Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park (the Big Canyon, the Great Canyon) is one of the most popular parks in the USA (fourth in 2025; first is Great Smoky Mountains): in 2025 it had more than 4.4 million visitors! And no wonder: the Grand Canyon is one of the deepest and most beautiful canyons in the world!

The Grand Canyon is a fascinating place from a geological point of view too — the canyon's rocks represent more than 2 billion years of Earth's history!

Hotauta conglomerate specimen on the Trail of Time, Grand Canyon National Park — Grand Canyon National Park

For several thousand years, Native American tribes lived in caves in the Grand Canyon area. The first European to see the Grand Canyon was the Spaniard García López, in 1540.

Wide panorama of the Grand Canyon with a massive rock on the right — Grand Canyon National Park

How to get to the Grand Canyon

There are 2 main tourist areas in the Grand Canyon: the South and North Rims. And you will most likely have to pick only 1 of them for your visit: even though the two are almost directly opposite each other (on average about 16 km apart as the crow flies), to get from the North Rim to the South Rim you have to drive no less than 210 miles (340 km) or do a not-so-easy (2-day) trek along the bottom of the canyon.

Woman looking at the Grand Canyon through a museum window — View of the Grand Canyon from the museum

The map below shows a layout of the Grand Canyon South Rim:

Map of Desert View Drive on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon — The Grand Canyon on the map

And a more detailed map of the village itself (Grand Canyon Village), the main tourist destination of the Grand Canyon:

Detailed map of Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim — Grand Canyon map

The park also has information centers for visitors (Visitor Center).

The South Rim Visitor Center is in the Village (you can see where on the map above). This center will be your first stop after you enter the park.

Woman sitting with her back to the camera on a rock edge above the Grand Canyon — Grand Canyon National Park

Route buses (shuttles) also run from here all over the Village. That is, you simply park your car at the Visitor Center and get on a shuttle. The system is called Park-and-Ride, and many popular US parks have it.

This is because of the very large number of visitors, who simply could not get around comfortably in their own cars on the park's rather limited roads. By the way, driving a private car into many parts of the park is prohibited.

And here is one more clear map of the Grand Canyon with the shuttle routes (different colors are different routes):

South Rim getting-around map of the Grand Canyon, from Hermits Rest to Desert View — Map of the Grand Canyon South Rim

Grand Canyon park hours

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The information center on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is open from 8:00 to 16:00, and from October 12, 2026, from 9:00 to 16:00.

The North Rim closes to visitors for the winter on October 15 and opens on May 15 every year.

Grand Canyon entrance fees

As of 2026, the following fees apply to visiting the Grand Canyon:

Entry to the Grand Canyon by car — $35
Entry by motorcycle — $30
On foot/by bicycle — $20
As in all US parks, the Annual Pass is valid here; it gives free entry to all US national parks. The pass costs $80 for US citizens and residents and $250 for foreigners. Foreigners aged 16 and older who do not enter on an annual pass pay an extra $100 per person on top of the entrance fee.

Sunset over the Grand Canyon with red ridges in the foreground — Grand Canyon park

Grand Canyon park map

To prepare for a visit to Grand Canyon park, it helps to look at a map in advance. In addition to the 2 maps above, here is a general map of the Grand Canyon that shows both the North and South Rims. The red lines are the park's main roads:

Map of the Grand Canyon and neighbouring national parks of Utah and Arizona — Grand Canyon map

What to see at the Grand Canyon

Strange as it may seem, in Grand Canyon park the only thing to look at is the canyon :)

The main overlooks are along Grand Canyon Village. And there are dozens of them.

You can take a leisurely walk from the Visitor Center to a stop of the red shuttle line and take a bus from there to the Hermits Rest stop. Along the way you can get off at the overlook stops (there will be about 10 of them) and then board the next shuttle (in the fall of 2026 they run every 12 minutes).

Man with outstretched arms on a rock above the Grand Canyon — Grand Canyon National Park

Panorama of the Grand Canyon with a rocky ledge on the left under a clear sky — Grand Canyon National Park

Where to stay at the Grand Canyon

On the South Rim of the Grand Canyon there are 2 main campgrounds: the Mather and Desert View campgrounds.

The price of 1 standard campsite (since May 2025) — $30

The South Rim also has quite a lot of hotel options (lodges), with 2 main companies: Xanterra Parks and Resorts and Delaware North (prices from $100). You can choose a suitable room and book it, for example, here => Booking.com

Or you can go for free camping and spend the night in the National Forest, as we did:

Woman by a campfire and car in the National Forest near the Grand Canyon — Camping at the Grand Canyon

Campsite at the Grand Canyon with a black coupe, a fire ring and dead pines — Camping at the Grand Canyon