Grand Canyon: Treasure Map
Score your own private paradise with this insider's guide to uncrowded areas in Grand Canyon National Park.
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EASY | MODERATE | HARD
It’s no secret that the Grand Canyon is a hiker magnet (and it’s no surprise). Here, the otherworldly is commonplace. Raging falls punch out of solid rock walls. Sheer red buttes rise like temples. Steep, airy trails hug soaring cliffs. But while rangers reported more than 92,000 overnighters in the park last year, there’s plenty of space—1.2 million acres—to spread out. If you know where to go.
That’s where we come in. For the first time on one map, you get a guide to the park’s 83 camping zones. That central purple zone? The park’s most popular region. Red? Not a soul camped there last year. In between, there are plenty of areas where you’ll find life-list scenery and solitude. Chhose from the options above to determine which zone is best for your skills.
ZONES
Corridor good trails, signs, reliable water Threshold nonmaintained trails, scarce water, sometimes difficult trailhead access
Primitive extensive Grand Canyon experience and routefinding skills needed
Wild indistinct or no routes, little or no water, only for the most advanced hikers