Grand Canyon National Park by number of visitors is probably the second most popular park with 6 million annual visitors. (Great Smoky National Park has 14 million visitors per year, but it is estimated that around 60% of the U.S. population lives within a day’s drive of the park.) A vast majority of Grand Canyon guests stop at the South Rim, conveniently located near the major cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas. The South Rim features hotel accommodations, restaurants, a campground, large visitor center, walking paths along the rim, and a shuttle that stops at all the overlooks. In contrast, the North Rim is far from population areas, and it requires a 210 mile drive taking 4-5 hours to get there from the South Rim. The North Rim offers fewer viewpoints and facilities, but stunning, less commercialized scenery in a Ponderosa Pine forest. Being about 1000 feet higher in elevation, the temperatures are cooler. It is open seasonally from mid-May to mid-October, due to heavy snowfall in winter. As of October 2025, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is partially reopening following the Dragon Bravo Fire that occurred earlier in the year. The park’s lodge and campground near the lodge were destroyed, but there is limited camping available.
