My trips
CampgroundsGlampingRV rentalsActivitiesMy tripsAbout
Layered cliffs and buttes of the Grand Canyon lit by the setting sun, seen from the South Rim

The 5 most in-demand federal campgrounds near Grand Canyon National Park

Mather took about 177.1 reservations per site each year, the most of the 5 campgrounds we ranked. Half its campers booked ~5 weeks or more ahead, and its sites were an estimated 88% full in summer.

Explore the campground map ↓

The Grand Canyon from the South Rim at sunset Photo: Mgimelfarb / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (public domain)

Updated Nov 3, 2026 · Data: Recreation.gov reservations FY2015–2025 · ranked by reservations per site

Find your part of Grand Canyon

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARKTusayan54321
Numbers match the ranking; tap a pin to jump to that campground. Campground locations: Recreation.gov. Park boundaries: National Park Service.

The top five

  1. 1Mather CampgroundInside the park · South Rim~5 weeks outtypical booking · 88% est. full177.1 res./site/yr · 142,654 total
  2. 2Desert View CampgroundInside the park · South Rim~6 weeks outtypical booking · 82% est. full127.9 res./site/yr · 17,455 total
  3. 3North Rim Campground (Az)Inside the park · North Rim~4 months outtypical booking · 98% est. full113.2 res./site/yr · 24,652 total
  4. 4DemotteKaibab National Forest · 21 mi from Jacob Lake~2 months outtypical booking · 56% est. full53.2 res./site/yr · 5,576 total
  5. 5Tusayan - MontaneKaibab National Forest · near Tusayan~3 weeks outtypical booking · 15% est. full13.8 res./site/yr · 6,569 total
Jump to all 5 rankings ↓

Five campgrounds worth a closer look

Ranked by reservations per reservable site per year (FY2023–2025), so a small campground that fills up counts as much as a big one. "Typical booking" is when half of campers had already reserved; summer occupancy is our estimate (see how we measured).

01 · South Rim

Mather Campground

Ponderosa shade a mile from the rim

Opening day working hard to clear roads. Campsites snowy with 2 to 4 feet of snow.
Opening day working hard to clear roads. Campsites snowy with 2 to 4 feet of snow. Photo: NPS Photo by Diego Ferron / Recreation.gov

Under ponderosa pine, pinyon and juniper on the South Rim, with most sites shaded and the canyon edge one mile away.

Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 76 days ahead, and a quarter at least 133 days ahead.

~5 weeks out typical booking~88% full in summer (est.)177.1 reservations per site / yrRanked 1st of 5 · 281 reservable sites · 142,654 reservations FY2023–2025

View campground

02 · South Rim · east end

Desert View Campground

A quieter South Rim campground

Visit Desert View Campground for a more solitary experience.
Two Tents. Photo: NPS Photo / Recreation.gov

At 7,463 feet, 23 miles east of Grand Canyon Village, under pinyon and juniper less than half a mile from the rim.

Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 62 days ahead, and a quarter at least 105 days ahead.

~6 weeks out typical booking~82% full in summer (est.)127.9 reservations per site / yrRanked 2nd of 5 · 49 reservable sites · 17,455 reservations FY2023–2025

View campground

03 · North Rim

North Rim Campground (Az)

Remote, high and shaded by pines and aspen

Small trailers are a good fit at the North Rim Campground
Small trailers parked at campsites in the North Rim Campground. Photo: NPS/GRCA / Recreation.gov

Above 8,000 feet in ponderosa pine and aspen on the remote North Rim, about 210 miles by road from Grand Canyon Village.

Half of June Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 145 days ahead, and a quarter at least 174 days ahead.

The earliest-booking campground here: half of June weekend arrivals were reserved at least 145 days ahead, nearly five months.

~4 months out typical booking~98% full in summer (est.)113.2 reservations per site / yrRanked 3rd of 5 · 84 reservable sites · 24,652 reservations FY2023–2025

View campground

04 · Kaibab National Forest · North Rim

Demotte

Seven miles from the North Rim entrance

DeMotte Campground campsite with tent
DeMotte Campground campsite with tent. Photo: USFS Staff / Recreation.gov

In the North Kaibab Ranger District on Arizona Highway 67, seven miles north of the North Rim entrance.

Half of June Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 59 days ahead, and a quarter at least 110 days ahead.

~2 months out typical booking~56% full in summer (est.)53.2 reservations per site / yrRanked 4th of 5 · 38 reservable sites · 5,576 reservations FY2023–2025

View campground

05 · Kaibab National Forest · Tusayan

Tusayan - Montane

Ponderosa pine 4 miles from the South Rim entrance

Even more resident big elk. Please maintain a safe distance when they are near.
A bull elk with large antlers standing next to a sidewalk with trees behind it. Photo: Forest Service photo by Z. Rice / Recreation.gov

In Kaibab National Forest ponderosa pine and Gambel oak at 6,600 feet, just 4 miles south of the park entrance.

Half of May Friday and Saturday arrivals were reserved at least 31 days ahead, and a quarter at least 54 days ahead.

