Truck camping the Grand Canyon in February. Seeking advice

[Hemi_Joel]

I am going to be driving from Minnesota to California in February. I was thinking that the Grand Canyon would be a nice place to stop along the way. I've never been there in the winter before.
Are the roads open? Could I get snowed in? What is there to do in the winter? Does anyone have experience who could advise me? Thanks, Joel

[work2much]

Grit dog wrote:
^^Wow those are some stud mulies!!

Yea, they definitely had our dogs attention. 😮

[sullivanclan]

If you're in Colorado, be sure to enjoy the Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction, then Moab with Arches and onto Canyonlands National Park. With our mild Winter, we got going on your crazy not to hit the local parks enroute to GCNP. Enjoy this time of year, the winter is so much different than back East, you can camp all year.

[Grit_dog]

^^Wow those are some stud mulies!!

[Kayteg1]

Howcome our right to S**T at campgrounds become Capital issue?

[Fuller_Johnson]

If you decide to do the Skywalk which is in driving distance of Vegas there are couple no hookup campgrounds in Lake Mead Rec Area.

Nice flush toilets. Las Vegas Bay would be the closest. 10 bucks a night with a Geezer pass. I spent a few nights there a couple weeks ago. They were open even with the governent shutdown but toilets locked but dump stations open. When government opened back up toilets were back open.

[work2much]

We stayed in Grand Canyon last year in Early Feb. We ended up staying in the "rv" style campground. The smaller Mather campground was open but only a few spots were plowed and none could accommodate our TC. We ended up staying at the "trailer village" campground while they were in the process of plowing spots. I would call the park and see what the snow conditions might be. Other than that we lucked out with 2 clear sunny days which took the chill off. Very few park visitors which was awesome. Definitely would do this again.

Here is a shot from the campground with some wildlife.

[Kayteg1]

Did you check the Skywalk accommodations?
Its been few years since I was there, but don't recall them having RV park and few miles of gravel road is not making good trip.
Years ago I took my SUV there and one of the rocks punched 3" round hole in my tire.
I know Indians keep improving everything, so it could change.

[Hemi_Joel]

I'm on my way, stopped in Colorado for the night. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to go to Grand Canyon Village, or go to the Skywalk.

[deltabravo]

I stayed at Mather in 2012. My rig was much longer than their 30' size limit, and I fit in a pull through very nicely... and was also able to park my Jeep TJ behind the truck and trailer.

[trail-explorer]

Mather generator hours:
7–9 am and 6–8 pm.

[run100]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
Just in case you only want personal observation, I think the GCNPis the most fun in winter but, I like winter. I will say that the Canyon is a fairy tale world at any time of year but it is so different in winter it takes on a diferent life. As long as you have the oportunity, it is a don't miss opertunity.

I agree 100%. We've had the privilege of being at South Rim when it was covered in snow. It was a magical paradise!

One item to note - If I recall, their generator hours are opposite to most campgrounds. They can only be run in the evenings (something like 6pm-9pm) and not during the day. It's been a few years, so my facts may be a little off. Worth checking out if it matters to you.

[centerline]

Hemi Joel wrote:
Do they plow the roads when it snows?

when it snows, its so cold and dry that the wind eventually blows the snow off the road... but if you need to keep moving, its not a fun drive if its coming down heavy, as you may encounter a drift or two..

[Fuller_Johnson]

I don't have a photo hosting site at this time but I did get pics of 6 before I left. One snuck away before I got to it. There were 2 Arctic Fox, one long older Lance, one Eagle Cap, One Outfitter, 1 Palomino with a slide and my Sun Valley.

Heated Flush toilets although the one by me did have some graffitee. It was 33 degrees when I left the campground but warmed up quite nice when I got to Desert View tower.

[billyray50]

Fuller_Johnson wrote:
I'm at Mather Campground now. Only one loop open. Sites are small but room enough for a TC, matter of fact there are 7 TC here unless another came after dark. 7.50 at the fee machine with a Geezer Pass. As far as I know it's the only camping in the park in the winter.

I was here last year also but it was hard to make out the sites and I had to bust through a 3 foot snowbank to get into one but no snow now.

I got a spot about 1:00 PM and got a pretty good one. Left the ticket on the post and my occupied chair and it was open when I got back at 5:00 PM.

Any pics of campground with all the TCs?