The Grand Canyon
A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses through its immense size. Unique combinations of geologic color and erosional forms decorate a canyon that is 277 river miles (446km) long, up to 18 miles (29km) wide, and a mile (1.6km) deep.
Although first afforded Federal protection in 1893 as a Forest Reserve and later as a National Monument, Grand Canyon did not achieve National Park status until 1919, three years after the creation of the National Park Service. Today Grand Canyon National Park receives close to five million visitors each year - a far cry from the annual visitation of 44,173 which the park received in 1919.
The oldest human artifacts found are nearly 12,000 years old and date to the Paleo-Indian period. There has been continuous use and occupation of the park since that time.
The park has recorded over 4,800 archeological resources with an intensive survey of nearly 3% of the park area.
Archeological remains from the following culture groups are found in Grand Canyon National Park: Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Basketmaker, Ancestral Puebloan (Kayenta and Virgin branches), Cohonina, Cerbat, Pai, Zuni, Hopi, Navajo, and Euro-American.
Find more information at the Grand Canyon National Park web site.
Click City for course information
Things To Do | South Rim Restaurants | North Rim Restaurants |
South Rim Lodging | North Rim Lodging
Things To Do at the Grand Canyon
Activities Overview
At any time of year, whether you come for a day or the week, you'll find more than enough to fill your hours. From Bicycling, Bird Watching & Wildlife Viewing, Camping & Backpacking, Fishing, Hiking - 100+ miles of premier hiking trails, Historical Sites, Museums & Galleries, Mule Rides & Trips, Nature Walks, Stargazing - Grand Canyon National Park is famous for it's night skies, and much more. Click here for a few suggestions to include on your itinerary while visiting Grand Canyon National Park.
Phantom Ranch Canteen
Looking for a unique dining experience? Trying eating at Phantom Ranch Canteen at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Located at Phantom Ranch, the Canteen offers hearty breakfasts, sack lunches, and dinner choices of hiker's stew, vegetarian or steak dinners to adventurous travelers who journey to the bottom of the Canyon. Advance reservations are required and there are specific seating times for breakfast and dinner. Vegetarian and steak dinners are served for the early dinner seating and stew is served for the late seating. Open all year.
South Rim Restaurants
Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. offers every choice in dining from family style in our cafeterias to the casually elegant El Tovar Dining Room. Each restaurant features a varied menu, with daily specials. You will find the perfect meal for your needs right here inside the park. Following is a brief summary of our dining options.
To contact us regarding dining at the Grand Canyon, please call 928.638.2631 or visit their web site at www.grandcanyonlodges.com
El Tovar Dining Room
Located in the El Tovar Hotel. An extensive menu with elegant fare and chef's specials served in a warm, inviting setting. Serves breakfast, lunch and dinner year-round. For dinner reservations, call 928.638.2631.
El Tovar Lounge
Enjoy a light meal and cool beverage in this rustic room and the adjoining veranda, which offers spectacular canyon views. Located in the El Tovar Hotel. Open year-round. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. daily.
Arizona Room
Located just east of the Bright Angel Lodge. Features hand-cut steaks, poultry and seafood in a casual western setting. A full bar is available. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Closed January and February for dinner and November through February for lunch. Inquire concerning groups of 20 or more for the breakfast or lunch buffet. Seating offered on a first-come, first-served basis and a waitlist is available.
Bright Angel Restaurant
Located at the Bright Angel Lodge. An informal dining room with bar service featuring Southwest-inspired meals. Open year-round for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hours may vary seasonally. Meals are served on a first-come, first-served basis, a wait list is available. Learn more about dining at Bright Angel.
Bright Angel Fountain
Located near the Bright Angel gift shop and trailhead. Features hot dogs, sandwiches, ice cream beverages and snacks. Open seasonally and hours vary.
Bright Angel Bar
Located at the Bright Angel Lodge. Informal atmosphere and open all year. Bright Angel Bar is a non-smoking facility.
Canyon Coffee House
Located in the Bright Angel Lodge, the Canyon Coffee House provides a quick alternative for those on the go. Enjoy a cup of our specialty shade-grown organic coffee, espresso, or cappuccino. A selection of fresh continental breakfast items is also available. Open seasonally, hours vary.
Maswik Cafeteria
At Maswik Lodge, features cafeteria-style dining in a food court setting. Offering sandwiches and multi-national foods. Open year-round for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Box lunches are available for visitors on the go.
Canyon Cafe at Yavapai Lodge
At Yavapai Lodge, menu items range from soup and grilled items to fried chicken dinners, pizza and more. Open seasonally for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Box lunches are available for visitors on the go. Hours may vary seasonally.
