Halkeye Loc: Sandiego, CA.

It.s official,
Booked my stay at the Grand Canyon hotel and rail trip on Sept 9. Hope there is no rain.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

If there's rain, make sure you take photos of rainbows. Have a great trip!

Halkeye Loc: Sandiego, CA.

Got my rain covers .Going to be A round rip to Michigan from SanDiego on Amtrak.

Halkeye Loc: Sandiego, CA.

TRIP.

cdayton

Don’t TRIP at the Canyon. Every year or so some tourist climbs over the barrier to take a selfie (or whatever) and falls into the Canyon - usually not a good result. Enjoy your visit. There should be a good weather on the south rim (7000 ft) but still snow on the north rim (8000 ft).

Wilderness Images Loc: Apache Junction, AZ.

If it should ran at all, they are usually brief and quickly pass, but they bring with them, the cloud formations where the sun blasts through creating those unusual photos. Personally, I would welcome some rain and overcast.

Jack Olson

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Take lots of pics, no matter what the weather turns out to be!! Bad weather photo's can be wonderful in their own right!

Stay safe, have a great trip!!

LEO74 Loc: Bronx, New York

The rain passes, brings dramatic skies, also clears away a lot of the haze of the Canyon. Enjoy.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

About 3 years ago we and two other couples did all that NP stuff in the west. We rented a van and had a great time. The trip ended in California. They flew back to the city. We opted to take Amtrack. We had a sleeper/bathroom compartment. Well worth the extra money. We had a wonderful time on the train. I think in total about three days. Could have been four.

Fotoserj Loc: St calixte Qc Ca

I will definitely stay on site for at least two night on my next visit, and look into train rides

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

So you're going on the Southwest Ltd? I rode from South Bend to San Diego a couple of years ago. You can get some really good views from the lounge car {not as good as the pre-Amtrak dome car, though}; I also discovered that the rear door of the rear car makes a really nifty window. One of the highlights for me was the climb up to Raton Pass and the tunnel at the top.
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-434756-1.html

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

There is a great book available at the gift shop called: "Over the edge" death at the Grand Canyon" - written by one of the park historians. It is divided into three parts - one is about those who have leaped or fallen (or drove their car) into the canyon, one is about deaths while river rafting, and one is a section on death due to heat/exposure/dehydration. It is one of the best treatises on that subject I have ever read. In the summer the temperature in the canyon never gets below 100 degrees, and the average hiker needs 1 to 2 GALLONS of water daily. So any hike must be carefully planned around available water. Getting off on the wrong trail can quickly lead to dehydration and death.

My kids had found a book at Yellowstone a few years before called "Death at Yellowstone" (idiots playing with the bison, deadly grizzly encounters, and Darwin-award winners who thought the boiling pools of water would be like a hot tub....) and when we went to the GC they immediately wanted to see if there was a similarly entertaining book about the Grand Canyon - they were not disappointed!

GAS496 Loc: Arizona

I feel obligated to respond. Many of the people answering you post are correct. You should pray for rain. The Canyon without adverse weather be it rain, heavy clouds, fog, or snow is just to difficult to make dramatic photos.

While it is spectacular as you stand there in awe it simply does not translate into a photo unless you have the weather. I know I have been there many times. I have one great photo and yes it has big puffy clouds with the sun beams shining through. All others pale in comparison.

Took photos while on a seven day raft trip down the Colorado River through the heart of the canyon, while hiking rim-to-rim (25.2 miles), camping for days on the North Rim shooting with my 8x10 large format camera, on a helicopter ride over the Canyon and even on a mule ride down. Even after all this I only have a handful of photos worthy of printing.

So the bottom line is if Mother Nature does not provide you with some adverse weather try to minimize the amount of sky in your frame and don’t look to capture the entire canyon. Look for pieces of it with the edge in the foreground.

Just my two cents learned the hard way. Just as I did traveling to Tucson many times to photograph San Xavier del Bac with no clouds. I have a box of them with no clouds. But I do have two award winners with great monsoon clouds covering up that stark Arizona sky. Hope this helps since you are traveling a long way to get here and I want you to bring home the best shots possible.

EliotN

To the extent your health and fitness allows, walk down the trails part way. The vista changes with every step and you actually have to go about 1/2 way down to even see the river

LEO74 Loc: Bronx, New York

Hope for rain then clearing.

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