I'm wondering if anyone knows about camping in the Grand Canyon near Phantom Ranch.

I think we might want to eat our meals at the lodge, so we would want to be close to it.

Here are my questions:

Are there different campgrounds to choose from right around that area? If so, which are nicest? I've been on the NP website, but I'm sort of confused.

How quickly do the reservations fill up? I gather I need to write in four months in advance. Would a fax be better? Sometimes I think that's unreliable. (We would be going in May--NEXT May--not this May!!)

Also, if you are just camping, is it possible to buy a shower at Phantom Ranch Lodge?

Has anyone used the mule service, where mules carry hiker's heavy stuff up and down for them? How far in advance would this need to be reserved? Thanks!

I've hiked to Phantom 4 times. I've camped and stayed in the dorm. To stay at the cabins or dorms, you usually need to book at least 1 year in advance. They recmd 18 months. Depends on what time of year you're going. Keep in mind that it's MUCH hotter at the bottom of the canyon. It will be over 100 during the summer.You have to reserve your meal ahead of time, too. It's expensive, but well worth it. The only campground in the vicinity is Bright Angel campground. Not much to it. Rustic. If you're camping in the canyon, you need at backcountry permit from Park Service. Do that several months in advance. We used the mules to carry stuff out once. We arranged when we got down there, but we worked at the park. I think I'd arrange ahead of time. Not sure if they even do that anymore. It's beautiful at Phantom and well worth the trip.

There is only one campground near Phantom Ranch (Bright Angel). Often times, people talk about camping at Phantom Ranch when they really mean Bright Angel because the two are basically next to each other.

Permits for Bright Angel campground (or any other backcountry camping destination) become available on the 1st day of the month, 4 months in advance. In other words, May permits are available for reservation starting on January 1st. You can either mail your permit request (postmarked on or after January 1) or fax it in. I found the fax machine to be unreliable, but that may have been because of issues on my end.

An alternative is to try to get a reservation at Phantom Ranch in the dormitory-style housing. I believe there is room for 10 men and 10 women (separate housing) with bunk beds.

I do not believe you can "buy" or otherwise use the showers at Phantom Ranch is you're staying in Bright Angel. I'm pretty sure they are just for the dorm/cabin people. Not sure how much ahead of time you need to make reservations for the duffel service. Xanterra takes care of the mule rides, duffel services, the dorm/cabin housing and showers, as well as the meals at the canteen at Phantom Ranch, so your best bet is to give them a call or e-mail and find out how much in advance all that stuff needs to be reserved. You'll need meal reservations as well.

The webpage for Xanterra with info on Phantom Ranch is:

http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/Phantom-Ranch-704.html

caligirl56---

Your plans are similar to what we did last year, and are doing agin this year, but in April. You can make the campground reservation for May, 2008 on January 1, 2008. Fax is fine, but you should do it that day to be safe.

We found Brigh Angel campground to be very pleasant---the campsites are strung out along the creek, and are very clean and well-kept (in part because you are not allowed to leave ANY trash there--everything must be carried out). The restrooms have plenty of running water.

Meals at Phantom Ranch get booked up a year in advance, just like the lodging. But keep calling and you will most likely luck into cancellations. The food is amazing good, especially considering that it comes down on mules every day.

Last year we carried all our gear. But this year, our teenage daughter and some friends who don't like heavy packs are coming, so we reserved duffel service. You pay $60 each way for one 30-pound duffel. You can reserve that a month or two in advance, and you must deliver your duffel to them by 4 pm the previous day.

We were told it is not possible to buy showers at Phantom Ranch---they are for overnight guests only.

enzian,

Thanks for the information. Very helpful. I hadn't realized that the meals need to be booked a full year in advance--an important detail to know! (although I guess if we use the mule service, we could practically cook a gourmet dinner in the campground!!).

Hope you've had some luck getting your group reservations.

caligirl56---you don't "have" to book the meals a year in advance, but you can, and that appears to be what most people do, even before they have their camping reservations. I've waited until I had the camping permit both times, and then had to pick up random cancellations for our dinners.

No luck on the group reservation yet. I expected the "regular" spaces to be sold out on April 1, but the group space has me confounded. But I'll keep trying.

We've decided to try to get reservations at the Bright Angel Campground for late April of 2008 (instead of May).

I called and spoke to the backcountry desk--just to get a bit of information. It sounds like it really takes a lot of luck to get those reservations--even if you do everything just right (i.e. FAX request for late April on Dec. 1). They said that they literally get hundreds of requests.

I suppose we can improve our odds by giving a lot of alternative dates. Any other suggestions?

Being flexible in your choices is the best. Give alternate dates and, if you are asking for more than one night, some alternate itineraries (2 nights at Bright Angel or one night each at Bright Angel and Indian Gardens).

According to the website, all faxes received on the first day of the month are treated the same (they draw from them at random), so you don't have to fax at 12:01 am like we did in 2005!

Our group just hiked to Phantom Ranch and camped on March 30th. My trip report may be some help to you.

LindainOhio's report is great. I'll be writing one this week as well.

To answer some of your other questions---we did send part of our gear down on the mules (last time we carried everything, but this was a nice option). No showers at Phantom Ranch for campers. But one of the things we put in our duffle was a solar shower, which we filled when we arrived and the water got warm enough for a pleasant shower in the campground (we took swimsuits for this purpose). The guys dipped in the Colorado River, but it is very cold!

The campsites are first-com, first choice, but they are all pretty nice.

Linda, I really enjoyed your trip report. Very helpful in my planning for next year.

And enzian, I'm definitely looking forward to reading your report! Had forgotten about the solar shower--haven't backpacked in a while. That's a great idea!

The solar shower was a bribe to our 14-year old daughter. And it worked! (I enjoyed it too--it was nice to be able to wash my hair).

Still trying to find time for the trip report---maybe tomorrow!

Not to be a pain, but backpackers in the Grand Canyon are asked (not required) to follow LNT (Leave No Trace) principles, one of which is: If you have to wash dishes or yourself, dispose of the water at least 200 feet from a water source such as a creek. It would be pretty tough to adhere to that in Bright Angel campground as BA Creek runs right next to it, so consider that when deciding on the sun shower option.

And no, biodegradable soap doesn't make it OK.

Weasel,

So, if we needed to wash a dish or two--would we dump the water down the toilet in the bathroom--or just walk as far as possible away from the river, and creeks, etc.?

There is an outside sink (with drain into the sewer system) by the restrooms for washing dishes.

TheWeasel is correct about the "leave no trace" and no soap anywhere near the creek. We used the sunshower as far away from the creek as we could get, and didn't use any soap or shampoo.

Enzian's right about the dishes. If you weren't at a developed campground, the "proper" LNT way to dispose of dishwater is to first strain it to collect food particles (pack those out with any other garbage) and then get rid of the water away from camp and water sources.

There's a website on LNT ( www.lnt.org ), but the 7 main principles are found here: http://www.lnt.org/programs/lnt7/index.html

There are some fairly hard-core LNT people out there, to the point of being ridiculous in some cases. I find that reading the 7 principles gets me thinking about stuff I never really thought had much impact. There's some stuff they talk about that doesn't always make sense, but at least it raises awareness.

And keep in mind when you plan your food for the trip---all packaging and uneaten food must be carried back out. Last year, we bought sandwiches at the grocery store for the first day's hike. I wasn't thinking ahead about this. I don't eat bread or tomatoes, just the turkey, lettuce, and cheese. So I had to carry that yucky bread and spoiled tomato back up two days later, along with the foil that wrapped the sandwich. This year, I skipped the sandwich and just took some slices of cheese and other things I knew I would actually consume.