What we saw this last year, and co-hosts here at the RV park where we are stated that while the lodge and other facilities at the North Rim close, the road in and the overlooks are still open for viewing. When we went down with them the first time, everything was open and busy. On two subsequent trips down, the park was open and we could get to all of the overlooks, including those at the main area. Our co-hosts used to be workers at the North Rim.
While the lodge, restaurants, gift shops and other amenities at the main part of the rim are closed, there are still vault toilets open at Cape Royal and Point Imperial. I think that the only thing available at the main area were port-a-potties. Oh, and if you do go to the North Rim, watch along the road after leaving Cape Royal for a turnout across the road from a sign for Cliff Springs Trail. That is a neat hike that is about 1 mile round trip that takes one back to where springs are dripping out of the cliff under an overhang.
My understanding is that the road (Highway 67) into the North Rim stays open for about another month or until the first heavy snow that closes the road. I don't remember the exact date they actually closed the whole park at the North Rim, but I think it was around mid-November.
Terry
Someday said
11:39 AM Mar 29, 2018
Prefer the North Rim personally over the too over developed South Rim. Some great dry camping locations abound as well :)
LarryW21 said
05:28 PM Mar 29, 2018
Yes, Someday, but the North Rim is too far from Rod’s Steakhouse in Williams! G
Terry and Jo said
09:03 PM Mar 29, 2018
Someday wrote:
Prefer the North Rim personally over the too over developed South Rim. Some great dry camping locations abound as well :)
That's the feeling of our co-hosts, the ones that worked at the North Rim. However, with regards to the Canyon itself, what little bit we saw about a week or so ago, it has much wider vistas to see, especially for photographing.
Terry
Someday said
12:11 AM Mar 30, 2018
OK, so swing by Williams when you leave to renourish the energy you've burnt off on the North RIM ;)
mikevalerie said
07:11 PM Apr 4, 2018
Hi there thank you n.rim closes a little sooner than I remembered will have to shoot for the first of Oct ,Very Beautiful time of the year,Thanks again Mike & Valerie
jrzygrl64 said
09:26 PM Apr 10, 2018
Would love to get some coordinates for the boondocking spots near the north rim. We have a 40’ 5er. Any tips for visiting the north rim are welcome!
mikevalerie said
10:55 PM Apr 10, 2018
there are free camping about 1/2 way from Jacob lake and the entrance to the North grand Canyon park , they over look the North Rim although it could be a problem getting to those (camping) look out sites but there are plenty of areas to camp ,I would call the forest service @ jacob lake Ranger Station / or better yet The Kaibab National Forest North Ranger District 928 635-8200 Williams az Office hopefully this will help you
Terry and Jo said
01:50 PM Apr 11, 2018
Bill and Kelly,
Here might be a place to start, although there are also some campgrounds in the area. However, those developed campgrounds may very well be full during the busy season. As mentioned before, the North Rim won't officially open until May 15. However, there are a lot of other things to see in the area besides the GC. Since we've come to Kanab, we keep discovering more places that we think we want to go check out. So many so, that a year here as camp hosts in Kanab might not be long enough.
Kanab is pretty central to the Grand Canyon's north rim, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park, just to name a few places.
Terry
Barbaraok said
06:34 PM Apr 11, 2018
We spent a week in Kanab and found that it made for easy day trips to all of the places we wanted to see and some spectacular drives to and back from each different site.
mikevalerie said
01:53 PM Apr 12, 2018
after further research the campgrounds are still to the end of Oct in the park, but some of the facilities may be closed . But it depends on weather status I called the Recreation.gov # to make sure ,I have a site for 10-12 to the 19th hopefully it will be great! as it has been ,, Hopefully this is helpful to anybody
jrzygrl64 said
09:39 AM Apr 13, 2018
Thanks for the great suggestions! Will look into all!
mikevalerie said
08:19 PM Oct 21, 2018
Just came back from North Rim had to leave after third night of 7 ,all good new that it could happen , ended up at willow campgrounds az ,right on the Colorado River down from Hoover Dam , 4 days fantastic campgrounds ,fishing boating Kayaking rentals tours from the Dam to the campgrounds 50 bucks a night !/2 off with senior pass cant beat ,showers all hookups fantastic
bjoyce said
09:11 AM Oct 22, 2018
We ended up staying in Kanab and doing a day trip to the North Rim in late September. It was 80 miles one way. We could easily spend more time at the North Rim, but had to see it at least once. We hit every viewpoint and took the shorter trails.
