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Grand Canyon National Park

A jewel in America's national park system, the Grand Canyon extends its incomparable majesty for more than 200 miles across the desert highlands of northern Arizona. Designated a national park on February 26, 1919, the Grand Canyon is one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World. There are 5 main points-of-interest to see, each several miles from the other:

• South Rim
• North Rim
• Toroweap
• Skywalk
• Havasu Falls

Flagstaff and Page, AZ, and Kanab, UT, are key gateway cities for people visiting this national park. The Grand Canyon's North Rim is relatively close to Zion, Bryce and Lake Powell and fits nicely into a multi-park tour. Most commercial Grand Canyon tours originate in Las Vegas, which is the closest major city.

This majestic chasm of vermillion cliffs, purple abysses, golden temples and rushing waters ranks among the most astonishing landscapes on earth. The reaction of people when they look over the Canyon's edge runs from fear to awe to reverie to delight. "I fainted when I saw that awful-looking canyon," sniffed one 19th Century tourist. "I never wanted a drink so bad in my life. Goodbye." A little less dumbstruck and a little more love-struck was the poet Carl Sandburg, who described the drama of a Grand Canyon sunset: "There goes God with an army of banners."

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