Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Permits
Recreation.gov: Recreation.gov is being used for all calendar year 2024 and later Grand Canyon Backcountry Permits. Please see the park's Press Release announcement and Frequently Asked Questions.
PERMITS:
When to apply: See "Important Dates" (two sections below) for when backcountry permits become available.
Minimum Age: Applicants must be 18 years or older to apply for a Backcountry Permit or to be the trip leader for a Backcountry Permit.
When Permits are Required: Backcountry Permits are Required for backpacking or camping anywhere in the park (exceptions listed below).
A Grand Canyon BACKCOUNTRY Permit is NOT Required for:
- Car Campgrounds :
- Overnight camping at Mather Campground , Trailer Village , or Desert View Campground
- Overnight camping at North Rim Campground between May 15 - Oct 31
- Phantom Ranch Lodge :
- Stays at Phantom Ranch Lodge
- Guided overnight hikes :
- The Grand Canyon Conservancy Field Institute offers educational backpacking trips and obtains backcountry permits which cover all participants on their trips. Permits are issued in the Institute's name - participants do not need separate permits. Visit Grand Canyon Conservancy (www.grandcanyon.org) external link for more info.
- Commercially guided backcountry hiking with companies who have been issued a Commercial Use Authorization and have obtained a backcountry permits. Permits are issued in the name of the company guiding the hike - participants do not need separate permits. Visit Guided Hikes.
- Day hikes :
- Note: Any organized, non-commercial group of 12-30 participants, or not-for-profit group conducting rim-to-rim, rim-to-rim-to-rim, rim-to-river-to-rim, and/or extended day hikes in the inner canyon must obtain a Special Use Permit.
- Day stock rides (i.e. horse or mule rides)
- concessioner mule rides (South Rim or North Rim)
- riding your own horses or mules
- Noncommercial River Trips :
- A Grand Canyon National Park noncommercial RIVER permit is required
Important Notes:
- Pets : Pets are not allowed below the rim.
- Service Animals : If you wish to hike below the rim with your service animal, please start by visiting the Backcountry Information Center and ask for information and advice to help make your trip safer both for you and for your service animal.
- Access to Tribal Lands: Access to tribal land require a permit from the respective tribe.
Notifications and Alerts
Sites Closed at Bright Angel Campground: Both large group sites and 3 small group sites will be closed to the public from 4-4-2024 through at least the end of the year to accommodate construction needs regarding the Trans-Canyon Waterline Replacement project . The other couple dozen small group sites at Bright Angel remain open and are reservable through Recreation.gov.
Permit & Season Information
Plan When to Hike
- Mar, Apr, and May: Weather fluctuates between ideal, extreme cold/snowstorms/icy trails, and inner-canyon heat exceeding 100 F in later May. Shoe traction devices may be necessary.
- North Rim: Roads and services remain closed for the winter until May 15th.
- Jun, Jul, and Aug: These are DANGEROUSLY hot! Temperatures in the bottom of the canyon can exceed 120 F (49 C). Even when hikers stop walking, not being able to get out of the sun and heat can be deadly. Rangers and experienced hikers recommend avoiding the canyon in the summer.
- Sep, Oct, and Nov: Summer heat and thunderstorms begin giving way to drier, more moderate temperatures with potential snow storms and icy trails late in the season.
- North Rim: Services close at the end of October and roads close with the first major storm in late November.
- Dec, Jan, and Feb: Expect cold temperatures/snowy weather, but sunny days are more common. Trails will likely be icy at the top, and shoe traction devices may be necessary.
Need to Know
DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT TO HIKE
Inner-Canyon Corridor
- Bright Angel Campground is by far the most requested and highly popular below-rim backpacking destination within Grand Canyon National Park. Located near the confluence of Bright Angel Creek and the Colorado River, this campground has restrooms, potable water, shade trees, picnic tables, a Ranger Station, and proximity to the inner-canyon Phantom Ranch Lodge. This area is perfect for fit hikers who are ready for their first hike within the Grand Canyon backcountry.
- The Bright Angel Trail and South Kaibab Trail both lead from the South Rim to Bright Angel Campground, and the North Kaibab Trail leads there from the North Rim. These three trails all connect at the bottom of the canyon over the Colorado River by way of two steady foot bridges. Because these are the only bridges within the entire Grand Canyon backcountry, this is called the "Trans-Canyon Corridor" or just "Corridor" (i.e. it is "the" way to get from one rim to the other). These trails are Grand Canyon's widest and best maintained inner-canyon trails.
- Preferred Hike: Most choose to begin and end their hikes on the South Rim, and the most common backpacking itinerary they choose includes staying up to two-nights at Bright Angel Campground and/or up to two nights at Havasupai Gardens Campground. Backpackers hiking either direction between Bright Angel Campground and the North Rim (open mid-May through late November) should request to stay at Cottonwood Campground to split up the one-way 14.5 mile (23.3 km) hike which has a 6,000 feet (1,829 m) change in elevation.
- See our Corridor Brochure for more information.
