1. Photographer’s Paradise: Desert View Campground
Wake up early to take pictures with the pros at Desert View Point, and enjoy the South Rim’s best sunrise just a stone’s throw from your tent. Open mid-May through mid-October.
2. Last minute: Ten-X
This Kaibab National Forest Service campground is set in a ponderosa pine forest 2 miles south of Tusayan and close to the south entrance to the national park. Sites are generally open and many are available on a first come, first served basis. Arrive early in summer to claim a good site. Closed in winter.
3. Hikers Launching Point: Mather Campground
Located in the heart of Grand Canyon Village, Mather is close to the most popular South Rim trailheads. It is an ideal place to wake up and get an early start on your trek. For a quiet tent camping site, choose the “generator free zone” on Pine Loop Road. Reservations go fast in the summer, but sites are often open in winter and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
4. Most Isolated: Fence Point
Drive out along Forest Service roads for open camping in Kaibab National Forest and skirting the national park boundaries of the North Rim. Fence Point is one of a handful of Grand Canyon North Rim overlook points that offer primitive and private camping, plus rim-side views and access to the Rainbow Rim single track trail. A four-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle necessary. Consult the Kaibab Visitor Center in Jacob Lake for information and directions. Open mid-May through mid-October.
5. Coolest: DeMotte Campground
Perched at 9,000 feet elevation, Demotte, is a Kaibab National Forest campground that is located just north of Grand Canyon North Rim. The alpine meadow area has pleasant day-time temperatures and cool nights even during the peak of summer. This is the coolest place to be on July 4th, but arrive early to get a site.
