North Rim Campground (AZ)

I’ve wanted to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon since 4th grade, when my teacher read Marguerite Henry’s Brighty of the Grand Canyon to my class. We loved the little wild donkey and were drawn to Henry’s descriptions of this rugged and secluded spot. Pulling into Jacob Lake in the early afternoon on Wednesday, July 9, we made our final pit stop (and grabbed some Jacob Lake Inn cookies). The local park ranger happened to mention a wildfire caused by a lightning strike that could affect some of the places we might try to hike; she was told this fire, named Dragon Bravo, was being managed. Other than the imposing name, I didn’t think much about it. At dusk on July 10, just as we left a Cape Royal sunset, two park rangers stepped into the road wildly waving for us to stop. “You’ve got to evacuate the park immediately.” She informed us about a second out-of-control wildfire near Jacob Lake that threatened to cut off the only exit out of the park. “Drive toward Page.” There was no time for further conversation. As we hurried the 45 minute drive back to the North Rim Campground we could also see for the first time the smoke from the other, smaller Dragon Bravo fire to the west in the fading light. When we finally turned into the North Rim Village in the dark we could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles at every major intersection. Ominously, an ambulance was parked at the Kaibab Trailhead, with a person inside that we could hear loudly vomiting. At the entrance to the campground we were stopped again, but let through to pack our tent. There was no one else in the campground. We were the last ones out. We drove through the darkness to Jacob Lake an hour away, where the glow from the growing White Sage wildfire lit up the northern sky, then further into the night to Page. It took 45 years for me to reach the North Rim—on the very last day possible before it all burned down.

This is a fantastic campground and campsite! The sites, at least around the outer edge, are nicely spaced, and site 18 has tons of room. Plus, you can walk 50 ft and you’re at the edge of the canyon. I had no problem getting in with our 25 ft trailer, but I definitely recommend that you back in. If you rely on solar, this site has good sun exposure.

There’s a trail that takes you over to the area with the lodge and visitor center; it’s about a mile there, and the trail can be accessed by walking down from the campsite. There’s also a small general store with basic food and supplies at the campground.

We love the North Rim. I hope you can recover quickly from the devastating fires.

I’m so happy the campground is open again! This is a prime site with canyon views. Mark the host is very personable and welcoming.

Camp host Matt was beyond super helpful. Patient, friendly, helped get help with leaking tire.
Porta potties closer to all campsites would help. Vote for elected officials who will get the pumping station fixed (re drinking water). NO NEED TO HEAT COOL THE BOARDED UP BATHROOMS. WASTED TAXPAYER MONEY.

I can't believe they allowed us to stay with it being burnt up so bad.

Very remote and worth the 4wd to get there

I registered for a camp site on line as asked by the staff. The confirmation on the site did not accept my registration I then tried again and the spot I wanted was filled. Later on i left the campground and then got a confirmation about the site I paid for. Since I had already left I canceled my site and was only refunded 35$ on the site for 90$ this campground had nothing to offer and charged 45$ a night. For campers that were willing to stay there with no amenities and trying to support the north rim was out of line. Very sad on all accounts.

We got to our site late after the information center had closed but our site had our reservation clearly marked and was great. The area is breathtaking and when we stayed it wasn’t crowded at all, it was a Monday but it made it nice. It was a little unfortunate that the whole visitor center was closed due to the fire last year. It was still beautiful but just be aware if you are planning a trip to the North Rim you won’t get the full experience, but nature has a mind of its own and natural disasters unfortunately happen in nature.

Classic location to visit the North Rim for a camp.