Driving From Las Vegas to Grand Canyon South Rim By Car

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The drive from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon South Rim by car is approximately 4 hours long. You pass through the barren desert landscapes of Nevada into much greener pine forests in the mid northern region of Arizona. This was the first part of our 2 week road trip of the Grand Circle!

It’s actually quite an easy drive on the highway, and it is possible to drive there and back to Las Vegas in a day (although it would be a long one!). Also if you’re not up to driving yourself and only have a day, you can go on a bus tour from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon as well.

The Grand Canyon has so much to explore and see however, that I highly recommend driving yourself and spending a few days there. You can easily rent a car from the airport in Las Vegas, which is what we did for this trip. So anyway, here’s what the drive was like, and some stops you should definitely check out along the way!

Places to stop between Las Vegas and Grand Canyon South Rim

During our road trip, we made a total of 3 stops inbetween Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon: Hoover Dam, Kingman for lunch, and Williams(where we stayed overnight) on Route 66. Below are details of those places and more that you can check out!

Las Vegas to the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and Boulder City

Driving Time: 30 minutes

Hoover Dam view from the bridge
View of the Dam from the Memorial Bridge

When visiting Las Vegas and driving to the Grand Canyon, you have to make the Hoover Dam your first stop!

Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam are located in Boulder City, Nevada. It’s a nice small town, and has a little historic section with restaurants and shops if you want to get something to eat. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and the Hoover Dam are just minutes away.

Also, if you’re flying into Las Vegas and don’t want to stay in the big city, Boulder City is a great quieter alternative close by with many choices of hotels & motels, etc!

The Hoover Dam has a lot of history behind it which affects so many locations in the area. I highly recommend stopping at a few of the places listed below. And if you’re into history, this is a good book to read that tells you all about the Hoover Dam’s creation.

Places to check out in Boulder City:

  • Boulder City Hoover Dam Museum – which is free and has a lot of interesting facts on the dam and the area.
  • Lake Mead National Recreation Area – Park of the National Park system, so there’s a fee to get in by the lake, but the visitor’s center is free and there are plenty of activities including boating, fishing, hiking trails, even swimming!
  • Hemenway Park – A little green park with some shade trees, great place to stop for a picnic and maybe catch sight of some Big Horn Sheep!
  • Hoover Dam Visitor’s Center– If you have a few hours to spend, you can stop here and go to the museum and take a tour, or drive across the dam and walk around. The parking lot close to the visitor’s center has a $10 parking fee however, and it’s $10 to get into the visitor’s center, plus $15 for a tour ticket.
  • Hoover Dam Bridge – If you want to see a great view of the Hoover Dam for free, and make just a quick stop along your way, then definitely go for a walk on the bridge!
Big Horn Sheep at Hemenway Park
Big Horn Sheep at Hemenway Park, and Lake Mead in the background.
Lake Mead Marina from an overlook.
Lake Mead Marina from overlook

The scenery is quite unique on the whole drive and constantly changing-be sure to take a good travel camera with you to capture all the sights!

Hoover Dam to Kingman, Arizona

Driving time: 1:40

The drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon South Rim by car passes through the Arizona/Nevada landscape near the Hoover Dam.
Nevada and Arizona landscape near the Hoover Dam

After the Hoover Dam you’ll be driving across the bridge into Arizona. The landscape in and around the Nevada/Arizona border was very mountainous with little vegetation. It looked like big piles of dirt at a construction site to me, although I’m from the east where everything is green! There really aren’t many stops from here until you get to Kingman (in fact I only remember seeing one gas station), so be sure to fill up before you go.

Kingman is one of the 2 main stops along the way to the Grand Canyon. It’s where we stopped for lunch and a small break. We ate a quick meal at a fast food place near a gas station and other small stores. It was pretty packed with a lot of tourists and people coming from LA and Las Vegas. There were also the big Chinese tour buses which are seemingly omnipresent as you make your way to the Canyon.

A view of part of the Colorado River
A view of part of the Colorado River
A small store on the road side off I-93.
A small store on the road side off I-93 before getting to Kingman.

As we continued on, the view kept changing. Slowly getting greener with some small trees & shrubs now, and more color on the mountain sides as well.

Kingman, Arizona
Kingman, Arizona

Kingman to Williams, Arizona and Route 66

Drive time via Interestate 40: 1:40
Drive time via Route 66: 2:20

Driving to Williams, Arizona. Peacock Wash
Scenery on Interestate 40

Another iconic stop on your way from Las Vegas to the south rim of the Grand Canyon is Route 66. You can either choose to drive a portion of it, or just stop in the town of Williams like we did.

