A North Rim family site in the pines.

Dear Arizona Travel: 
Are the North Rim campsites open through the month of October, so we can reserve them on June 1st?
Thanks,

Dania S.

Hello, Dania!

The North Rim closes in mid-October every year.  After mid-October, weather permitting, a limited number of campsites at the North Rim Campground with limited services (portable toilets) will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until snow closes Highway 67. Hikers and cross-country skiers will be permitted to use the park’s group campsites throughout the winter months if they have obtained a permit through the park’s Backcountry Information Center.

There is also outside the park camping near the North Rim:

DeMotte Campground
Operated by the U.S. Forest Service. 16 miles/ 28km north of the canyon rim. No hookups or reservations. Generally open May 15 to Nov. 1 for overnight camping, depending on snowfall. $17 for the first vehicle, $8 for the second, per site.

Jacob Lake Campground
Operated by the U.S. Forest Service, 45 miles/75 km north of the North Rim, during the summer only, no hookups or reservations. $17 per per night for first vehicle; second vehicle $8.00 Free evening programs.

Dispersed Camping
is permitted in the national forest outside the park; there are restrictions, however. Inquire at North Rim Visitor Center inside park, or at Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center at Jacob Lake (928) 643-7298. In winter contact the North Kaibab Ranger District, Kaibab National Forest, P.O. Box 248, Fredonia, AZ 86022 or call (928) 643-7395.

Kaibab Camper Village (Jacob Lake)
Commercial campground located ¼ mile/0.5 km south of Jacob Lake on Arizona Highway 67. Full hook-ups available. Phone (928) 643-7804 May 15-October 15. Off-season phone (928) 526-0924, outside AZ 1-800-525-0924.

Hope this answers your question!

–ChristinaToo

Dear Arizona Travel:
Do you have a list of RV Parks or State Parks with rv hookups?? From Flagstaff, what is the best route into Sedona pulling RVs?
–Bill

Hi, Bill. Sure! We have a list of Sedona RV parks and campgrounds with RV hook-ups. But first, let me answer your second question about the best route to take. When pulling an RV to Sedona from Flagstaff, you will want to stick to the freeways versus trying to navigate the tight canyon turns in Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A.

Take Interstate 17 south from Flagstaff about 41 miles to State Highway 179. From there, go about 15 miles north on Highway 179 and you will enter Sedona. This route takes about an hour from Flagstaff to Sedona.

Here’s a map, Bill. The list of RV parks and campgrounds with RV hookups near Sedona is below. Have fun RVing!
–ChristinaToo
View Larger Map

Rancho Sedona RV Park – Sedona

www.ranchosedona.com

135 Bear Wallow Lane, Sedona

(928) 282-7255

Oak Creek Mobilodge – Sedona

www.oakcreekmobilodge.com

1156 Arizona 179, Sedona

(928) 282-7701

Lo-Lo-Mai Springs Campground – Southwest Sedona

www.lolomai.com

11505 East Lolo Mai Road, Cornville

(928) 634-4700

Sunrise Resorts of Arizona – Southwest Sedona

1951 North Page Springs Road, Cornville

(928) 634-4309

Rio Verde RV Park – Cottonwood

www.rioverdervpark.com

3420 E State Route 89A, Cottonwood

(928) 634-5990

Turquoise Triangle RV Park – Cottonwood

2501 East State Route 89A, Cottonwood

(928) 634-5294

Verde Valley RV Resort – Cottonwood

6400 East Thousand Trails Road, Cottonwood

(928) 567-9562

Rancho Verde RV Park – Camp Verde

ranchoverdervpark.com

1488 West Horseshoe Bend Drive, Camp Verde

(866) 567-7037

Fort Verde State Historic Park – Camp Verde

125 East Hollamon Street, Camp Verde

(928) 567-3275

Primrose Inn and RV – Chino Valley

primroseinnandrv.com

1304 N Hwy 89, Chino Valley

(928) 636-2894

Munds Park RV – Munds Park (Sout of Flagstaff)

www.mundsparkrv.com

17550 S Munds Ranch Rd, Munds Park

(928) 286-1309

Woody Mountain Campground & RV Park – Flagstaff

www.woodymountaincampground.com

2727 W Route 66, Flagstaff

(928) 774-7727

Black Barts RV Park – Flagstaff

2760 East Butler Avenue, Flagstaff

(928) 774-1912

KOA Kampgrounds – Flagstaff

www.koa.com

5803 North US Highway 89, Flagstaff

(928) 526-9926

Mormon Lake Lodge

Dear Arizona Travel: Just want to know how to go about getting a package or something for 8 familys [sic] that has at least 5 members in a family. We went camping in Payson last year in July. Please help me with some info.
Thanks,
Cheryle

Hi, Cheryle. Wow, that’s quite a group – what fun! Are you looking for a place with lots of cabins, one for each family, or something like that? Two places come to mind that might fit everyone: Mormon Lake Lodge, which is 30 minutes southeast of Flagstaff, has cabins and a lodge and all kinds of outdoor activities. Another option is
Greer Lodge Resort and Cabins, which is in eastern Arizona, at the eastern edge of the White Mountains about 192 miles from Flagstaff (243 miles from Phoenix.) One of our Arizona Travel fans on Facebook recently posted a travel deal at the Greer Lodge, so that may be a great option for you. Both are well geared toward family reunions and large groups like yours.

