Latest / Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival / #015 - Grand Canyon, Part 3: Where to Stay | El Tovar, Phantom Ranch & South Rim Camping

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#015 - Grand Canyon, Part 3: Where to Stay | El Tovar, Phantom Ranch & South Rim Camping · Wildlands Podcast — National Parks, Public Lands & Survival

• 0:11
  There is a hotel on the south rim of the Grand
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  Canyon where you can eat dinner in a dining room
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  built in 1905. Look up from your plate and see
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  the canyon itself through the window, lit orange
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  by the last of the sunset. That is El Tovar,
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  and it is only one option among several. at a
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  park where the where -to -sleep question has
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  real range from a national historic landmark
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  on the rim to a genuinely rustic cabin at the
• 0:38
  bottom of the canyon that some people spend years
• 0:41
  trying to book to a simple tent site under the
• 0:44
  pines. This episode is going to walk through
• 0:47
  all of it. But I want to say up front, plainly,
• 0:51
  something that applies to every single thing
• 0:53
  I am about to tell you. Reservation systems at
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  national parks change constantly. Booking windows.
• 1:00
  Shift. Concessioners change. What requires a
• 1:03
  phone call this year required a walk -up last
• 1:05
  year and will probably require an app next year.
• 1:09
  Everything in this episode is accurate as of
• 1:12
  when I researched it, but if there is one habit
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  this whole show wants you to build, it is this.
• 1:17
  Verify current booking policy directly with the
• 1:20
  park or the concessioner before you rely on anything
• 1:23
  you hear in a podcast, including this one. Reservation
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  systems are, right now, some of the fastest -changing
• 1:30
  details in the entire national park system. This
• 1:35
  is Wildlands. I'm Sean. Know the land before
• 1:39
  you reach it. Grand Canyon, Part 3, Where to
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  Stay. Given everything we covered last episode,
• 1:47
  about the North Rim's current condition after
• 1:49
  the Dragon Bravo fire, this episode is going
• 1:52
  to focus almost entirely on the South Rim, because
• 1:55
  that is where the functioning lodging actually
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  is right now. The South Rim has six in -park
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  lodges run by two different companies, which
• 2:04
  matters because it means two separate booking
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  systems. Zantera Travel Collection manages El
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  Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Kachina Lodge, Thunderbird
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  Lodge, Masswick Lodge, and Phantom Ranch, all
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  bookable through their central reservation system.
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  Delaware North manages Yavapai Lodge and Trailer
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  Village on a separate site entirely. so depending
• 2:29
  on where you want to stay, you may genuinely
• 2:32
  need two different reservations open in two different
• 2:34
  browser tabs. That is a small, annoying detail,
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  but it trips people up every year, so I want
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  you to know it going in. Start with the one everybody
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  wants, El Tovar. Built in 1905 by the Santa Fe
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  Railroad, to give wealthy eastern travelers a
• 2:54
  suitably grand place to stay, After riding the
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  rails out to see the canyon, El Tovar is widely
• 3:01
  considered the crown jewel of the historic National
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  Park Lodges, not just at the Grand Canyon, but
• 3:07
  across the entire system. It sits directly on
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  the rim, a short walk from Mather Point, in a
• 3:14
  style blending a hunting lodge feel with genuine
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  elegance, dark wood, stone, a lobby that still
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  feels like 1890 money, even though the calendar
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  says otherwise. 78 rooms, some with direct canyon
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  views that book out extremely far in advance
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  and cost accordingly. The El Tovar dining room
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  is the best meal on the South Rim. Reservations
• 3:38
  strongly recommended and worth planning around,
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  even if you are not staying there. I would make
• 3:44
  a point of eating there once, regardless of where
• 3:47
  you sleep. Reservations at El Tovar, along with
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  the other Zanterra -run lodges. open 13 months
• 3:56
  in advance. That is not a typo and not an exaggeration
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  for effect. If you want a specific date next
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  summer, you can and should book it this coming
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  spring. The Canyon View rooms at El Tovar are
• 4:09
  among the hardest reservations to get in the
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  entire South Rim system, right up there with
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  Phantom Ranch, which we will get to shortly.
