Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park covers 1,904 square miles of the Colorado River's canyon in northern Arizona. Its two rims stand an average of ten miles apart. In 2025 the park received 4,430,653 recreation visits, the fourth most of any national park. Nearly all of those visitors stand on the South Rim, the side that stays open all year and has free shuttle buses.

Autumn 2026 is not a normal season at the park. A flash flood on 29 August broke the pipeline that carries water to the South Rim. The park now opens by day while its hotels stay shut. The figures here come from the park's own pages, the lodging concessioner and NOAA's climate normals, checked on 26 October 2026.

Why are the park's hotels closed in autumn 2026?

The Grand Canyon's hotels stopped taking overnight guests on 31 August 2026, two days after a flash flood in Bright Angel Canyon broke the Transcanyon Waterline. That pipe brings spring water up from the inner canyon to the South Rim. A second flood on 16 September damaged the temporary intake that crews had built.

The closure covers every concession bed in the park. That means El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Yavapai Lodge, Trailer Village and Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon. Xanterra, which runs most of them, extended the closure on 13 October through 19 November 2026, its third extension. In September the park projected water pumping by mid-November and a phased reopening of lodging around Thanksgiving. It marked every date as tentative.

The park itself stays open under Stage 4 water restrictions. Mather Campground offers dry camping only, the showers and laundry have shut, and several restaurants keep shorter hours. Hotels in Tusayan, 1.6 miles south of the South Entrance, carry on as normal. Until the lodges reopen, Tusayan is where to book a night near the rim. Our guide to where to stay at the Grand Canyon compares the towns.

South Rim or North Rim: which side should you visit?

The South Rim is the side of the Grand Canyon for a first visit and for any trip outside summer. Both of its entrances stay open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The shuttle buses, the visitor centre, the museums and most of the famous viewpoints sit on this side.

The North Rim stands about 1,000 feet higher, at roughly 8,000 feet, and gets far fewer visitors. The road between the rims runs east through Cameron and round by Jacob Lake. National Park Service pages give its length as 212, 215 and 220 miles, about four and a half to five hours.

In 2026 the North Rim offers a reduced visit. The Dragon Bravo fire of July 2025 destroyed the Grand Canyon Lodge there, so that side has no lodging inside the park.

The North Rim has no drinking water anywhere this year. Its fuel station shut on 19 September and its campground on 16 October. The rim stays open for day use until sunset on 30 November or the first heavy snowstorm, and the Park Service says Cape Royal Road and Point Imperial Road reopened on 3 November 2026. The nearest beds are at Jacob Lake, about 45 miles north.

How do the South Rim shuttle buses run?

The South Rim shuttle buses are free with the park entrance fee and run on three routes in autumn, each with its own timetable. The table below is the published schedule for 12 September to 30 November 2026.

Private cars may not drive Hermit Road from 1 March to 30 November, so the Red route is how to see its viewpoints in those months. In winter, vehicles under 22 feet may drive it. Yaki Point and the South Kaibab trailhead have no car access: take the Orange route, walk or cycle.

The Tusayan route runs in summer only. Riders need a park entrance pass to board, from the website or the fee machines in Tusayan. The park had not yet published a winter timetable for the Blue and Orange routes when we checked.

Which corridor trails are open after the August flood?

The Grand Canyon's corridor trails partly reopened on 26 October 2026. That day the park opened the South Kaibab Trail below the Tip-Off, the whole River Trail and the Bright Angel Trail between Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse and Havasupai Gardens to hikers, with stock still barred from that Bright Angel stretch. Both bridges over the Colorado, Phantom Ranch and the whole North Kaibab Trail stay shut, with no estimated reopening date.

The day hikes are still the sensible part of that network, and our Grand Canyon South Rim guide gives the climbs. Bright Angel Trail runs to Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse, 1.6 miles from the trailhead. South Kaibab runs to Cedar Ridge at 1.5 miles and Skeleton Point at 3 miles.

Plateau Point is reachable on the Tonto Trail from the Tip-Off. The Rim Trail, about 13 miles of mostly level path from the South Kaibab trailhead to Hermits Rest, needs no planning at all.

Water is the constraint. The taps at Mile-and-a-Half, Three-Mile and Havasupai Gardens are off. The only drinking water is the filling station at each trailhead, so carry everything you will drink below the rim. Going down is the easy half; the climb back out is the hard one.

The park's standing advice applies in any year. Do not try to hike from the rim to the river and back in one day, especially from May to September. Phantom Ranch, at the bottom, averages 104°F in the shade in July. Any night below the rim needs a backcountry permit from Recreation.gov, four months ahead, at $10 per application plus $15 per person per night.

When is the best time to visit the Grand Canyon?