Books closer to the date: half of May weekend arrivals were reserved at least 31 days ahead, the shortest lead of the five.

~3 weeks out typical booking~15% full in summer (est.)13.8 reservations per site / yrRanked 5th of 5 · 158 reservable sites · 6,569 reservations FY2023–2025

View campground

All 5 campgrounds, ranked by reservations per site

Typical booking: median days between booking and arrival, FY2023–2025. Peak season, est. full: reserved site-nights ÷ (reservable sites × nights) in summer (June–August), 2023–2025; blank where we couldn't estimate it reliably. Ranking is reservations per reservable site per year, averaged over the FY2023–2025 years each campground took reservations (campgrounds that joined Recreation.gov recently are marked "Partial history"). Details in About this data.

#CampgroundArea / settingTypical bookingPeak season, est. fullReservations per site / yrSitesTotal reservations FY23–25
1Mather CampgroundInside the park · South Rim~5 weeks out88%177.1281142,654
2Desert View CampgroundInside the park · South Rim~6 weeks out82%127.94917,455
3North Rim Campground (Az)Inside the park · North Rim~4 months out98%113.28424,652
4DemotteKaibab National Forest · 21 mi from Jacob Lake~2 months out56%53.2385,576
5Tusayan - MontaneKaibab National Forest · near Tusayan~3 weeks out15%13.81586,569

How Grand Canyon bookings have changed

Reservations peaked at about 75,000 in FY2024 and were about 66,000 in FY2025, about where they were before 2020 (67,000 a year).

67,055 a year on average in FY2015–2019, 66,297 in FY2025, across all 5 campgrounds we studied. FY2020–21 were shaped by COVID closures and the camping surge.

The set of campgrounds on Recreation.gov changed over these years (some, like Desert View, joined recently), so part of the change reflects which campgrounds were bookable there, not only how many people camped.

All values
  • FY2015: 65,201
  • FY2016: 67,094
  • FY2017: 68,875
  • FY2018: 70,647
  • FY2019: 63,460
  • FY2020: 41,464 (COVID year)
  • FY2021: 66,375 (COVID year)
  • FY2022: 74,024
  • FY2023: 74,625
  • FY2024: 75,266
  • FY2025: 66,297

Find a Grand Canyon campsite for your dates

Compare current openings and prices around Grand Canyon National Park.

Search Grand Canyon campgrounds

About this data

Data: Recreation.gov reservations FY2015–2025. These are Recreation.gov's public reservation records (the RIDB historical reservation files), covering every federal campground in the area that took at least 300 reservations in FY2023–2025. Federal fiscal years run October to September, so FY2025 is October 2024 through September 2025.

  • Which campgrounds are included. Every federal campground inside Grand Canyon National Park or within 30 miles of its center point (straight-line distance) that takes reservations on Recreation.gov. Area / setting comes from each campground's Recreation.gov coordinates and managing agency; nearby towns are straight-line.
  • How we ranked. By reservations per reservable site per year: a campground's FY2023–2025 reservations divided by its number of reservable sites, averaged over the years in that span when it took reservations (at least one full fiscal year), so a campground that joined Recreation.gov recently isn't undercounted. This lets a small campground that books up compare fairly with a big one. Reservable sites are the individual overnight sites Recreation.gov lists for the campground; group sites, cabins, lookouts, yurts, shelters, boat-in and day-use sites are left out, and so are their reservations. Campgrounds with fewer than 10 such sites, or whose site records don't match the bookings (for example shared walk-in sites), aren't ranked and are listed under the table.
  • Typical booking time. The median number of days between the day a reservation was made and the arrival date, across all FY2023–2025 reservations at that campground: half of campers booked at least that far ahead. Profiles turn the busiest month's weekend figure into calendar dates for the next season, worked out from today's date.
  • Estimated summer occupancy. The share of possible site-nights in summer (June–August) of 2023, 2024 and 2025 that had a reservation: reserved site-nights ÷ (reservable sites × nights in the season). It's an estimate. Cancellations aren't in the data, so it can run high; sites closed for repairs or late openings make it run low. Each site-night counts once. We leave it blank where the site count is unreliable or the result came out over 100%.
  • No "% available". These records show what was booked, not what was open on a given day, so we don't estimate availability from them. The "Sites open" tags come from our live availability check and only appear when it confirms open sites.
  • Bookings, not occupancy. Each count is a reservation made. Cancellations aren't in the data, so a booked site may later have opened up, and nights a campground was closed simply show no bookings.
  • COVID years are flagged. FY2020 and FY2021 were shaped by closures, capacity limits and a camping surge, so we mark them and don't use them for "then vs now" comparisons.
  • Lead time is the days between the booking date and the arrival date. Weekend means a Friday or Saturday arrival. First-come, pay-on-arrival sites are left out of lead times.
  • Only campgrounds that take reservations on Recreation.gov are included. State parks, private campgrounds and first-come campgrounds aren't in these numbers.

Updated Nov 3, 2026. Distances are straight-line.