Plan Around Explorers
A good stop is not just something to read about. Once it belongs on the day, move into a saved trip and build the route around it.
Use this detail page to confirm that the stop is worth it, then carry that decision into a trip draft while the park context is still fresh.
Explorers Details
John Wesley Powell is the explorer most commonly associated with the Grand Canyon, but Powell didn't discover the canyon, nor did any other European adventurer. That credit goes to the Native Americans who first arrived here around 4,000 years ago. The first Europeans to lay eyes on the canyon were in a party led by Capt. Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, who was under orders from Spanish conquistador Coronado to find the fabled lost city of gold. Led by Hopi guides, the Spaniards documented their visit to the canyon in 1540. No other Europeans would see the canyon for more than two centuries, when Spanish priests and soldiers arrived around the time of the American Revolution. Fifty years later, the first Americans began to encounter the canyon as they searched for places to cross the Colorado River and ways to navigate the river towards the west. In 1869 and 1871, Powell -- a one-armed soldier, explorer, and geologist -- led a pair of important expeditions by boat down the Colorado River, successfully navigating the Grand Canyon -- the first Europeans to do so.
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Nearby Parks Around Explorers
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Explorers
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Jessie Benton Fremont
An early advocate of the Park, without her work behind the scenes, Yosemite might not exist today.
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ZERO LANDFILL IN THE PARKS:
THE YOSEMITE, GRAND TETON AND DENALI PROGRAM
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30-Minute Helicopter Ride
Fly rim-to-rim in a half-hour.
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50-Minute Airplane Tour
The ultimate Canyon airplane tour.
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50-Minute Helicopter Tour
Offering aerial tours of the North and South Rims as well as the Grand Canyon's East Rim.