Phantom Ranch Canteen
Located at Phantom Ranch, the Canteen offers hearty breakfasts, sack lunches, and dinner choices of hiker's stew, vegetarian or steak dinners to adventurous travelers who journey to the bottom of the Canyon. Advance reservations are required and there are specific seating times for breakfast and dinner. Vegetarian and steak dinners are served for the early dinner seating and stew is served for the late seating. Open all year.
Hermits Rest Snack Bar
Located east along the South Rim eight miles from the Grand Canyon Village historic district. Access by park shuttle only March through December or year-round by hiking or Xanterra bus.
Desert View Trading Post Cafeteria
Located 26 miles east of Grand Canyon Village at Desert View. A self-service cafeteria offering hot and cold sandwiches, pizza and more. Hours vary seasonally. Open 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the summer and 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the winter.
North Rim Restaurants
Grand Canyon Lodge Dining Room
Perched along the North Rim, with expansive windows overlooking spectacular vistas, the North Rim Lodge at Grand Canyon offers exceptional, memorable dining experiences, first-come-first-served, complete with sunrises and sunsets, and hearty western fare.
Grand Cookout Experience
For the fist time ever, visitors to the Grand Canyon North Rim for the 2008 season will have a new nightly dining experience, that will provide an alternative to the main dining room in the lodge. The 'Grand Cookout Experience' will provide a fun, cook-out style meal in a delightful setting 'under the stars', a short distance from the main lodge.
Deli in the Pines, within the Lodge complex, offers quick meals.
In addition to the dining room, the North Rim Lodge at Grand Canyon offers food and beverages in The Roughrider Saloon and The Coffee Saloon. Convenience items are available at The Camper Store.
The Roughrider Saloon, located in the North Rim Lodge at Grand Canyon, is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily and serves beverage, snacks and appetizers.
The Coffee Saloon, located in the Roughrider Saloon, provides gourmet coffee and pastries 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily.
The Camper Store, located adjacent to the campground, offers snacks, groceries, convenience items, camping supplies, clothing and gifts and is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily.
South Rim Lodging
There are a variety of accommodations from seven distinctly different Grand Canyon lodging properties, all in the park. If you're traveling in your recreational vehicle there are facilities at Trailer Village.
Click here for more information.
El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar Hotel, the premier lodging facility at the Grand Canyon, opened its doors in 1905 and was most recently renovated in 2005.
In the past, the Hotel has hosted such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Western author Zane Grey, and many others.
Today, El Tovar retains its elegant charm. Located on the Canyon rim, it features a fine dining room (open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner), lounge and curio shop with newsstand. El Tovar offers its guests Concierge, turn-down and room service and is a Registered National Historic Landmark.
El Tovar Hotel has 78 rooms and suites, all with cable television, telephone, full bath and air conditioning. Standard rooms have one double, one queen, or two queen beds. Deluxe rooms have either two queens or one king bed. Suites have a bedroom with either two queens or one king bed, and a sitting room, and some of the suites have a porch or balcony.
All rooms are non-smoking. Some rooms and suites will accommodate a rollaway bed, which would be subject to availability and cannot be reserved.
El Tovar has free, self-parking. Room service is available during limited hours.
Lodging at El Tovar may be booked well in advance but cancellations do occur. Visit during the winter months for best availability.
Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins
Bright Angel Lodge, designed in 1935, has a natural, rustic character, and is a Registered National Historic Landmark.
Designed by famed architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (Mary E. J. Colter), it has always been a popular place to stay and the center of South Rim activity. Located just a few feet from the Canyon rim, Bright Angel Lodge is the check-in point for the world famous Grand Canyon Mule Rides.
Bright Angel Lodge has a family-style restaurant, which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Another option for lunch and dinner, the Arizona Room features Southwestern cuisine.
During the warm summer months, the lodge offers an old-fashioned ice cream fountain. You will find a transportation/tours/activities desk in the lobby, as well as a gift shop, lounge, and history room.
Accommodations consist of lodge rooms (TV not available, some without a private bath) and cabin rooms (all with television and private bath). All rooms are equipped with telephone and most have only one bed. Please note rooms with Canyon views cannot be guaranteed. All rooms are non-smoking rooms.
Kachina Lodge
Conveniently located between El Tovar and Bright Angel Lodge, Kachina is a contemporary lodge.
