South Rim Visitor Center is open today from 9 am to 4 pm. Follow link for a list of visitor services with hours of operation. Midday South Entrance lines are long. Arrive before 9 am or after 4 pm for shorter wait times. The North Rim reopens on May 15. More
Sunday, April 6, 2025 - Sunny —South Rim High 56°F (13°C) —Low: 21°F (-6°C)
Trail Alerts and Closures: Bright Angel Trail below Havasupai Gardens, including the Silver Bridge CLOSED. River Trail CLOSED. Plateau Point and Plateau Point Trail CLOSED. Hikers visit this link for weather forecast and inner canyon water availability. More
Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers on the South and North rims. The park is not only home to more than 4,000 different species of plants and animals, a community of about 2,500 people resides here, and has hosted more than 6 million annual visitors during peak years. With the park’s popularity come the pressures of balancing the preservation and protection of the ecosystem and operational needs.
The National Park Service has initiated a series of projects to ensure necessary critical infrastructure is upgraded or replaced to enhance overall safety, residents’ quality of life, and visitor experience while protecting park resources. Every effort has been made to schedule work to reduce impacts to visitors and residents, but near-term impacts are inevitable. We thank you for your patience as we carry out these important projects.
Planned Projects
The current substation at Grand Canyon National Park is located by the Powerhouse and Mule Barn in the Historic Powerhouse District.
NPS Photo.
Support Facilities
Goal: Upgrading and creating the necessary facilities in advance of the upcoming series of large-scale park projects.
Featured projects: Substation, Helicopter Base (part of the Transcanyon Waterline project), and North Rim laydown
Projects highlights include:
Installing a substation to meet all modern code requirements of increased electrical capacity and installation of park facilities and structures for current and future operational needs.
Relocating the electrical substation facility from the South Rim Historical Powerhouse District to a designated utility corridor.
Rehabilitating the park’s helicopter base to include constructing an auxiliary hangar, landing pad, and a nearby contractor support area to facilitate the transportation of equipment and supplies into the inner canyon.
Identifying and creating a contractor and park operational laydown area on the North Rim in support of future North Rim infrastructure projects.
Water spraying from a break in an exposed section of Transcanyon Waterline following a flash flood event in 2014. Bright Angel Creek is visible to the right of the break.
NPS Photo.
Water Delivery System Replacement
Goal: Replacing the aged water delivery system to meet the service needs for the South Rim and Cross Canyon Corridor and the North Rim over the next 50 plus years in support of visitor, employee, and resident health and safety while protecting natural and cultural resources.
Rehabilitating or replacing miles of aged waterline and electrical line to increase durability and reliability of delivery in the extreme terrain and climate conditions.
Relocating the water intake for the South Rim to reduce the waterline delivery system.
Water distribution system replacement at Havasupai Gardens and distribution improvements at the Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile Rest Houses.
Constructing a new water treatment plant and storage tanks at Phantom Ranch.
Planning and constructing a water delivery system to the North Rim.
A design team member looks at the Phantom Ranch Reclamation Facility during a site visit for the Transcanyon Waterline project in January 2022.
NPS Photo.
Water/Wastewater Service Rehabilitation
Goals: The short-term goal is to repair aging service lines and facilities to stabilize and increase the reliability of water and wastewater services in support of visitor and employee health and safety. The long-term goal is to replace aging service lines and facilities to increase the capacity of water and wastewater services in support of visitor and employee health and safety.
Short-Term Featured Projects (Phase I): repair Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) at Phantom Ranch (completed), North Rim, and Desert View (completed).
Long-Term Featured Projects (Phase II): replace and rehabilitate WWTPs at South Rim, Phantom Ranch, and North Rim (part of the North Rim Utilities project), and a new South Rim Water Treatment Plant (part of the TCWL project).
Projects highlights include:
Installing infrastructure to meet all modern code requirements for fire protection flow demands and potable water quality and storage.
Replacing and relocating wastewater lines.
Replacing the lift stations.
Installing conduit for future fiber optic communication cable.
The existing Ribbon Falls Bridge eroded with structural damage is closed to visitors. A new bridge is in development.
NPS Photo.
Visitor Use and Experience
Goal: Improve visitor arrival experience and enhance resource protection and cultural experience through the redesign of parking areas, pathways, bridges, and other visitor amenities.
Rehabilitating the North Rim Entrance Station to restore its historical integrity while modernizing the building by adding another fee collection booth, break room, and restrooms for staff.
Rehabilitating existing buildings at Desert View to provide a Tribal Welcome Center with exhibits and a cultural demonstration area.
Rehabilitating the amphitheater, pathways and redesigning the parking lot to provide better accessibility of the Desert View developed area.
A park ranger hands a visitor a Grand Canyon National Park map as they enter the North Rim Entrance Station. The North Rim Entrance Road is planned to be repaved, and the entrance station is planned for a rehabilitation project in upcoming years.
NPS photo.
Transportation
Goal: Upgrading transit infrastructure and supporting facilities to meet increased visitation use.
Featured Projects: North Rim Entrance Road; Shuttle Bus Maintenance Facility
Projects highlights include:
Increasing the capacity of the shuttle bus maintenance facility to include more maintenance bays with improved overhead and overall workspace for employees to conduct safe and efficient daily and routine maintenance and inspections.
Allocating necessary administrative, training, and storage spaces for shuttle bus staff.
Repaving the North Rim Entrance Road.
Project Documents
Current and archived Grand Canyon project documents are available to review on the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment site, or at the Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection.
The National Park Service (NPS) has scheduled meetings to provide information to the public and respond to questions about multiple construction activities at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The meetings will include a presentation by NPS staff featuring the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL), Bright Angel Substation and the substation access road projects with a question-and-answer period. These meetings will be an opportunity for community members to learn about construction updates and anticipated impacts to park operations, residents, and visitors.
The National Park Service (NPS) is preparing for a multi-year $208 million rehabilitation of the Transcanyon Waterline (TCWL) and related upgrades to the associated water delivery system within the inner canyon and South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. This critical investment will ensure the park is able to meet water supply needs for the next 50 plus years, supporting 6 million annual visitors and approximately 2,500 year-round residents.
Beginning Feb. 8, 2022, the first phase of short-term repairs and upgrades to the Phantom Ranch Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) will begin. Work is anticipated to be completed by December 2022 and includes two phases of hauling equipment via helicopters.
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) presented Grand Canyon National Park the International Dark Sky Place of the Year Award in Tucson, Arizona, on Friday, November 8, 2019. “The real winners are the millions of visitors that have the opportunity to experience the park’s pristine night skies,” said Grand Canyon National Park Program Manager Vicky Stinson.
Grand Canyon National Park backcountry users can seek out shade and an opportunity to rest from the elements at the new Tipoff Shelter along the South Kaibab Trail.
Over the past four years, the historic tower at Grand Canyon National Park’s Desert View area has undergone extensive conservation and graffiti remediation work on the interior to conserve the murals that were painted in 1932.
Construction to replace two water pumps at the Grand Canyon National Park Indian Garden north pump house is beginning Sept. 23, 2019, and continuing into May 2020. The construction will require visitors to use a marked bypass trail around the construction site along the Bright Angel Trail.
A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Kate Hammond, Acting Regional Director for the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service (NPS), for a site plan to transform Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park into an Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site and share a unifying message from the park's traditionally associated tribes: "we are still here".
As part of the 2018 Federal Highways Administration’s South Rim Roads Improvement project, additional construction and detours will begin Monday, January 8 at the South Entrance Road and Desert View Drive (Arizona Highway 64 East) intersection.