A third option might be a timeshare resort such as Sedona Pines in Sedona. A switch from your groups’s camping background, this is more condo/resort, but Sedona Pines has lots of family-sized accommodations and activities for all ages on property.

I also wrote a couple recent blog posts that touch on both these accommodations… with people in similar situations… they might help you as well.

Dear Arizona Travel: Family Reunion Spot?

Dear Arizona Travel: Timeshare Rentals in Sedona?

Take care, Cheryle! Good luck!

–ChristinaToo

This year my mother and I joined my long-time Main Squeeze’s family for a Thanksgiving just east of Scottsdale along the Verde River. I have lived here for over 20 years and never knew that there was a beautiful river about 30 minutes away from my backyard!

My parents moved to Arizona in the 1970′s from the Philippines and have always enjoyed the tales of the Wild West as children. I call them my Desert Pilgrims. It so happens that Mr. Main Squeeze comes from a deep rooted ranching family in northern California. His parents moved to Arizona in 1983 to an area in the middle of Phoenix, which was surrounded by Arabian horse stables at the time. They look like what you would expect business professionals to look like, but they still love the outdoors just as much. Well, needless to say, our two families often bond over the love of Cowboy Cookouts and stories told around campfires – and that’s exactly how I spend this Thanksgiving.

The Verde River was a easy drive east along Dynamite Road and a bit of optional off-roading for some extra seclusion. We chose a spot on a moderately high cliff overlooking the river with tall reeds growing along the banks, while expansive hills spread into the distance. Although I have enjoyed most of my Thanksgivings in the past, being outside in the middle of nature made me feel a little closer to the real meaning of the holiday.

We created a little dining room with an Easy-up to help provide some shade, but it was a beautiful 72 degrees. We had a little portable gas stove to cook all the fixings, and even set up a full wet bar for the whiskey, vodka, and assorted beers! We pre-cooked the turkey this year, but usually they smoke it at the campsite. While we cooked, we played games and told stories, and enjoyed a few cocktails in the process while inhaling the fresh air surrounding us. It was just the break I needed from the construction and rapid growth of metro Phoenix.

Often times I get bored living in Arizona – but that’s absolutely ridiculous! With a Natural Wonder of the World just a handful of hours away and a river just down the street with golf courses and small artist communities everywhere…It’s time for me to be thankful.

Bob and Ellie Haan, Lafayette, took a whitewater raft trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon Aug. 16 through 26.

ACCOMMODATIONS

A rafting trip through the Grand Canyon was something my wife and I had dreamed about for years. On two different occasions, I had hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in the same day, but a rafting trip had to be booked a year in advance. Last summer we made reservations a year in advance for an 11-day trip through the canyon. We chose Colorado River and Trail Expeditions, a small family-owned rafting company. The guides were well-educated, polite, friendly, and added greatly to the enjoyment of the trip. The passengers helped set up camp each evening, doing such jobs as helping unload the rafts and setting up serving tables and lawn chairs.

FOOD

The guides did everything else, including providing hot meals for breakfast and dinner and laying out a make-your-own sandwich spread for lunch. Steaks, lasagna, salmon, French toast, bacon and eggs, cheesecake, and white cake were among the many items served. If you liked the hot oatmeal served at one breakfast, you would consider all of the meals delicious. Fortunately, they provided plenty of brown sugar for the oatmeal.

THE TRIP

For our trip, we started with seven guides and 13 passengers. At the halfway point at Phantom Ranch, four hiked out and six hiked in, so for the second half of our trip we had 15 passengers. Each oar boat had two or three passengers, and the paddleboat had six or seven passengers and one guide.

We started at Lees Ferry at mile marker zero and floated to Whitmore Wash at mile marker 188 where we were picked up by helicopter, flown to Bar 10 Ranch, and then flown by chartered commuter airline to Las Vegas.

We always thought a trip through the Grand Canyon would be about whitewater rafting but that turned out not to be the case. It was about the canyon. There were plenty of rapids, an average of about one every three miles, but it was anything but boring in between. The scenery was breathtaking. There were no distractions from cell phones, television, radio, or traffic noise. There was nothing to do in the evenings but enjoy the companionship of the other passengers in delightful conversation. We would sit along the river and just relax.

