Boondocking at Grand Grand Canyon - Suggestions please

[GaryS1953]

Hi - My wife and I have been married 30 years in October, and will be celebrating by taking our small older 5th wheel from Michigan to the Grand Canyon, where neither of us has ever been. Thank to much help from this forum we now have 330 watts of solar, so en route we plan to overnight at Walmart, Flying J, etc, then boondock near the Grand Canyon. Looking for ideas on places to boondock that are near your favorite points at the GC. I DO anticipate needing at least a couple of nights at an actual campground for dumping as well as refilling fresh water tanks. We plan to take about 4 days/nights to traveling at each end, and spend about 6 days in the area. Only have 2 weeks vacation. Any help/suggestions for anything about this trip will be greatly appreciated.

[Snowman9000]

Heading there this weekend. Midweek would be better, but whatever. Probably will try that 302 boondock area. Is there some place nearby to catch a shuttle? Or should we drive in and park?

[TenOC]

Snowman9000 wrote:
Which rim is preferred in late May?

Unless you like to hike, the South rim has more viewpoints with the shutter bus and thus 1,000's of more people.

[GaryS1953]

2gypsies wrote:

Snowman9000 wrote:
Which rim is preferred in late May?

North Rim will be much quieter. The snow is gone already.

South Rim has more to do, many more viewpoints that are easily accessible, the free shuttle and BIG crowds.

For your first visit I'd highly suggest the South Rim. That's where the majority of photos you see in advertising are taken. That's not to say there aren't beautiful views from the North Rim - there are - but there are more places to take in the full canyon views from the South Rim.

We've been to both rims many times and have hundreds of photos. Now we prefer the North Rim just to chill out and relax.

Wow, great to know! Thanks so much!

[GaryS1953]

TenOC wrote:
Since you have been married 30 years you may be old enough to qualify for the National Parks senior discount of 50% off Mather CG that is Dry Camping inside GC NP. Walk to distance to the shutter bus and will not be very busy.

We have the national park senior card. I got that 2 summers ago after I turned 62 for $10. What a deal!!

[GaryS1953]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I think I would still take a generator for recharging the batteries. And a GOOD converter/charger.

We don't have a genny yet, but will be borrowing one for this first boondocking trip. Don't think we'll really need it as we don't use a lot of power, just a couple of led lights and charge cell phones and waterpump. May get a 12 volt LED TV and use that a couple hours a night. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks!

[NYCgrrl]

Snowman9000 wrote:
Thanks, that's good info.

X2. I've bookmarked this thread.

[Snowman9000]

Thanks, that's good info.

[2gypsies1]

Snowman9000 wrote:
Which rim is preferred in late May?

North Rim will be much quieter. The snow is gone already.

South Rim has more to do, many more viewpoints that are easily accessible, the free shuttle and BIG crowds.

For your first visit I'd highly suggest the South Rim. That's where the majority of photos you see in advertising are taken. That's not to say there aren't beautiful views from the North Rim - there are - but there are more places to take in the full canyon views from the South Rim.

We've been to both rims many times and have hundreds of photos. Now we prefer the North Rim just to chill out and relax.

[Snowman9000]

Which rim is preferred in late May?

[TenOC]

Since you have been married 30 years you may be old enough to qualify for the National Parks senior discount of 50% off Mather CG that is Dry Camping inside GC NP. Walk to distance to the shutter bus and will not be very busy.

[fj12ryder]

"Grand Canyon is amazing and great time of year after the crowds."

When would that be? 🙂 We visited the South Rim in mid-October and it was packed with people. That's the main reason I prefer the North Rim: even when it's crowded it's still not crowded.

[Grit_dog]

Sounds like a sweet trip in the making! Best part of having a camper is being able to stay in the woods!

Consider boondocking or state/county parks along the way too. For free or cheap it's much nicer to spend the night somewhere quiet on "vacation" for the night than a parking lot. You'd be surprised how many places there are to camp. They aren't out of the way in many parts of the country.

Good luck and have fun! Grand Canyon is amazing and great time of year after the crowds.

[theoldwizard1]

I think I would still take a generator for recharging the batteries. And a GOOD converter/charger.

[GaryS1953]

Well that pretty much settleds it. We won't arrive until about the 15th, so south rim it is.

[2chiefsRus]

GaryS1953 wrote:
Wow, lot's of great recommendations. Looks like Kaibab FR 302 West Tusayan is the place to go. Thanks everyone!

fj12ryder: I'm not sureof North or South. Don't really know ANYTHING about the GC, other than the pictures you see. We would like to be a little near other people vs being totally in the middle of nowhere for our first boondocking experience. FR 302 seems to fit that bill.

You need to decide before you go whether you are going to the south rim or the north rim. It is a five hour drive between the two. North rim is much higher in elevation and will close by the 15th of October, possibly sooner. South Rim is open year round.