Located on the Canyon rim, half of the rooms at the Kachina Lodge have partial canyon views. All of the rooms are ideally suited for families. Rooms have two queen beds or one king bed, in-room coffee, refrigerator, safe, television, telephone, and full bath. Rooms designed for guests with physical disabilities are available.
This lodge offers easy walking access to the dining facilities at either El Tovar or Bright Angel Lodge.
Guests staying at the Kachina Lodge check in at El Tovar. Please note rooms with Canyon views cannot be guaranteed. All rooms are non-smoking rooms.
Thunderbird Lodge
Conveniently located between El Tovar and Bright Angel Lodge, Thunderbird is a contemporary lodge.
Located on the Canyon rim, half of the rooms at the Thunderbird Lodges have partial canyon views. All of the rooms are ideally suited for families. Rooms have two queen beds or one king bed, in-room coffee, refrigerator, safe, television, telephone, and full bath. Rooms designed for guests with physical disabilities are available.
This lodge offers easy walking access to the dining facilities at either El Tovar or Bright Angel Lodge.
Guests staying at the Thunderbird Lodge check in at Bright Angel Lodge. Please note rooms with Canyon views cannot be guaranteed. All rooms are non-smoking rooms.
Maswik Lodge
Maswik Lodge is a modern facility spread over several acres of ponderosa pine forest, located just 1/4 mile from the canyon's edge.
Maswik Lodge features a cafeteria that is open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Here you will also find a sports bar with a wide screen TV, a curio shop stocked with handicrafts and gifts, and a transportation/activities desk.
Maswik South rooms are motel-style rooms with two queen beds, a full bath, telephone, and television. Room sizes vary somewhat between the north and south sections of the lodge.
North section rooms are more spacious than those in the south section and feature in-room coffee, refrigerator, air conditioning, safe, cable TV, telephone, and two queen-size beds or one king-size bed. Roll-away beds are available on a first come first serve basis.
During the summer months Maswik Lodge also features cabins for a more rustic accommodation. These cabins are also equipped with television and telephone services.
The cabins have two queen-size or two double beds, ceiling fan and a shower. Rooms for guests with disabilities are available.
All rooms are non-smoking rooms. Open year-round.
Yavapai Lodge
Yavapai Lodge is Grand Canyon National Park Lodges' largest facility and is surrounded by pinyon and juniper woodlands, about 1/2 mile from the rim.
With modern rooms and many services within a few steps, this is a convenient choice for families.
Yavapai East offers 198 rooms with in-room air conditioning, coffee, and refrigerator. Yavapai West offers 160 rooms that are not air conditioned but feature vaulted ceilings with ceiling fans. The Lodge is located next to the Market Plaza, which includes a general store, bank, and U.S. Post Office. The National Park Service Visitor Center is within a short walk - approximately 1/2 mile.
You will also find a coin-operated laundry within 1/2 mile of the lodge.
Yavapai Lodge features the Canyon Cafe that is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The curio shop has a wide range of gifts and a transportation / activities desk is located in the lobby. Most rooms offer two queen beds and there are also rooms with one king bed at Yavapai East. All rooms are non-smoking rooms and have television and telephone.
Phantom Ranch
Phantom Ranch is a comfortable oasis nestled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
It is tucked in beside Bright Angel Creek on the north side of the Colorado River and is the only lodging facility below the Canyon rim.
The Ranch can only be reached by mule, by foot, or by rafting the Colorado River and is a popular stop-over point for hikers and mule riders traveling to the bottom of the Canyon via the famous Bright Angel or Kaibab trails. Open year-round.
The ranch was designed by architect Mary E. J. Colter and completed in 1922. The rustic cabins and main lodge are built of wood and native stone and do not intrude on the natural beauty and solitude of the setting. Overnight accommodations at Phantom Ranch consist of dormitory spaces and cabins. Cabins and dormitories are heated and utilize evaporative cooling during the summer months.
Dormitories are separate for women and men -- each has ten bunk beds, a shower, and restroom.
Phantom Ranch offers eleven unique, rustic cabins. Each is furnished with a set of bunk beds, all bedding, cold water sink, toilet, liquid soap, and towels. Showers are provided at a central location.
Cabin accommodations at Phantom Ranch are included with the overnight mule trips, while dormitory-style lodging is available to backpackers. A National Park Service campground is also located nearby and requires a backcountry permit. A backcountry permit is NOT required for people staying in Phantom Ranch dorms or cabins.
Also popular is the Phantom Ranch Canteen where meals, beverages, and sundries are available for adventurous travelers who journey to the bottom of the Canyon. Meals MUST be reserved well in advance of your descent. Mule trips do include a lunch on the way down, steak dinner that night and a breakfast the next morning before the ride out. Hikers need to reserve meals separately and well in advance.
