright Angel Trail hinunter an den Fluss oder mit dem Boot über den Colorado River.
Dabei ist es für Ungeübte auf jeden Fall vorteilhaft, dass der Fluss durch den Staudamm gezähmt worden ist. Steve Sanborn, der als Umweltschützer und Bootsführer oft auf dem Colorado River unterwegs ist, sagte einem Reporterteam der Tageszeitung Arizona Republic nach einer 16-tägigen Tour durch den Grand Canyon: "Mit jedem, der so etwas Ursprüngliches erleben kann, sinkt die Wahrscheinlichkeit, das wir Menschen die Natur weiter zerstören."

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Zum 100. Geburtstag des Grand Canyon National Park:

"Der Mensch kann hier nur stören", sagte US-Präsident Roosevelt.
Sein Nachfolger schuf 1919 den Grand-Canyon-Nationalpark.
Millionen Menschen besuchen ihn jährlich. Und stören.
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The secret Grand Canyon: 10 hidden gems to escape the crowds
The canyon, which turns 100 this year, sees 6 million annual visitors. An Arizona travel writer reveals how to get off the beaten track

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The Grand Canyon is already a pretty famous hole in the ground in Arizona. Now, with Grand Canyon national park celebrating its centennial in 2019, it’s receiving an additional jolt of publicity. Six million people visit each year, and if you happen to be there on a holiday weekend, it feels like you’re stuck behind all of them.
Yet here’s the thing – Grand Canyon is big, an immense tear in the earth’s fabric 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep. So it’s not hard to find privacy if you know where to look. Here are some tips to get you started.

Shoshone Point: the South Rim’s best-kept secret
How to get there: Shoshone Point is inside the national park and begins from a small parking lot on the north side of Desert View Drive, 1.2 miles east of Yaki Point
Only a few canyon visitors know the unmarked trail to Shoshone Point. Unless a “Closed” sign is posted (weddings are sometimes held here), walk down the one-mile dirt road through open forest where deer and elk graze. When the timber breaks apart, expansive canyon vistas spread before you. A narrow ridge thrusts out from the plateau, providing views in excess of 180 degrees. Enjoy this private perch far from crowds.

Desert View campground: an intimate outpost with sunsets and starry skies
How to get there: Desert View campground is located inside the park, 25 miles from the bustle of Grand Canyon Village.
Desert View puts the Grand Canyon on a personal level. Perched just yards from the yawning South Rim amid a clutch of pines, Desert View offers only 50 campsites, with no RV hook-ups. The little outpost sits 25 miles from the bustle of Grand Canyon Village but isn’t completely isolated. The campground is an easy walk from the historic Watchtower, a trading post, and snack bar – so you have some creature comforts while scandalous sunsets and star-laden skies seem to exist only for you. Desert View is open 13 April through 13 October on a first-come, first-served basis.

Grand Canyon Field Institute: find hundreds of classes and guided hikes
How to get there: Classes can be booked online or by phone and take place throughout the park.
See the canyon in brand new ways when you sign up for a Grand Canyon Field Institute outing. The Institute is part of Grand Canyon Conservancy, the non-profit partner of the national park. They conduct more than 360 classes and guided hikes each year led by expert instructors, and range from easy day hikes to photography workshops to yoga retreats to multi-day backpacks to Colorado River rafting trips.

Rim trail: miles of solitude with epic panoramas
How to get there: The Rim Trail stretches along the edge of the South Rim from Hermits Rest to South Kaibab trailhead.
This gem hides in plain sight. The 13-mile long path is mostly paved. Away from the hubbub of Grand Canyon Village, hikers enjoy soothing solitude. Find a shady spot and pick your own personal overlook to savor the epic panoramas. Don’t forget to pack a picnic lunch.

Grandview trail: an advanced hike that plunges below the rim
How to get there: Grandview is inside the park; the trail begins at Grandview Point along Desert View Drive
Experienced hikers who want to dip below the rim without encountering a stream of mules and people: try Grandview Trail. Built in 1892 by the miner Pete Berry, this engineering marvel features upper sections still braced by logs and steel rods. The trail plunges three miles in a series of cruelly steep switchbacks to the top of Horseshoe Mesa, where remnants of Berry’s Last Chance Mine can still be found.