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  Bright Angel Lodge sits just steps from the Rim
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  as well. with a more rustic, historic character
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  than El Tovar, and a considerably friendlier
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  price point. It is the hub of South Rim daytime
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  activity, the check -in point for mule rides,
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  home to the Arizona Steakhouse, and generally
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  the liveliest of the historic lodges. Some of
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  its Rim cabins offer canyon views comparable
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  to El Tovar's at a lower cost, which makes them
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  a smart target if the flagship hotel is out of
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  reach or fully booked. Kachina and Thunderbird
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  Lodges sit on the same stretch of rim between
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  El Tovar and Bright Angel, and check in at those
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  two hotels respectively, rather than having their
• 5:01
  own front desks. They are more contemporary,
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  and frankly more architecturally forgettable
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  than their historic neighbors, 1950s and 60s
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  construction, closer to a well -located motel
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  than a historic lodge. But the location is identical
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  to their more famous neighbors. Same rim, Same
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  five -minute walk to the best viewpoints. If
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  the historic charm of El Tovar or Bright Angel
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  is not the priority and you just want to be on
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  the rim without the premium pricing of the flagship
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  hotel, Kachina and Thunderbird are the practical
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  answer. Maswick Lodge sits back from the rim
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  in a ponderosa pine forest, a short walk or quick
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  shuttle ride to the historic district. It is
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  more motel -style than the Rim properties, with
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  250 rooms, and it tends to be one of the more
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  reliably available options in the Zanterra system
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  when the Rimside Lodges are sold out. Good value,
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  good access, just without the view out your window.
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  Yavapai Lodge, run by Delaware North rather than
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  Zanterra, is the largest property at the park
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  and sits near Market Plaza, the General Store,
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  Post Office, and Visitor Center Hub. It offers
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  both standard and slightly upgraded room categories,
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  has the easiest parking situation of any in -park
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  lodge, and tends to be the most forgiving option
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  for last -minute bookings if you did not plan
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  13 months out. Families traveling with young
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  kids often find Yavapai's layout and parking
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  considerably more practical than fighting for
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  a spot near the historic district. And now, Phantom
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  Ranch, which deserves its own section. because
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  it is genuinely unlike anything else at this
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  park, or arguably at any national park in the
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  country. Phantom Ranch sits at the bottom of
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  the canyon, beside Bright Angel Creek, near the
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  Colorado River, and it is the only lodging below
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  the rim anywhere in the park. You cannot drive
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  there. You reach it by hiking down, typically
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  via Bright Angel or South Kaibab, the trails
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  we covered last episode by mule, or by rafting
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  the Colorado River as part of a longer expedition.
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  Rustic cabins and dormitory -style bunks, a small
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  canteen serving meals that need to be reserved
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  in advance, and an experience that a huge number
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  of people who have done a lot of traveling still
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  describe as one of the most memorable nights
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  of lodging anywhere in their lives. Sleeping
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  at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, beside a creek,
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  with a mile of rock rising above you on every
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  side, is not something most places on Earth can
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  offer you at any price. Here is the honest reality
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  of actually getting a reservation there. Phantom
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  Ranch runs on a lottery system. Applications
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  open roughly 15 months ahead of your target stay,
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  and it is routinely described as one of the most
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  difficult hotel reservations to secure in the
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  entire United States. Popular dates get enormous
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  numbers of applicants for a small number of beds.
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  If a Phantom Ranch night is a genuine goal for
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  your trip, Apply the moment the lottery window
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  opens for your dates, have flexible backup dates
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  ready, and understand you may not get it on the
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  first attempt. Some people apply for multiple
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  seasons before their name comes up. It is not
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  a reservation you casually decide to make a month
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  before your trip. Check the current lottery process
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  directly, since exactly how these systems run
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  has shifted over the years and will likely shift
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  again. If lodges are outside the budget or you
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  simply prefer camping, the South Rim has solid
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  options, though the reservation landscape here
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  is also tightened up in recent years. Mather
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  Campground in Grand Canyon Village is the main
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  South Rim campground, more than 300 sites set
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  in piñon juniper and ponderosa forest, with genuinely
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  good spacing between sites for a campground this
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  size and elk that wander through grazing most
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  evenings. As of 2026, standard sites run around
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  $30 a night. reflecting a significant fee increase
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  implemented in 2025, the first change in site
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  pricing in about two decades. Reservations are
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  recommended and effectively required in practice
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  from March through November, opening six months
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  ahead on recreation .gov. Site availability during
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  peak season disappears fast, so do not wait until
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  a month before your trip. Outside that peak window,
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  First -come options may still be available, but
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  confirm directly before you count on that, since
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  exactly how this campground handles shoulder
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  season demand can shift year to year. Desert
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  View Campground sits about 25 miles east of the
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  village, near the Watchtower, open roughly mid
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  -May through mid -October. It used to run first
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  -come, first -served, but that has changed. It
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  now requires reservations during peak season
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  through recreation .gov. same as Mather, at a
• 10:09
  similar nightly rate. This is a good example
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  of exactly the kind of policy shift I flagged
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  at the top of this episode. What was once a reliable
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  walk -up option is not anymore, and if you show
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  up expecting the old system, you may find yourself
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  with nowhere to camp. Check current status before
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  you drive out there, assuming you can just roll
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  in. Trailer Village, adjacent to Mather. is the
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  only in -park option with full RV hookups, electric,
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  water, and sewer accommodating rigs up to 50
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  feet. It runs considerably more than Mather in
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  the $70 to $90 range, depending on the season.