The town of Kingman is where you can gain access to and drive along Route 66 as an alternative to the main highway until you reach Williams, Arizona. It will take longer however, by about 40 minutes, but if you’re not in a hurry and want to drive a part of the famous route, this is a place you can do it! We decided to stay on the highway however, since we got a later start and wanted a bit of extra time to explore the town of Williams, Arizona, which is also on Route 66 and where we’d be spending the night.

The drive on the highway to Williams was easy. There was a decent amount of traffic, but nothing crazy. I thought as we got closer to Williams and the Grand Canyon it would start getting more desert looking, more red rocks-like those you see in pictures of the Canyon. But it didn’t. It got greener. We were entering the Kaibab National Forest as I later found out!

Highlights from Kingman to Williams:

  • Drive on Route 66 – will take you about 2:20 mins vs. 1:40 on Interstate 40.
  • Visit Williams on Route 66! – Williams really is a great small town to visit with lots of shops and restaurants. It’s also good to spend the night here as all the places are MUCH cheaper than what you can find at the Grand Canyon. And there are a lot of choices(hotels, motels, even a hostel)! The Grand Canyon Rail line also leaves here-if you love trains you can park your car and take a train ride to the Grand Canyon!
  • The Kaibab National Forest – which is found all around the Grand Canyon, and the Flagstaff/Williams area. In fact the word “kaibab” comes from the Paiute language and is their term for the Grand Canyon, meaning “mountain lying down”. So you can think of the Kaibab National Forest as the native way of saying Grand Canyon National Forest! If you’re staying over night in Williams, there’s hiking around this area, like up Bill Williams Mountain, just near the town, which is a part of the San Fransisco Peaks.
Driving to Williams, Arizona from Las Vegas
The road ahead, always constant changing scenery!
Williams Arizona, Gateway to the Grand Canyon
Entering Williams, Arizona
Old car on Route 66 in Williams
Old car on Route 66 in Williams

Williams, Arizona on Route 66 to the Grand Canyon South Rim

Driving time: 1 hour

Driving to the Grand Canyon South Rim.
Just low lying, easy hills, and flat fields dotted with trees.

Going from Williams, Arizona, to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a super easy drive-just straight north on Route 64 for 1 hour! The landscape again surprised me, as whenever I saw pictures of the Grand Canyon, it would be filled with reddish brown rocks, and maybe a little green vegetation here and there. So I was thinking there would definitely be a lot of red rocks all around here, right? Nope! Instead it was what looked like a pine forest and fairly vegetated plains or grassland. But, that made it all the more interesting!

Towns in between Williams and the Grand Canyon are:

  • Valle – which includes an Airplane Museum, a couple gas stations and places to stay, and… Bedrock! Yabba Dabba Do!!! We just drove by and didn’t stop to see it though, it looked a little outdated as well and maybe in need of some fix ups, but apparently there’s a diner, RV park, and little Flintstones like buildings around.
  • Tusayan – about 15 mins. south of the Grand Canyon entrance. Tusayan has a lot of places to stay at, unlike Valle. However, they can get full quick unless you book ahead in advance. But, it is an alternative place to stay if you can’t find a vacancy directly in the park and want to remain close by.
Distant Mountain on the way to the grand canyon.
Kaibab National Forest Sign
This land is located in the Kaibab National Forest.
Mountain near Grand Canyon
Bedrock near the Grand Canyon South Rim.
Bedrock!
Entering the town of Tusayan.
Grand Canyon South Rim entrance, straight ahead!

Don’t forget, if you’re entering the main part of the park there will be an entrance fee per vehicle. You can also get an annual pass which I recommend if you’ll be visiting multiple National Parks as it’s a lot cheaper in the long run!

The Grand Canyon, Mather Point
And finally arrived! What a beautiful site at the end of a long journey!

For a great place to have your first peak at the Grand Canyon and to see the view in this picture above, I recommend stopping at Mather Point, right near the main visitor’s center.

You can also continue driving west on Desert View Drive and visit the Tusayan Ruins and museum, or the Desert View Watchtower for another amazing view of the canyon. Have fun, spend a few days and tour all you can in the Grand Canyon!

Grand Canyon Guidebooks:

These are a few good books to check out before you get to the Grand Canyon:

Need to rent a car for the trip from Las Vegas? Check out prices on car rentals!


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31 thoughts on “Driving From Las Vegas to Grand Canyon South Rim By Car”

  1. Hi! Thank you for very informative piece! I have a question about the rental car: did you return it back in Vegas? Thank you!

    Reply
  2. This is wonderful information! Thank you!

    I’m planning to fly into LV and then drive to the Grand Canyon. Also was hoping to go to Antelope Canyon. Is that possible? If so where best to stay between the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon? Any advice is welcome and appreciated!

