Jacob Lake Campground

Most people come to this campground because it is located on the main access route to the Grand Canyon's North Rim, which is 44 miles to the south. However, campers at Jacob Lake don't have to drive at all to take advantage of excellent opportunities for hiking, sightseeing, and wildlife viewing.

We stayed here in September 2015. Sites have lodgepole or ponderosa pines around. In spite of that we were able to use internet and satellite television. Sites have fire ring and concrete picnic tables. The sites near the highway do experience some highway noise. To the rear of the campground is a very nice hiking trail. While this is pretty remote, the Jacob Lake Lodge has a coffee shop and gas station. They also have the most creative and unusual (also read: expensive) cookies imaginable - very yummy! Note that this is dry camping at at out 7,800 ft. Driving to the North Rim is approximately a 20+/- minute drive, not including time to stop and watch the buffalo herd.

This campground is the perfect spot to make a base camp and explore the parks and sites in the Northern Arizona/Southern Utah area.
Jacob Lake Campground is located about 1/4 mile from the road to enter the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Located nearby is fuel (Chevron), a restaurant and motel, and the Kaibab National Forest Visitor Center.
The campground is located adjacent to the highway so road noise may be a problem if you are tent camping.
The central location make visiting Vermilion Cliffs NM, North Rim of the Grand Canyon or Lake Powell and Page, AZ a breeze. We made a day trip to Zion NP from here.

We just spent 6 days at this campground and it was great.
ACCESS: Right on Rte 89A (at the intersection with 67) it is across the street from the Jacob Lake Inn (Est in 1923). The entrance is easy-there are speed bumps so go really slowly-they mean it when they post 5 MPH) As you enter the self registration board is on the right. Grab an envelope or find your spot and walk back-nowhere is too far away. There are two loops - the first loop is sites 1-23 and for unreserved sites, 24-51 are for reserved sites. We were VERY lucky to have arrived on a Tuesday afternoon and had a number of choices. For the rest of the week we were there the CG was full every night-and it rained 3 of the 6 days.

SITES: The sites were mostly level and if not very little off. We saw no-one with some of the stacks we've seen in other places and there was a good mix of large class A's, Class C's trailers and 5th wheels. The surface was gravel and very nicely spaced with lots of privacy, a cement picnic table and fire ring. Lots of pines but we had enough sunlight for solar charging when it wasn't raining or cloudy. Officially the size limit is 35' but we saw bigger rigs and there were several spots that could take a 40'er-unless your toad is a truck, in which case you might have to park it somewhere else.

FACILITIES: There are only vault toilets here-sparkling clean, with a water spigot outside the bathroom and a handy water container for putting out camp fires. No showers. No Laundry. This, and the lack of a dump, is why I can only give 4 stars. They will tell you that there are showers and laundry at the private campground 1/4 mile down the road but be forewarned. The showers cost $2.25 for 5 min and the stall is miniscule. My husband could barely move in it and he is not that large-and one of the 2 was out of order and it was not particularly clean. There is a changing area as part of the shower so it is private but if you have your own shower it is assuredly better-and cheaper. We did not try the laundry so I won't speak to it. You can go to Kanab (40 miles away) or Page (1.5 hrs) for laundry and/or groceries. There is also no dump (a real shame) and the one at the private CG is $12.

CELLS: we had an excellent 4 bars ATT

PETS: Very pet friendly as they can walk-on leash-on the trails around there.

TRASH: huge trash bin right next to the bathrooms that were never full despite the CG being full. No recycling-a not so great thing.

WATER: the water spigot at the CG is not for filling tanks however, at the Chevron station across the street you can fill your tank. However, be aware that the gas there is MUCH more expensive (late Sep 2016: $3.07 for regular and it was $2.69 at the General Store closer to the park and $2.49 in Kanab.)