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  But if you need actual hookups rather than dry
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  camping, it is the only game inside the park
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  boundary. Run by Zanterra, so book it through
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  their system, not the Delaware North site. And
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  just outside the park, In Kaibab National Forest,
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  a few miles south of the entrance, sits what
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  many people still call by its old name, 10X Campground,
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  though it has been rebranded and expanded as
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  Tusayan Montane. It runs noticeably cheaper than
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  the in -park options. Generally, first come,
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  first served, and it makes a solid overflow option
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  if the in -park campgrounds are full, which,
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  in peak season, they very often are. Beyond that...
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  Dispersed camping is available for free on national
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  forest land along nearby forest roads for anyone
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  genuinely self -sufficient and willing to follow
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  leave -no -trace practices, no facilities of
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  any kind, so plan accordingly. If none of the
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  in -park options work out, or you simply want
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  more variety in dining and price point, Toussaint
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  sits just outside the south entrance, a few minutes'
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  drive from the rim. Tusayan is a small, purpose
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  -built gateway town. It exists almost entirely
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  to serve the park, similar in spirit to towns
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  we have covered outside other parks in this series.
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  It has a solid range of hotel options from budget
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  to upscale, including several major chain properties
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  alongside independent lodges, and it offers considerably
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  more dining variety and lower prices than the
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  limited in -park restaurant options. Without
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  the reservation requirements, some of the rim
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  dining carries. For families who want a pool
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  and a predictable hotel room, or for anyone who
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  values dining flexibility over rim proximity,
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  Tusayan is a completely reasonable base. You
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  lose the ability to walk straight from your room
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  to a viewpoint, but you gain options, and generally
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  lower cost. Two other towns worth knowing if
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  Tusayan and the in -park options are both full.
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  Williams, about 60 miles south, has more lodging
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  and the novelty of the Grand Canyon Railway.
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  a vintage train that runs directly from Williams
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  to the South Rim Depot, letting you skip driving
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  and parking entirely. And Flagstaff, roughly
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  80 miles southeast, is a genuine city with the
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  widest range of lodging, dining, and services
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  of any option in this episode at the cost of
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  the longest commute. If you are combining this
• 13:21
  trip with other stops in northern Arizona, Flagstaff
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  makes sense as a base. If the Grand Canyon is
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  the whole trip, stay closer. So, to pull this
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  together. For the historic splurge -worthy experience,
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  El Tovar, booked 13 months out. For rim access,
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  with a more historic, casual feel, and a better
• 13:43
  price, Bright Angel Lodge. For straightforward
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  rim -adjacent comfort, without the premium, Kachina
• 13:50
  or Thunderbird. For value and reliability, when
• 13:54
  the rim lodges are sold out, Moswick or Yavapai.
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  For the single most memorable night this park
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  can offer, Phantom Ranch applied to that lottery
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  the day it opens, not the month before your trip.
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  For camping, Mather if you can get the reservation,
• 14:10
  Desert View or Toussaint Montaigne as alternates,
• 14:13
  and dispersed forest land if you are equipped
• 14:16
  for it. And if the park itself is full, Toussaint
• 14:19
  solves it cleanly just outside the gate. One
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  more time, because it matters. Check current
• 14:26
  reservation policy. directly before you finalize
• 14:29
  any of this. Booking windows, concessioners,
• 14:33
  and whether a given campground is reservation
• 14:35
  only or first come can and does change. What
• 14:39
  I have told you today is accurate as of this
• 14:41
  recording. Verify it again before you build a
• 14:44
  trip around it. That closes out the Grand Canyon
• 14:46
  Trilogy. Next up is a Field Skills episode that
• 14:50
  follows directly from what we covered in Part
• 14:52
  2, Desert Heat. Water and Electrolyte Math. the
• 14:56
  real difference between heat exhaustion and heat
• 14:58
  stroke, and why, in a canyon like this one, the
• 15:02
  hardest part of the hike is always the part that
• 15:05
  comes last. Everything for the Grand Canyon series,
• 15:08
  current lodge and campground reservation links,
• 15:10
  the Phantom Ranch Lottery information, and Tusayan
• 15:13
  options is at wildlandsnews .com. I'm Sean Spanauer.
• 15:19
  This has been Wildlands. Know the land before
• 15:22
  you reach it. See you Thursday.