Hello everybody!  It’s been a yo-yo of good weather/bad weather for the last few weeks here in Colorado, so I’ve been writing these post longing for summer! It’s around the corner – I just need to make it a little longer and then I can return to my Julie-Andrews style life of hiking in the mountains!

Anyways, today my post is about planning a trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!  I really wanted to write a post that’s short and sweet to help all you trip planners out there!  There’s so much information!!! It can be overwhelming trying to figure out where to stay, where to eat, and know what resources you’ll have once you get there!  It’s actually really simple once you sift through the many websites.  I’ve included all the essentials that you really need to know in order to plan your trip, along with links to booking websites for the Lodging.  So here goes my Ultimate Guide to Planning a Trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!

Want more info on planning the Ultimate Grand Canyon Trip?? Check out my posts the Grand Canyon and Page, AZ!

North Rim bound? Check out my posts for all the info you’ll need!

Just interested in the South Rim? Check out my suggestions for that as well!

Lodging:

There are actually a number of lodging opportunities on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon – provided you book early enough! Reservations are made through two companies:

Xanterra Parks & Resorts

• El Tovar: El Tovar sits right on the edge of the Grand Canyon and is considered the “Premier” place to stay in the South Rim! If you don’t stay here it’s certainly worth visiting while you are there!
• Bright Angel Lodge: This is a big winner because it’s more affordable than El Tovar while still sitting on the Rim of the Canyon.  It’s a popular choice for guests and it also offers a rich history, similar to El Tovar.
• Kachina Lodge: Another great option for staying on the Rim is Kachina Lodge, which has some rooms offering views of the Canyon.
• Thunderbird Lodge:  This Lodge also sits on the Rim, but it only offers some partial view rooms.
• Maswik Lodge: Maswik does not sit on the Rim, but it’s a very short walk to the Rim of the Canyon, the shuttle buses, and Bright Angel trailhead! We stayed here and we were very happy with our location.

Delaware North

• Yavapai Lodge: This Lodge is located in the Grand Canyon Village next to the Market and Post Office.  It’s further out from the previous options, but it’s still a lot better than staying outside the Park!

Another option for lodging is staying in the town of Tusayan.  Tusayan is located roughly 7 miles south from the Grand Canyon Village, and makes for a great option if you waited too long to book at the Grand Canyon Village! There are a number of hotels in Tusayan, and it even has its own shuttle system that takes guests to the Visitor Center every day.

Nothing beats seeing the sunrise and sunset over the Grand Canyon, so I definitely suggest trying to make reservations through one of Xanterra’s Hotels so that the Rim is only walking distance away!

Tips for Booking:

• You will need to book accommodations a year in advance – especially if you are wanting to stay on the Rim! Xanterra starts their bookings a year in advance, the first day of the month.  So if you’re planning on visiting at the end of June in 2020, you need to make your reservation June 1, 2019! Don’t delay – I waited 3 days past the 1st a year in advance and Bright Angel Lodge was already sold out!
• Make sure you keep track of your reservation number! This is usually a no brainer – but I just wanted to throw it out there because a lot can happen in a year and you may need to adjust your plans! I ended up canceling 1 room on our reservation at the last minute and I had a really good experience with customer service.
• The two companies that book lodging at the South Rim are not the same companies that books lodging through the North Rim.

Campgrounds:

There are limited options as far as camping goes above the Rim.  You basically have three options, two of which requires reservations.

• Mather Campground: This campground is open all year, requires reservations for most of the year, and does not have RV hook-ups.
• Trailer Village RV Park: RV Park with full hookups that appears to be open all year, although its dump station is not open during the winter months.  This Park does require reservations.
• Desert View Campground: Campground with RV spots, 30 ft max, no hookups.  These are first come first serve and the website states that they usually fill up by noon!
• There are some other campgrounds at (you guessed it!) Tusayan, which once again lies 7 miles south of Grand Canyon Village outside of the National Park.  There is also camping allowed in the National Forest outside the Park, but there are rules and regulations that apply.  Per the National park website, if you’re interested in camping in the National Forest contact the Tusayan Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest @ (928) 638-2443 for the most up to date information.

Convenience/Grocery Stores:

The Grand Canyon Market Plaza is conveniently located in Grand Canyon Village a short drive away from all major lodging.  It seriously has you covered with its groceries, deli, bank, and post office! They even had gluten-free options for those of you whose bodies revolt to gluten – like mine does! Always pleasantly surprised to find some gluten-free snacks!

Would you believe it if I told you Tusayan has a General Store as well? Well as matter of fact – it does! We didn’t visit this store so I can’t give a first-hand account of its quality, but I’m sure it has all the basics.  It lies a short drive past the southern entrance to the Park.

Dining:

There are actually a lot of dining options in the South Rim! The National Park system did a great job of listing out all the dining options in this link. In my opinion, the two best options are:

1. El Tovar Restaurant
2. Bright Angel’s Restaurant

We ate at other places in the Park but these two had really good food and an awesome atmosphere! Everywhere accommodated gluten-free options and the staff was very knowledgeable – I actually didn’t have any cross contamination episodes!

I also have to give a shout out to the ice cream shop at the back of Bright Angel Lodge.  Nothing better than sitting on the South Rim enjoying the ice cream and watching the sun go down!

Hiking:

For once in my life, I went somewhere without hiking!! Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of hiking to be had here at the South Rim! In my case, it was a little hot out for my 9-month-old, and we were running out of gas from our busy week in Arizona! Nobody really wanted to hike into the Canyon because, inevitably, we’d have to hike up! So we opted to relax and enjoy the many scenic views! Since I didn’t hike, I found y’all a pretty detailed website talking about the different hiking options you have here in the South Rim!

Click here for a detailed list of some of your hiking options in the Grand Canyon’s South Rim!

General Tips for Visiting:

• Make sure you visit both Visitor Centers!! There’s one at the Grand Canyon Village and one at the Desert View Watchtower.
• If you’ll be visiting the North Rim or the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, I suggest buying a National Parks Pass, especially if anyone in your group qualifies as a senior! My mother got one for $20, and it would definitely save you money!
• Be prepared for the heat even into the fall.  Please do a lot of research if you plan on hiking into the Canyon and be prepared with a lot of water and items to replace your electrolytes!
• Protect your skin from the sun! The last thing you want is to be in agony for most of your trip because you got a horrible sunburn the first day!
• Bring comfortable shoes! You will most likely be walking a lot!
• Think about planning your trip in the slow season.  We visited in September and while it was still very busy, it was less so than if we had gone in the summer.

Well, there it is folks! I hope this has helped someone out there with planning a trip! It’s such a breathtaking sight the first time you see it!

Don’t forget to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!

Until next time!