THINGS TO DO:
Kaibab National Forest is what you are in here and their Ranger station is just past the Inn on 67. Very good displays and a decent selection in the Gift Shop (Pick up a copy of Brighty by Marguerite Henry for your favorite grandchild) and where you can get copies of trail maps for the forest. There is a short trail which goes around Jacob Lake (it should be called Jacob Puddle as it is barely even a pond and on private land) to the Historic Ranger Station which has been renovated but is NOT open on w/e.
JLCG is a 1.25 +/- hour drive to the Visitor Center for the North Rim where the Lodge is also located. There is a short trail to Bright Angel Point that extends from the parking lot and is an easy and beautiful hike for those no interested in the harder trails. The Lodge has a dining room and during the day there is a deli next door to it where the food is good but quite expensive ($9.60 for a meatball sub) but which you can take out to eat on the porch that overlooks the canyon. There is a turn off for Pt Imperial and Cape Royal Pt a few miles after the entrance station to the park. Cape Royal is excellent for sunsets but it will take awhile to get to if you stop at the viewpoints along the road (the entrance road splits and there are another 15 miles to Cape Royal Pt. At Pt Imperial there are trail heads and trails and great views. Some people go there for sunsets. They are both WELL worth visiting. IMHO the North Rim is far superior to the south for both the lack of crowds and up close beauty but if you have the chance and ability visit both.
Page: It is an 1.5 hr drive-(with a stop at Navajo Bridge which crosses the Colorado River) and part of it alongside Vermillion Cliffs and through Marble Canyon and longer if you stop and hike to Horseshoe Bend which we unfortunately had to skip. From all that I have seen it was something we should have planned for. Page has a large Safeway and 2 laundromats and is a small city. You can see the Glen Canyon Dam there as well. For closer laundry and groceries Kanab is a short jaunt up the road. Kanab will be on UT time. AZ is always on Mountain Standard time HOWEVER the Navajo Nation follows daylight savings time.

NOISE: what noise? Some people may run their generators for a short time in the morning and evenings but we heard nothing obnoxious even with a full campground. It is DARK there (even with the lights from the Chevron station) and the stars shine brightly. The Milky Way is a white streak across the sky. Very peaceful, although we were row away from the road which may have some road noise but nothing to mention at night.

One last thing: The Jacob Inn has been owned by the Rich family for 93 years. They have an excellent dining room, sit down lunch/dinner counter, world famous cookies (with reason) and shakes as well as an excellent gift shop filled with Indian made jewelry and unbelievable beautiful Navajo rugs. The best part however is that 3 nights a week Matt Rich, also a landscape photographer, gives a talk on landscape photography. On the alternating nights his older brother John gives one of the best and most comprehensive talks on the Navajo culture as seen through the weaving. Each is at 7:30 and can go 2 to 3 hours but COMPLETELY worth every minute. No matter where one stays in this area I would recommend both talks.

This is a nice clean campground, with vault toilets and drinking water available. No hook ups - dry camping. No Dump available. The sites are closer together than you'll find at most National Forest Parks. There are trees at many sites for shade, but not much vegetation to provide privacy.

I stayed here four nights and with my senior pass, paid $9 per night. You should make reservations as this area near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is very popular. My camp here was in September 2016.

Can’t blame the crowds on the owners, as they just happen to be near the North Rim of Grand Canyon (70 Miles) away. The sites were small and nothing like the Camp Ground sites at Kaibab Lake, which are also about 70 miles away from the South Rim.
Owners were friendly and couteous and the grounds were clean. Bathroom facilities were portable outhouses.

We did enjoy the 2 mile out & back hike to Jacobs Inn, but the views were nothing special.

The drive down to the North Rim was aalso a disappointment, as the crowds, cars, people, and no parking made for an immediate turn around.

Jacob Lake Recreational Area .. Great site, dry camping, well maintained. Bathroom available, super clean. Campsite Host Team .. very friendly, and helpful...site is 45 min from Grand Canyon .. There is a gas station next to the site .. as you can imagine, gas is expensive.

This place looked beautiful from the highway, and I was disappointed that it was closed on a beautiful day in early November. It’s open mid May to mid Oct evidently.

We loved camping at Jacob Lake. It was a beautiful, serene place to camp on our way to the North Rim. The hosts were super friendly. Be sure to look up at the stars! If you get a site near the road, there will be some traffic during the night. Watch your speed around here. We ended up with a ticket.

Enjoyed our stay. Busy road was silent at night. Small store & gas station nearby.
Weird time zone area confused us as cell towers pinged different times. ;)
Pretty sunsets and star gazing.
Would definitely stay here again and recommend.
Pit toilets and water. No showers.