Terry and Jo said
03:25 PM Oct 22, 2018
Bill,
Did you take the Cliff Springs Trail over near Cape Royal? We took that trail once when we were in Kanab, and there wasn't much water under the overhang. While the North Rim is beautiful in its own way, the South Rim allows one to see wider vistas from many of the overlooks.
Terry
mikevalerie said
09:23 AM Oct 23, 2018
The North Rim is so different than the south Rim just because of the different view points and the people more people from local states that stay in the camp grounds ,that come back every years ,it just so beautiful glad you enjoyed it!
bjoyce said
09:33 AM Oct 23, 2018
Terry and Jo wrote:
Bill,
Did you take the Cliff Springs Trail over near Cape Royal? We took that trail once when we were in Kanab, and there wasn't much water under the overhang. While the North Rim is beautiful in its own way, the South Rim allows one to see wider vistas from many of the overlooks.
Terry
We did not take that one. Looking it up, there is only a small pull out to park in and we only took trails from parking lots. We did miss one spot since the parking lot was full. Next time.
Does anybody Like the North Rim in sept-oct its beautiful and very nice camping sites ,nice trails lots to see !
thank you im going to reserve mid- end of oct for a week here in about a month great time of the year the aspens tree are great !
The North Rim closes October 15, https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/north-rim.htm. "The visitor center is open May 15 through October 15 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm daily."
What we saw this last year, and co-hosts here at the RV park where we are stated that while the lodge and other facilities at the North Rim close, the road in and the overlooks are still open for viewing. When we went down with them the first time, everything was open and busy. On two subsequent trips down, the park was open and we could get to all of the overlooks, including those at the main area. Our co-hosts used to be workers at the North Rim.
While the lodge, restaurants, gift shops and other amenities at the main part of the rim are closed, there are still vault toilets open at Cape Royal and Point Imperial. I think that the only thing available at the main area were port-a-potties. Oh, and if you do go to the North Rim, watch along the road after leaving Cape Royal for a turnout across the road from a sign for Cliff Springs Trail. That is a neat hike that is about 1 mile round trip that takes one back to where springs are dripping out of the cliff under an overhang.
Cliff Springs Trail
My understanding is that the road (Highway 67) into the North Rim stays open for about another month or until the first heavy snow that closes the road. I don't remember the exact date they actually closed the whole park at the North Rim, but I think it was around mid-November.
Terry
That's the feeling of our co-hosts, the ones that worked at the North Rim. However, with regards to the Canyon itself, what little bit we saw about a week or so ago, it has much wider vistas to see, especially for photographing.
Terry
Hi there thank you n.rim closes a little sooner than I remembered will have to shoot for the first of Oct ,Very Beautiful time of the year,Thanks again Mike & Valerie
there are free camping about 1/2 way from Jacob lake and the entrance to the North grand Canyon park , they over look the North Rim although it could be a problem getting to those (camping) look out sites but there are plenty of areas to camp ,I would call the forest service @ jacob lake Ranger Station / or better yet The Kaibab National Forest North Ranger District 928 635-8200 Williams az Office hopefully this will help you
Bill and Kelly,
Here might be a place to start, although there are also some campgrounds in the area. However, those developed campgrounds may very well be full during the busy season. As mentioned before, the North Rim won't officially open until May 15. However, there are a lot of other things to see in the area besides the GC. Since we've come to Kanab, we keep discovering more places that we think we want to go check out. So many so, that a year here as camp hosts in Kanab might not be long enough.
Campgrounds - North Rim
Kanab is pretty central to the Grand Canyon's north rim, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park, just to name a few places.
Terry
after further research the campgrounds are still to the end of Oct in the park, but some of the facilities may be closed . But it depends on weather status I called the Recreation.gov # to make sure ,I have a site for 10-12 to the 19th hopefully it will be great! as it has been ,, Hopefully this is helpful to anybody
Just came back from North Rim had to leave after third night of 7 ,all good new that it could happen , ended up at willow campgrounds az ,right on the Colorado River down from Hoover Dam , 4 days fantastic campgrounds ,fishing boating Kayaking rentals tours from the Dam to the campgrounds 50 bucks a night !/2 off with senior pass cant beat ,showers all hookups fantastic
Bill,
Did you take the Cliff Springs Trail over near Cape Royal? We took that trail once when we were in Kanab, and there wasn't much water under the overhang. While the North Rim is beautiful in its own way, the South Rim allows one to see wider vistas from many of the overlooks.
Terry
The North Rim is so different than the south Rim just because of the different view points and the people more people from local states that stay in the camp grounds ,that come back every years ,it just so beautiful glad you enjoyed it!
We did not take that one. Looking it up, there is only a small pull out to park in and we only took trails from parking lots. We did miss one spot since the parking lot was full. Next time.