The best time to visit the Grand Canyon's South Rim is April to May and September to October. Days at the rim are mild, nights are cold, and the summer thunderstorms have not started or have passed. The averages below are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the station in Grand Canyon Village, at 6,785 feet.

Summer on the rim is warm rather than hot, but July and August are the wettest months of the year. Thunderstorms build most afternoons from July to early September, usually between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Lightning on an exposed viewpoint is a real hazard. Below the rim the temperature climbs about 5.5°F for every thousand feet of descent.

Winter suits a visitor who does not mind cold. The South Rim averages 43 inches of snow a year on NOAA's normals, and plows keep the roads open. The park calls November to February its quietest months and expects heavy crowds in spring, summer and autumn alike.

What do two adults from abroad pay at the gate?

Two adults from abroad in one car pay $235 at the Grand Canyon gate. That is the $35 vehicle fee, valid for seven days, plus the $100 non-resident surcharge for each person aged 16 or over. A motorcycle pays $30, and a visitor on foot, by bicycle or by shuttle from Tusayan pays $20.

The entrance stations take cards only. A visitor with nothing but cash can buy a pass at some businesses in Tusayan, including the IMAX visitor centre. Card-only fee machines in Williams, Valle and Tusayan sell the seven-day passes in advance. Buying one there shortens the queue at the South Entrance on a busy morning.

The $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass covers the vehicle fee and every surcharge for a year. It pays for itself on any trip that also visits Zion or Bryce Canyon. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains how to buy it before the flight. The pass does not work at Grand Canyon West or Havasu Falls, which are tribal land outside the park.

Which South Rim viewpoints are worth the time?

The South Rim's viewpoints line two roads that meet at Grand Canyon Village. Hermit Road runs 7 miles west, and Desert View Drive runs 23 miles east to the East Entrance. Each has a different character, and both deserve part of a day.

• Mather Point: a five-minute walk from the visitor centre, with no parking at the point itself. It is the busiest viewpoint at sunrise.
• Yavapai Point and Geology Museum: a building of 1928 set on the rim edge, open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with exhibits on the rock layers in view.
• Hermit Road: nine viewpoints on the Red shuttle route, ending at Hermits Rest, a stone rest house built by Mary Colter in 1914. Hopi Point is the classic sunset spot and the most crowded; Mohave and Pima points are the alternatives the park suggests.
• Desert View Drive: Grandview, Moran and Navajo points, the highest on the South Rim, and the Desert View Watchtower, a 70-foot tower Colter finished in 1932. Its upper floors open when staff allow from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tower access at 4 p.m. and free timed tickets.

Lipan Point on Desert View Drive and its access road have shut from 22 June to 23 December 2026 for rehabilitation. The park advises arriving 30 minutes before sunrise and up to 90 minutes before sunset at the popular points.

Mule rides along the rim still run, at $192.96 for a ride of about three hours. Xanterra takes bookings up to 15 months ahead. It has cancelled the overnight mule trip to Phantom Ranch into 2027.

How far is the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas and Phoenix?

The Grand Canyon's South Rim is 231 road miles from Phoenix and 278 miles from Las Vegas, the two airports most visitors from abroad fly into. The distances below are the National Park Service's own, to the South Rim.

From Las Vegas the route runs by US 93 to Kingman, Interstate 40 to Williams, then north on Highway 64. American Airlines flies to Flagstaff's own airport from Phoenix, Dallas–Fort Worth and Los Angeles. Grand Canyon Airport in Tusayan handles scenic flights and limited service from Las Vegas.

The Grand Canyon Railway is the one way to arrive without a car. Its train leaves Williams every morning and takes 2 hours 15 minutes over 65 miles. Passengers get a little more than three hours at the rim before the afternoon train back, and fares start at $69.98 for an adult. Fill the tank before the park: its only service station is at Desert View, and Grand Canyon Village has none.

Are Grand Canyon West and Havasu Falls part of the park?

Grand Canyon West and Havasu Falls both lie outside Grand Canyon National Park, and the national park pass does not admit to either. The tribes who live there run them on tribal land, a long way from the South Rim by road.

Grand Canyon West, with its glass Skywalk, belongs to the Hualapai Tribe. It sits about 250 road miles and five hours from the South Rim but within a day trip of Las Vegas. Every visitor needs its own ticket.

On 3 November 2026 the tribe's page printed $67 for General Admission without the Skywalk, $59 for the Sunset Pass after 3 p.m., which lists the Skywalk, and $99 for the All-Access Pass. Havasu Falls lies in the Havasupai Reservation. A visit needs an advance reservation for a three-night stay, at $455 per person in 2026, and the tribe allows no day hiking.

The national park is the last stop on our Southwest national parks loop from Las Vegas. The loop reaches it from Page, Arizona through the Desert View entrance, and it anchors any trip around Arizona.