It was hot in the canyon, but in the rafts you would always be wet from the rapids. If for some reason you were dry, you simply dipped your helmet in the river and put it back on. The water was 45 degrees where we started and warmed up to 55 degrees by the end of the trip. We bathed in the river but didn’t take long. At night we slept under the stars without tents.

THE SCENERY

As a person always on the go, I wasn’t sure I would be able to shut down for almost two weeks. Once in the Grand Canyon, I was totally relaxed.

Each day was different. On many days we hiked into a side canyon. Waterfalls were everywhere. Some were more than 100 feet high. In many, we stood in the middle and let the water cascade down over us. Some were in a series with waterfall after waterfall. At one especially inspiring place called Thunder River, the water came out of the side of the canyon into a pool.

On the ninth day, it rained. While rain could put a damper on most vacations, it was a thrill to experience rain in the Grand Canyon. In Indiana, the ground absorbs much of the rain, but it’s different in the canyon. Within minutes after the rain started, water came cascading down from the canyon rim. Some would fall hundreds of feet and seem to evaporate in a mist. Some combined to form larger streams that ended with a powerful waterfall into the Colorado River. During the heavier part of the rain, Zak, the head guide, found a rock outcropping where we found shelter and stood in awe of the sights around us.

DON’T MISS

For the first nine days of the trip, the guides kept talking about Lava Falls Rapids, the largest on the trip. People had rotated in and out of the paddle boat for the entire trip, and Ellie and I thought we would not be able to board for the Lava Falls trip. On the morning of the day we were to pass through Lava Falls Rapids, many chose to ride in the safer oar boats, so both Ellie and I were able to experience the full power of the Colorado River.

Everyone should experience the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River. Standing at the top is amazing, but traversing the entire canyon is beyond words. Ellie and I don’t know what our next adventure will be, but it will be hard to top this trip.

From the Lafayette, Indiana Journal & Courier Online

The reward for those willing to make the effort, a mere fraction of the visiting public, is a chance to marvel at the unfolding beauty of the Inner Canyon. For those that are capable it is truly an experience not to be missed.

With few exceptions, the 1.2 million acre Grand Canyon National Park is fair game for foot traffic. Due to the difficult terrain the vast majority of the backcountry is only accessible by experienced off-trial hikers or uphill forays from rafting trips. To assist the rest of us there are approximately two-dozen established trails that provide access to some of the park’s most remarkable destinations.

Read more of this comprehensive Grand Canyon hiking, backpacking & camping guide at www.thecanyon.com.

Leaving the Jacob Lake campground on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend for a dispersed site on the Kaibab National Forest felt strangely disconcerting.

Try as I might to allow a rebellious streak to emerge, I have always been a color-inside-the-lines, stay-on-the-trail, follow-all-of-the-rules kind of guy. I almost always go to church on Sunday and spend most of my life trying not to hurt the feelings of others no matter how much I might disagree.

Developed campgrounds make me comfortable. I know the basic needs of a bathroom, a picnic table and a level place to put a tent will be met. There are rules to follow and people there to help you obey them.

For example, there was a fire ban in effect the night we stayed at Jacob Lake. I had called in advance to make certain a small, propane campfire would be legal. Three different campground hosts came to our campsite and told me to put it out before checking with their supervisor who had approved it. That didn’t stop them from glaring at me like I was a criminal. Being a Catholic, I still felt guilty even though the fire was safe and legal.

Left on my own, I would have stayed at the developed campground, visited the safe trails of the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park and been a part of the Memorial Day masses.

But my traveling companions, including my daughter Emma and one of her best friends from Flagstaff, Ariz., who knew the area, had other plans. Since we carried water, two portable tables and a shovel to bury human waste, we would stay outside the lines of the national park.

Such freedom frightens me for reasons I can’t understand. I asked the workers at the North Kaibab Visitors Center plenty of pointed questions about Forest Service travel plans, fire restrictions and where it was legal to camp. They seemed perfectly fine with the entire idea.

There was also the matter of my new pickup. I justified the expense because I could drive it off highway. But, with its inside and outside still shiny and little more than 1,000 miles on the odometer, turning off the pavement for a trip on the long and bumpy dirt road made me cringe.
When we ended up at a remote patch of dirt near an old fire pit, dust covered my newest toy. Worse, someone left a light on and the battery died, giving me something else to worry about.

Everything worked out just fine. Some 30 miles off the highway and well outside of the national park, we pretty much had our Grand Canyon viewpoint to ourselves. We got the truck to start, we didn’t burn the forest down, we left no trace and, most important, we found silence.
Sleeping in the the bed of the truck, I savored black skies filled with stars. Each night, we walked a few yards to the edge of the Grand Canyon and set up our camp chairs to watch the sun set.

I discovered what I knew all along. Leaving the safety of what you know to a place off the beaten track where you follow your own rules can be more than a little satisfying.

June 1, 2006 By Tom Wharton, Tribune Columnist, Salt Lake Tribune