Hikes for Returning Grand Canyon Hikers
- All hikes into and especially out of the canyon are difficult, and because of the difficulty most who hike the canyon only do so once. Nevertheless, some do return for at least a second hike. Many of these choose to do another hike in the Corridor or to branch out onto a harder, less commonly used trail.
- The Hermit, Grandview, and Clear Creek trails are often recommended for second Grand Canyon hikes.
- The Hermit Trail is a common choice for returning Grand Canyon hikers and is often recommended for a second backpacking trip in the canyon. However, many who hike here as their second Grand Canyon hike will rate the Hermit Trail as being twice as difficult. This may be due to mis-remembering the difficulty of their previous hike or simply due to the challenge of hiking on a steeper, narrower, looser treaded, and exposed trail.
- The Grandview Trail is another common choice for a second backpacking trip in the canyon. This trail descends to Horseshoe Mesa, an inner canyon plateau located about 2,500 feet below the rim. Most who hike here seek to stay one or two nights then return to the rim.
- The Clear Creek Trail starts at the bottom of the canyon by Bright Angel Campground and involves a 2 mile (3.2 km), 1,250 foot climb before continuing another 7-miles (11.2 km) east to the Clear Creek drainage. Most who choose this hike seek a four night itinerary starting on the South Rim: first night at Bright Angel Campground, second and third nights in Clear Creek, and a fourth night back at Bright Angel Campground.
Advanced Hikes for Experienced GC Hikers
- Grand Canyon National Park encompasses more than 1.2 million acres, though much of the park is inaccessible due to the predominance of cliffs. Most of these areas are extremely remote and recommended only individuals who have extensive route finding ability and are highly experienced Grand Canyon hikers. The Colorado River bisects the canyon; there are bridges for hikers in the Phantom Ranch area only. See Researching Other Areas for more information.
Rim Camping
- Backpackers who wish to stay above the rim entirely or include rim-top camping as part of a larger itinerary can do so on the North or South Rims. Options for Designated or At-Large backcountry camping exist.
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
- Demand for Grand Canyon backcountry permits often exceeds availability, and applicants are encouraged to apply early.
- Lottery: Grand Canyon uses a monthly lottery to ensure fair consideration of earliest requests for Backcountry Permits (see Overview Tab for more information).
- Later Reservations: Sometimes space remains available after the Lottery month -- this space can be viewed and claimed through Recreation.gov.
- Watch for Cancellations: Space can also become available at later times due to cancellations, and cancellations are more likely to occur around 30-days before start dates (this is the last opportunity for permittees to cancel and receive partial refunds). Recreation.gov randomly releases this cancelled space online within 24-hours, and it tends to be claimed quickly. Recreation.gov allows new reservations as late as 5-days prior to the hike start date.
- Last Minute Waitlist: Grand Canyon holds back a very limited amount of space at Havasupai Gardens and Cottonwood Campground for in-park visitors seeking a last-minute permit. No last-minute space is held for Bright Angel Campground. These permits are issued in-person only at the Backcountry Information Center (BIC), are for one night, and cannot be purchased more than one day prior to the start of a hike:
- Havasupai Gardens Waitlist Space is exclusively released at South Rim BIC:
- Jan 1 - Feb 29: 1 site for up to 6 people.
- Mar 1 - Nov 30: 5 sites held for waitlist for up to 15 people.
- Dec 1 - Dec 31: 1 site held for waitlist for 6 people.
- Cottonwood Campground Waitlist Space is exclusively released at North Rim BIC:
- May 15 - Oct 31: 1 site for up to 4 people. (No space held for remainder of year).
Fee Policy
What are the Backcountry Permit Charges?
Basic Permit Charge: $10 (non-refundable). Waived for lottery winners and runners-up during the early access month when reserved through timeslot.
Nightly Charge: (refundable until 30 days before permit start date provided permit has not yet been printed):
- $15 per person or stock animal for below rim use ($12 for nights prior to 4-1-2024)
- $4 per person or stock animal for above rim use.
Permit holders are responsible for paying park entrance fees upon arrival.
When can the permit be printed?
Permits can be printed as early as one-month before the permit start date. Permittees can no longer directly modify or cancel their permits once printed - please reach out by email to a Ranger for assistance at grca_bic@nps.gov or 928-638-7875.
What happens if I forget to print my permit?
Permits that remain in non-printed status three days before a permit start date are subject to cancellation so the itinerary space can be made available to other hikers.
Cancellation Policy
If your plans change and you will not be using all or part of your permit, please make that cancellation on recreation.gov right away so that space can be made available to other interested hikers. Recreation.gov will award partial refunds of participant charges for cancellations made on the website at least 1-month prior to the permit start date provided the permit has not yet been printed.
When Does Recreation.gov Release Cancelled Space? When individuals cancel their permits on Recreation.gov, the space is randomly made available for new reservations some time within 24 hours.
Contact Information
Mailing Address
PO Box 129 Grand Canyon AZ 86023
or email us at GRCA_BIC@NPS.GOV
Phone Number
(928) 638-7875
