Grand Canyon · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Free shuttles, a $20 walk-in fee and free forest camping make this an unusually cheap park.
Mather Campground and the forest
Mather sits in the village with showers and laundry next door. Ten-X in the Kaibab forest is cheaper still, and dispersed camping outside the south entrance is free.
What a day costs
Around $45–85 a day: campsite $18–25, food from the village general store or hauled from Flagstaff, and $20 a person for those arriving on foot.
Free rim shuttles
Three colour-coded shuttle routes cover the village, the eastern rim and Hermit Road, which is closed to private cars most of the year. All free with entry.
Arriving without a car
Scheduled shuttles run from Flagstaff, itself on the Amtrak line, and a heritage railway comes up from Williams. Once at the rim, the buses cover everything.
Free by day
The Rim Trail runs thirteen mostly paved miles with shuttle stops throughout, and evening ranger talks, the Yavapai geology museum and Desert View all cost nothing extra.