    Reply
    • Hi, glad the info’s been helpful to you! So Antelope Canyon is about 2.5hrs away from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I really wouldn’t recommend staying “in-between” those to places, but instead to spend a few days staying at the South Rim, and then either take a day trip up to Antelope, OR to spend a night in Page, AZ, which is the closest town to Antelope canyon. Lake Powell is also right there which could be fun to explore, and if you have more time even drive a bit further and see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon too!

      Reply
  3. Thank you for your quick response. If you have more information about Hermit Rest please provide me. I believe
    we need to take bus tour since we can’t take private car.

    Reply
  4. Excellent information. We are going to travel next to Las Vegas and we are planning to stay in Las Vegas and take tour to south rim. Since you provide us all this information, I am thinking to stay in a Williams and take a train ride to Grand Canyon. Do you know how can we go to South rim from train station? How long it takes to see South rim?

    I booked my hotel in Vegas not in a Grand Canyon. Now I see Williams is better place to stay.

    Reply
    • Hi,
      So glad the article is helpful to you! So the train that goes from Williams to the Grand Canyon does go right up to the South Rim! You can find more info on the train here, and they even have a map on their website too: https://www.thetrain.com/
      If you plan to take the train and just spend the day there, they give you 6 hours. That’s enough to walk around a little on the rim trail, or take a short walk down on Bright Angel Trail, or to take the park shuttle to a few of the other overlooks. So you’ll get a small taste of it! When we visited the South rim we drove in and spent 2 nights there-almost 2 whole days. I wish we had a 3rd day! So 6 hours might be way too short for some people, but if you’re not into hiking and just want the chance to see it, it should be ok 🙂

      Reply
  5. You get a gold star for this post. We are leaving vegas on 12 December for 2 nights at the Grand Hotel – Your post has taken the place of getting info from the visitors center so WELL DONE – excellent info

    Reply
  6. Great article and very helpful! I’m planning to fly into Vegas from Louisiana and then drive to the Grand Canyon. Now I feel better about driving and will make the stops you’ve suggested along the way. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. This is the most helpful article I have come across for driving, the duration and the details about options answers the questions I had.

    Instead of staying overnight at Williams, how about Seligman? That will get me closer to Vegas so my morning drive back will be shorter. Trying to get back so I can have full day.

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Hi,
      Thank you, I’m so glad the article has been a help to you! And yes, Seligman, also on Route 66, would be a good choice to stay at as you’re heading back to Las Vegas. It’d would be about 1:45 mins from the Grand Canyon. It’s small but there are a number of motels in town to choose from.

      Reply
    • It is safe, but you have to be extra careful and drive slow because it’s very dark in those areas. There are no overhead streetlights from the Grand Canyon to Williams, AZ(a one hour drive), and there could be animals that might jump out. So just take it easy if you do the drive and you should be ok!

      Reply
  8. Thank you! I was a bit scared as my husband and I are driving from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon south rim on a rented sedan car. Now that I see the roads are not bad an we can stay at the Williams town makes me feel much better. Also, I am pregnant, are there any parts of the park I should avoid?

    Reply
    • Hi,
      You’re welcome! I’m glad the article could help you 🙂 It really was an easy drive! As far as avoiding places in the park, there’s nothing that I’m aware of. There’s the rim trail-which is nice and paved if you want to do any walking(you don’t have to hike down the canyon to enjoy it!). You can take the shuttle bus to the western viewpoints of the park(towards hermits rest), and again most of those are paved and easy to walk out a little and view. There’s Kolob art studio, Tusayan Ruins Museum, and Desert View watchtower(which does have a lot of stairs inside so you might want to avoid that, but the view is still beautiful even if you don’t climb to the top of it). So plenty of easy going things to do!

      Reply
  9. This is a great review – we are doing this trip in October and your review is exactly what I was looking for – simple but to the point – easy to follow steps getting us from Vegas to the National Park. We are travelling over from Ireland and I was nervous about the long drive to the Grand Canyon but now I’m really looking forward to stopping off at some of the places you mentioned – thank you.

    Reply
  10. Great post, Maura! You know, my dream is to rent an RV and make a road trip through the US, but the country is so huge that I’m afraid I wouldn’t see much of it in a month. lol
    How much time do you recommend to spend in the canyons?

    Reply
    • Oh a month..well, you will see a lot, but not everything, this country is indeed huge! We were at the Grand Canyon south rim for 2 full days(2 nights in the Grand Canyon and 1 night in Williams), and we definitely got to see a lot of the South Rim. I think one more day would have been perfect(more if you want to do some longer hikes). Other parks you’d probably be fine with 2 full days too, even 1 day(which is what we did for all the rest) was enough to get a good overview and see most of the main part of the parks!

      Reply
  11. Wow seems like there’s so much to do on not a long drive! You got some amazing shots – I’d love to shoot some of the landscape in Arizona! Fab post 🙂

    Reply

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