Roosevelt Point: stunning views of the lesser-known North Rim
How to get there: Roosevelt Point is inside the park at the North Rim, located on Cape Royal Road, about halfway between Bright Angel Point and Cape Royal.
The whole North Rim is a hidden gem. Only 10% of Grand Canyon visitors make the long spectacular drive to reach this side of the Big Ditch. (The North Rim is only open 15 May though 15 October.) Those who do are rewarded with lush forests and green meadows. Cape Royal Road makes a winding scenic drive along the canyon edge. At Roosevelt Point viewpoint, folks enjoy vistas from the parking area but for the more adventurous, a slender path skirts the rim, then drops to a saddle before scrambling up to a rocky ledge. It’s a narrow neck of land, a quiet place where the canyon sprawls beneath your feet.
The whole North Rim is a hidden gem. Only 10% of Grand Canyon visitors make the long spectacular drive to reach this side of the Big Ditch. (The North Rim is only open 15 May though 15 October.) Those who do are rewarded with lush forests and green meadows. Cape Royal Road makes a winding scenic drive along the canyon edge. At Roosevelt Point viewpoint, folks enjoy vistas from the parking area but for the more adventurous, a slender path skirts the rim, then drops to a saddle before scrambling up to a rocky ledge. It’s a narrow neck of land, a quiet place where the canyon sprawls beneath your feet.

Pipe Spring national monument: discover life in the old west
How to get there: Pipe Spring national monument is outside the park, 15 miles west of Fredonia, Arizona, on State Highway 389.
An intriguing side trip when you visit the North Rim, Pipe Spring national monument is a 40-acre speck near the Utah border. The natural spring held sacred by Native Americans was discovered in 1870 by Mormon pioneers, who constructed a fort to protect the water source, and it became an important stop for weary travelers. Pipe Spring later served as a refuge for wives hiding from federal marshals enforcing anti-polygamy laws. Today the monument offers a vivid look at Native American and pioneer life in the old west.

Lees Ferry: a picturesque fort by the Colorado river
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How to get there: Lees Ferry is 43 miles west of Page, Arizona, on US Highway 89A.
Although located outside the national park, Lees Ferry marks the beginning of the Grand Canyon. Mormon leaders established a ferry here because it was one of the few places where wagons could be driven to the Colorado river. Today, it is the put-in spot for Grand Canyon rafting trips. Visitors can hike a handful of scenic trails, explore the picturesque ruins of an old fort and wander back to the oasis of Lonely Dell Ranch, the original Mormon homestead, where the orchards are heavy with fruit. Anglers come for the remarkable fly-fishing.

Little Colorado River Navajo tribal park: vistas en route to the canyon
How to get there: Little Colorado River Navajo tribal park is 12 miles west of Cameron on State Highway 64, just before reaching the east entrance of Grand Canyon national park.
Most Grand Canyon visitors arrive via the south entrance near the town of Tusayan. Those who drive to the eastern entrance at Desert View will enjoy fewer crowds and a stunning scenic drive dotted with canyon overlooks. Even before visitors reach the national park, there’s another worthwhile stop along the way. The small tribal park west of Cameron peers into the deep narrow gorge of the Little Colorado river as it crosses the Navajo Nation. Tribal members display arts and crafts here in roadside stands.

Coal Mine Canyon: The Grand’s smaller, blazingly colorful cousin
How to get there: Coal Mine Canyon lies east of Tuba City, Arizona. Specific directions are revealed with the purchase of a permit from the Navajo Nation.
A much smaller canyon, albeit one that bursts with color, lies east of the mighty Grand. Coal Mine Canyon straddles the Navajo and Hopi reservations east of Tuba City. Multihued spires, columns and hoodoos punctuate the defile. Named for a thin seam of coal near the top that was mined as needed by tribal members, the canyon offers no amenities. Visitors must be accompanied by a Hopi guide (tours can be arranged by phone or email) or have a permit from the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation department. The closest permit location is the tribal visitor center in Cameron.

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Dritter Todesfall in zwei Wochen
Mann stürzt im Grand Canyon in den Tod

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Jährlich reisen Millionen Touristen zum Grand Canyon in den USA. Nun ist ein 67-Jähriger von einem der Aussichtspunkte in die Tiefe gestürzt. Es ist nicht der erste Todesfall in jüngster Zeit.

Im Grand Canyon im US-Bundesstaat Arizona ist ein Mann in den Tod gestürzt, der dritte Todesfall in dem Nationalpark binnen zwei Wochen. Der 67-Jährige stürzte von einem Aussichtspunkt am sogenannten South Rim (südlichen Rand) in die Tiefe, wie die Nationalparkbehörde mitteilte. Der Leichnam wurde 120 Meter unterhalb des Aussichtspunkts gefunden und geborgen. Medienberichten zufolge handelt es sich bei dem Opfer um einen Mann aus Kalifornien.

Erst am 26. März war am Grand Canyon eine Leiche gefunden worden, die Ermittlungen zur Todesursache laufen. Zwei Tage später stürzte ein 50 Jahre alter Tourist aus Hongkong in die Tiefe, als er Fotos machen wollte.

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