Utah and North Rim Grand Canyon

[KIS_Man]

Will the weather be OK, light jackets during day and above freezing at night middle of Sept. through Oct. Will North Rim of Grand Canyon be open late Oct. Will campgrounds in parks be full this time of year. Thanks so much.

[littlemo]

We were in that area this past early November. We stayed at Kanab and took a day trip to the North Rim. None of the facilities were open. (Take that back, there was a little store/gas station open). The roads were fine. It was a long day trip but totally worth it. It was awesome!
We then stayed at Zion's Watchman campground. Took another day trip to Bryce. Zion and Bryce are beautiful!
It was cold but you can dress accordingly and Enjoy!

[2gypsies1]

I understand that but the OP was asking about the North Rim and campgrounds...not boondocking.

[LenSatic]

2gypsies wrote:
You don't have to drive rough roads to get to the North Rim. It's paved.

Also, snow in Sept/Oct is rare. We've been there multiple times.

Dan is talking about the roads into the Kaibab National Forest where the picture he posted was taken. You're talking about the Grand Canyon National Park.

LS

[2gypsies1]

You don't have to drive rough roads to get to the North Rim. It's paved.

Also, snow in Sept/Oct is rare. We've been there multiple times.

[profdant139]

Forum won't post the rest of the message -- will try again later.

[profdant139]

(The website is having trouble with long messages today, so I will break this up into two bites.)

It can be a long drive over rough roads to get to the North Rim out in the Kaibab National Forest, but there is some spectacular boondocking out there. This was the view from our campsite at 5 AM in late May, 2008:

[Golden_HVAC]

At over 8,000' elevation, you can expect a lot of snow. They did plow one year, as it was early in the fall, and they would have had dozens of stranded campers there if they had not plowed the main road.

Most took their advice and got out quickly. I would say watch the weather, and plan on going someplace else once the snows are predicted in a few days. Usually you will have 2 days notice that a storm is going through California and is on the way. Moving to Jacob Lake will at least get you to a place where the roads will be plowed, and that is only 67 miles away. Personally I would be staying in a meadow in the forest for free, not the campground at the rim with excellent views, it it to crowded for my liking.

And I would be moving on to Zion if snow becomes a problem. It is not to far away, an easy day drive.

At 3,000' elevation, I was in Zion on November, 2006 and while it did reach 35 overnight, and the campground water was shut off for the season, it was not unbearable, and my nephew hiked into the slot canyons, while I was out sightseeing in my car.

Good luck!

Fred.

[2gypsies1]

The North Rim doesn't close down Oct 15. The facilities do. You can still drive there. There are plenty of nice, easy-to-get-to boondocking spots just before the entrance of the park and DeMotte national forest campground is nice.

For the southern Utah national parks (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands) mid-Sept through October are excellent times to be there. We've done it often. Bryce is the highest in elevation so plan on that first then move around.

[Ivylog]

OP, as you can see in the above pictures there are plenty of places to boondock outside the N Rim in your TC. There is a USFS CG at the entrance which would have plenty of sites and then you are only 15 miles from the rim, not 40 from J Lake if you cannot get in with your short rig.

[avan]

North Rim, NFS, no hookups, 9,000' elevation. Not crowded in fact you will need to drive some to see people

[Busskipper]

Ivylog wrote:
You can stay at Jacobs Lake if unable to get reservations or if it looks like you might get snowed in at the rim. No way any of the parks will be AS FULL with the kids back in school.
Thanks for posting this as I'm planning on doing the balloon fest in early Oct and will add going to the N. Rim before it.

We have been as late as first week of December with no issue (little snow drifted into piles) But have also been in June with the snow falling - just beautiful.

When in doubt just stay in Jacobs Lake and drive the Toad - If you have snow it is sooo much easier to turn around and go back in the Toad.

As usual Ivy has thought this through.

[TragedyTrousers]

KIS Man wrote:
Will the weather be OK, light jackets during day and above freezing at night middle of Sept. through Oct. Will North Rim of Grand Canyon be open late Oct. Will campgrounds in parks be full this time of year. Thanks so much.

From the NPS website,
from October 16 to October 31, there will be minimal services and depending on the weather, there may be no running water in the campground. Composting toilets will be available during this time.

We plan on going late Oct as well.

[D_E_Bishop]

I can't give you specifics on availability of sites in Utah, but in most of the big five you can make reservations, and six months out get them. Also available the are private campgrounds, BLM, NFS, and local government campgrounds.

Here for what it's worth are some things I do know. There are campgrounds at or near Jacobs Lake on the North rim of the GC. There is a NFS campground near the Park and reservations are required. It was May of '15 when we were there and there were very few spots available. It was very, very muddy from rain.

Just north of Jacobs Lake is a small NPS facility(could be a RA, NM or something else) called Pipe Springs Park. It was the site of trouble between the Southern Paiutes and the Mormons. The Indians tolerated the sheep and cattle ranchers for the most part but not so much the Mormons. If you see a Ranger with long braids who goes by the name of Benn, it will be worth your time to engage him in talk, he is better educated than most folks I know and he is a So' Paiute elder. Really nice guy and a veritable fountain of knowledge about the wide area of the No. Rim.

Ruby's at Bryce Canyon is pretty nice, at least they have showers and limited shopping and a swimming pool. You can also rent a teepee from them to spend the night. Our DGKs want to go back to hike and stay in the teepees.

Oh yeah don't miss the cookies and breakfast at the trading post at Jacob Lake. Darn they have good food.

[monkey44]

We've been to the North Rim numerous times at end of Sept, early Oct. Never seen it more than half full, usually less.

Chance of snow is real tho', and they do not plow.