Desert View Campground (Reservations Required)

Definitely get to this campground early if you want a spot during peak tourist season. As it is one of the first campgrounds within Grand Canyon National Park (south rim, east), it is very popular and fills up quickly. Unfortunately, we did not get to stay here for that reason. We had to drive 25 miles south to Tusayan, AZ, and the only place we could find in that area to stay was Grand Canyon Camper Village, which is a nasty, over-priced dump. Certainly do not stay there.

Supposedly the most beautiful campground on the south rim. Also the perfect place to catch the sunrise is at the watchtower. The most peaceful and scenic camping on the South Rim―not to mention the park’s most beautiful sunrise spot. Professional photographers camp here to capture the unfolding layers of color and shadow at dawn. The best time to secure a spot is midmorning, when people are packing up camp. 50 sites mid-May–Oct; $12. 928/638-7888.

beautiful place to camp

While officially one cannot be over 30' combined truck and trailer - we found a few spots that we could put our 28' Airstream into along with the truck. It is a bit tricky - but not that difficult. Sites are paved and include table and fire ring. All sites have nice (short) trees for screening. Night skies are fantastic and the campground is very close to some of the overlooks, so one can visit them at sunset. There is a 7-day limit. Camp host was very, very nice and helpful. There is no dump station. Water is available. We were able to use our Verizon JetPack and cell phone successfully.

Spent 2 nights here 7/16. Quiet Campground. A good choice for astronomers and night sky buffs. Close to Desert View Observation points and the Watchtower. It appears to be an historic structure but was built in 1935. Gas station and Grocery close by as well as prepared food and gift shop (all at Watchtower). Showers are conveniently located in Grand Canyon Village, 25 miles away. Great inexpensive choice for last minute camping trip. First come, First served. Had Cell service but closed down at 9pm, no idea why.

While there are 3 campgrounds in the Grand Canyon, this one is the only one in the Desert View area, the least visited area of the park(so it’s not as busy). There are some amazing canyon views with a 5 minute walk from the campground. Several notable pullout within 5 miles and you can walk to the desert view welcome center and watchtower. Completely dry campground, but clean flush toilets, and fresh water, no showers. No dump station available, but there is one in the campground on the south rim, about 25 miles away. No reservations, and 30’ max. That’s no joke. I have a 30’ travel trailer and Ford Excursion and barely made it around the campground. Don’t try if your bigger, it won’t end well. Camp host was always around, and very nice and polite. Park ranger came by every night and let us know there was a ranger talk at the watchtower. Beautiful sunsets are so close and you don’t have to drive, park and deal with tons of people.

We didn’t like the closeness of the neighbors, they were practically on top of us and the snoring woke me up several times. Another late night wake up was someone screaming “FIRE! FIRE!” at 2:00AM. We don’t know what the deal was but it pretty well summed up our experience.

Tent site was clean and free of debris, restrooms were fairly clean, and staff was helpful.

Despite the loud nights and raucous evenings from the college age kids, it was a good stop.

This is definitely worth the $6 we paid with our 1/2 off senior pass. Like other reviewers wrote, 30 ft max is the limit for sized rig. Sites are spacious but getting around the campground in anything bigger would be a problem
We had 2 bars on our Verizon with we-boost but who needs internet when you have the magnificent views a mere 5 minute walk down the path?!
In the morning a herd of deer mosied through our site and we saw a fox on our way out.
Running water in the clean restrooms was a plus!
We’d stay longer but we’re travelers so on to the next stop!

This is an amazing campground, conveniently located minutes away from the south rim. They do not take reservations but we needed a spot for one night on our way home from Sedona so we thought we would take a chance. Since it was Memorial Day we were assuming others would have left that morning and we got lucky. There were a few spots left around 2pm when we got there but the camp ground did fill up by 7pm that night.

Hosts were helpful and pointed us to the best available space for our our 28ft motorhome. It was spot 50 located right on the end so easy to get in and out of. Camped with our friends who also had a vehicle and we had no issue parking both at our site.

Can’t wait to go back again.

We had snow on 9 May 2019!!
So we preferred a asphalt place to stay. Thats the reason we choose this campground and not a Free.
You can walk to Desert View! It takes 10 minutes!
You can only pay with creditcard, 12 dollar. There is a volunteer who cleans and cares.