chrys

For those who can't completely disconnect themselves...

1) Is it true that there is no Internet service inside the Grand Canyon park itself?

2) It also appears that cell phone coverage doesn't extend into the park. How is it outside the park?

3) How well does satellite Internet and phone service work there?

4) I've heard that there are a couple of Internet cafes down the road in Tusayan. Are they reliable?

Thank you.

gail

We had no Verizon phone service until we were about 15 minutes outside of
South Rim area. If you are driving in the area, we only had spotty service for the days we spent in the general area.

Myer

I was just in several NPs; Bryce, Zion and GC.

If i remember correctly, they told me at the hotel desk in GC that one company had a deal with the gov't about NPs and they had a tower hidden in the park. Since it wasn't mine (verizon) I didn't really care.

I had very little service in any of the parks. In some, it died away close to the entrance.

That's really too bad since having service in an area of hiking is a great safety factor.

In summary, don't count on service in the parks. In the end i made my calls from my room. Maybe that's why!!!

BayouGal

We had spotty Sprint service from the lodge on the edge of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We figured it might be coming from across the canyon somewhere on the south rim side.

karameli

When we went to GC in 2002, we did get cell service while on the South Rim and in our hotel in the park. We didn't hike into the canyon (it was snowing) so not sure about service while hiking. Service while spotty in the desert around AZ. No clue on wireless internet, since it's wasn't really available anywhere then! (Hard to believe.)

TheWeasel

There is an internet kiosk thing in the lobby at Maswik on the S. Rim. It's one of those "insert $1 for a couple minutes" kind of things - don't know if there was a laptop plug-in for it but I doubt it.

I had cell phone signal near the entrance, but not within the village.

kayd

I had no Verizon service anywhere in Northern Arizona (Kayenta, Tuba City, Grand Canyon), but I saw a local resident using her cell phone at Navajo National Monument, so there is some service in the area if you have the right provider.

chrys

I just called Xanterra (www.xanterra.com), who runs the lodges in the GC. They said that the only Internet access they provide is through kiosks at Bright Angel, Maswik and Yavapai, and you can't connect your own computer to the terminal.

I also just found a website (www.cellreception.com) w/ a database of cell phone tower locations in the U.S. and reader comments on their cellular service quality. According to this site, Alltel has the only tower at the South Rim, and Crown Communications has another one at the GC Airport.

starrsville

I had spots of service at the canyon overlook at the North Rim and two spots in the parking lots. Very spotty service, but I was able to connect via Verizon. I also had the ugly, non-techie phone that the volunteer fire department uses in our mountains. Techies may know what it is has over the fancier phones, but using it with Verizon gives me service that others can't get in my neck of the woods.

karameli

Starrsville makes a good point -- I should add that my phone had an external antenna, which generally helps the phone get stronger reception. That may be the difference. I've since "upgraded" to a sleek lil' techie phone that gets much weaker signal. Kind of miss my old dinosaur.

Also, the cell service I had at the time was Cingular. Not sure how the others fare in that area.

MikeT

Thank God there is no cell service. When I go to the Grand Canyon to see the natural beauty, the last think I want to experience is some yokels yapping on their cell phone.

"Can you hear me?? What??? I can't hear you."

"Did you get the hamburger out to thaw?"

"I left those papers on my desk."

starrsville

karameli, the phone was ugly as sin and folks that asked to use it stifled a laugh. But, I kept it until it died because it got stellar reception. I had phones with two other companies and no service in the mountains. I went to the local store and told them I didn't care what the phone was - I wanted reception. It was ugly when it was new in January 2004 and it was ugly when it died last year - but it got great reception