Be sure to make lodging and dining reservations at Phantom Ranch as far in advance as possible. We recommend that all meals be reserved at the same time room reservations are made.
Reservations are accepted for stays up to 13 months in advance. On the first of each month, we will begin accepting reservations for the entire month of the following year. For example, on September 1, 2007, reservations through September 30, 2008 are accepted.
Phantom Ranch is extremely popular and advance reservations are strongly recommended..
Phantom Ranch is not available for online reservations, however we are happy to process your request via our Reservation Request form. Please be sure to include a billing address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address to expedite a response. Remember to always provide complete information on any correspondence.
Please note that on the first of each month, our staff's priority is directed to answering phone calls. Therefore the Reservation Request Forms, e-mails or faxes are not recommended when requesting reservations at Phantom Ranch on the first of the month.
Trailer Village
Trailer Village, only 1/2 mile from the rim of the Canyon and located inside the National Park, offers pull-through, paved sites with full hookups for Recreational Vehicles up to 50 feet in length.
Each site features a picnic table, barbecue grill, 30 and 50 amp electrical service, cable TV, and water and sewage hook-ups. Camper Services is nearby offering coin-operated showers, laundry facilities, vending machines, and telephones. Trailer Village is open all year.
The Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn
The Grand Canyon's only Resort Hotel: Grand Canyon Lodging with royal treatment at a reasonable price that's what's in store at the Grand Canyon Squire Resort.
1-800-622-6966
Red Feather Lodge
Come to the perfect Grand Canyon hotel to relax!
Ideally situated in the center of Tusayan, a small town one mile from the south entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park, this Grand Canyon South Rim hotel offers deluxe hotel accommodations (built in 1995) or standard motel accommodations in the adjacent original lodge. When you stay at the Red Feather Lodge, you'll be just 8 miles from some of the most spectacular vistas on Earth.
800-538-2345
The Grand Hotel
The newest hotel in the Grand Canyon Area, the Grand Hotel sits on the south rim of the Grand Canyon, two miles from the park entrance.
1-888-63GRAND
Canyon Plaza Quality Inn
The Quality Inn and Suites is located 10 minutes from the rim of the Grand Canyon, 5 minutes from the entrance to the Grand Canyon Park and the Grand Canyon Airport.
928-638-2673
North Rim Lodging
There are a variety of accommodations from seven distinctly different Grand Canyon lodging properties, all in the park. If you're traveling in your recreational vehicle there are facilities at Trailer Village.
Click here for more information.
North Rim Lodge
Here, at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, you can best experience the grandest of canyons. Here, you can experience the canyon's colors, shadows and formations in quiet reflection and repose.
Stay at the North Rim Lodge at Grand Canyon, the only lodging inside the National Park on the North Rim. Located at Bright Angel Point, the Lodge was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Here you can enjoy the quiet serenity of the North Rim while enjoying comfortable guest rooms and cabins.
Accommodations at North Rim Lodge at Grand Canyon consist of Frontier cabins, Western and larger Pioneer cabins, located close to the rim, as well as some motel rooms, located within an easy walking distance from the canyon rim.
877-386-4383
Jacob Lake Inn
Grand Canyon, North Rim is a scenic 44 mile drive from Jacob Lake Inn. Built in 1923, Jacob Lake Inn is nestled in the towering pines of the Kaibab National Forest. Jacob Lake has complete facilities for the traveler and features cozy cabins and convenient motel accommodations perfect for any size family or group. Located at the junction of US 89A and SR 67, we are the gateway to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is a short 45 minute drive away. Centrally located for visits to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and more, Jacob Lake Inn is the perfect basecamp for anyone wishing to tour the beautiful sights of the Southwest. We're open year-round!
928-643-7232
Kaibab Lodge
Accommodations near the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park
Kaibab Lodge is in the heart of the North Kaibab National Forest just five miles from the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park's north rim. Built "about 1926-1927", the lodge is said by some to have once been a working cattle ranch. Now, it's a quiet place where people come to see deer, wild turkey, the unique Kaibab squirrel, a variety of wild birds, or to visit the national park. At 8,770 feet above sea level, the lodge is cool when the surrounding desert is hot. Open from mid-May through November 2 annually, in accordance with the North Rim's park operation.
928-638-2389
The closest town to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is Fredonia, Arizona and it has some budget accommodations.
Juniper Lodge
928.643.7752
Grand Canyon Motel
928.643.7646
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