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Desert View Campground

Beauty Privacy Spaciousness Quiet Security Cleanliness

KEY INFORMATION

CONTACT: 928-638-7888, nps.gov/grca

OPEN: Mid-April–mid-October

SITES: 50

EACH SITE HAS: Picnic table, fire ring

ASSIGNMENT: First-come, first-served; no reservations

REGISTRATION: On-site with credit card at automated fee station

AMENITIES: Flush toilets, water spigots, trash, recycling, campground host; gas and general store nearby

PARKING: At campsites

FEE: $12/night, plus $35/week park-entrance fee

ELEVATION: 7,463'

RESTRICTIONS:

PETS: On leash only; prohibited below rim, in park lodging, or on park buses. There is a kennel at South Rim, reservations recommended. Pets are prohibited on North Rim trails.

FIRES: In fire rings only

ALCOHOL: Permitted

VEHICLES: 30-foot length limit; ATVs prohibited; 2-vehicle or 1-RV/trailer limit

QUIET HOURS: 10 p.m.–6 a.m.

OTHER: 7-day stay limit; bear-country food-storage restrictions; firearms prohibited; 6-person limit/site; 2-tent limit; checkout 11 a.m.; no firewood gathering; mountain lion country

This is the campground to go to if you’re looking for a quieter experience at one of the world’s largest tourist attractions.

The Grand Canyon from the South Rim

No book about the best camping in Arizona would be complete without mentioning Grand Canyon National Park (thrice, in our case). One of the seven natural wonders of the world, it is Arizona’s main claim to fame and receives six million visitors each year. That can mean a lot of chaos and congestion. Luckily, most of those people concentrate near Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim and don’t explore the rest of the park. You can still have a peaceful experience at one of the world’s largest tourist attractions.

The South Rim offers two developed campgrounds—Mather and Desert View. Mather’s 320 campsites are near Grand Canyon Village, the South Rim’s hub, with everything you could possibly need. It’s open year-round, and reservations are strongly recommended from March 1 through mid-November. Desert View, open seasonally on a first-come first-served basis, is the campground to go to if you are looking for something quieter.

Approaching from the village along Desert View Drive, you pass some of the park’s most famous viewpoints, while the flora changes from tall pines to open pinyon–juniper woodland. You won’t see the canyon from the campground, but just a short distance away is Desert View Point, site of the Watchtower. Climb to the top, the highest point on the South Rim, for incredible views. The tower itself is a historical landmark, a Pueblo-inspired creation of the Fred Harvey Company’s remarkable architect, Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter. You’ll also find a gas station, convenience store, snack bar, and gift shop here; close by are the ranger station and the east entrance to the park.

In the campground, 50 sites line one long, narrow, paved loop. The sites inside the loop back up to each other, so you don’t have much privacy, but the sites on the outside of the loop are more spacious. The junipers and other low scrub provide some screening between most sites, and all of them have a cleared tent area. We think the better sites, inside and out, are on the second half of the loop. Sites 22, 42, and 44 have particularly good screening and separation from their neighbors, and site 29 is spacious and shady, set well back from a generous pullout. The most private site in the campground, and the best choice for summer, is site 46. It’s small, but has a complete screen of junipers and a deeply shaded tent spot.

Ravens keep a close eye on you in camp, and if you turn your back, the swoosh of big, black wings will signal the disappearance of anything that looks like food. Given enough time, a Grand Canyon raven will even unzip a backpack and rifle through it. For your sake and theirs, keep a tidy camp kitchen and store your food well.

Large RVs are encouraged to stay at Trailer Village, but smaller RVs, often rentals, are everywhere. The park has set longer quiet hours than you’ll find in many campgrounds: generator use is limited to 8 a.m.–8 p.m., and loud music is prohibited at all times. Your fellow campers may come from all over the globe, so say hi and enjoy meeting someone new and different.

The best way to enjoy your visit to the Grand Canyon is to plan ahead. Peruse the National Park Service website and call the information centers. Study up, especially if you intend to enter the canyon itself. Below the rim, the canyon is a uniquely rewarding and uniquely dangerous place to hike. You descend while you’re fresh and rested, and only when you’re already tired do you face the reality of climbing back up. Throw in the dry, desert climate and the 20°–40° difference between rim and canyon temperatures, and you have a recipe for hundreds of rescues and several deaths every year.

With a little extra planning and effort, you might have a campsite with a view of the canyon all to yourself. You must have a permit to camp outside of designated campgrounds, but backcountry camping can be found both above and below the rim. If you’re up for a backpack experience, but don’t want to challenge the canyon itself, try Cape Solitude. At-large camping is permitted almost anywhere along the 15.6-mile hike. To explore other possibilities, stop in at the backcountry office, and the rangers will help you plan your ideal trip. Dispersed camping is also available at no cost in Kaibab National Forest, south of the park border.

Don’t ignore the most popular parts of the park—the park service has worked hard to make visiting an enjoyable experience, and the lodges and shops at the village have history and charms of their own to explore. A nice way to see the busiest part of the canyon is from the partially paved Rim Trail, which stretches from Hermit’s Rest in the west to Yaki Point. You can park at one of the viewpoints, walk all or a portion of the trail, and catch the shuttle bus back to your car. The free, alternative-fuel shuttles don’t come as far as Desert View, but if you’ve come to the canyon via the Grand Canyon Railway (for more details see profile 10, White Horse Lake), there is taxi service from the village.

GETTING THERE

From Flagstaff to the east entrance station, take US 89 north 65 miles to AZ 64. Turn left and drive west 50 miles to Grand Canyon National Park’s East Entrance. Turn right into the campground.

From Flagstaff to Grand Canyon Village, take US 180 west 51 miles to AZ 64. Turn right and drive north 31 miles to Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim Entrance.

GPS COORDINATES N36° 02.458' W111° 49.583'