The Dragon Bravo wildfire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon Nationwide Park compelled the evacuation and closure of a portion of the park this previous weekend. Solely the North Rim — to not be confused with the extra frequented South Rim of the park — will stay closed for the rest of the 2025 season.
There are additionally mountain climbing path closures in impact for the North Kaibab Path, the South Kaibab Path and Phantom Ranch resulting from a launch of chlorine fuel associated to the hearth that destroyed the North Rim Water Therapy Facility.
Fortunately, there have been no reported accidents or fatalities as a result of fireplace, however many constructions on the North Rim — together with the customer heart, the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and cabins — had been misplaced to the hearth. This closure will even have an effect on hikers who could have a allow for the favored rim-to-rim hike whereas the North Rim closure is in impact.
Here is a information on what to do when you have a visit deliberate to the Grand Canyon within the close to future.
The North Rim vs. the South Rim
Grand Canyon Nationwide Park is within the northwest nook of Arizona and has three entrances.
The South Rim entrance
The most well-liked and most visited entrance is on the South Rim entrance via the city of Tusayan, Arizona, about one hour north of Flagstaff. This location has nearly all of the lodging and companies in and close to the park. It would get you to Grand Canyon Village, which has a customer heart, leisure car campgrounds and a put up workplace; it additionally has historic lodges, resembling El Tovar Resort, Brilliant Angel Lodge & Cabins and Yavapai Lodge.
The East entrance
The east entrance on state Route 64 is accessible from the city of Cameron, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. This connects the overlook street (state Route 64) previous Desert View Watchtower and again towards Grand Canyon Village and all South Rim places.
The North Rim entrance
If you’re on the South Rim, the North Rim is a five-hour journey by automotive — over 220 miles. The closest meals and gasoline companies exterior the North Rim entrance of the park are on the Jacob Lake Inn in Fredonia, Arizona. The North Rim is extra distant, and it has historically been open from Could 15 to Oct. 15 every year (climate allowing) and closed throughout the winter months resulting from street circumstances.
Is it secure to journey to Grand Canyon Nationwide Park?
Sure, it’s secure to journey to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon close to Tusayan and Grand Canyon Village, however the North Rim and state Route 67 at Jacob Lake into the North Park entrance are closed. The present advisory on the park web site states that “smoke is anticipated to stay seen from the South Rim, and air high quality circumstances could fluctuate relying on fireplace habits and wind patterns.”
The park’s web site lists closures for the North Kaibab Path, the South Kaibab Path and Phantom Ranch. When you have a hike deliberate (together with a rim-to-rim hike), we recommend contacting the Backcountry Allow workplace for alternate options and studying the foundations and restrictions on its web site. Summer season circumstances are all the time harsh within the canyon, and water availability might be affected as a result of lack of the North Rim services.
The Nationwide Park Service is updating a number of emergency messages on its web site. We advise bookmarking the operations web page, which particulars any updates, together with mountain climbing restrictions.
The NPS and Grand Canyon Conservancy have a number of webcams at key factors alongside the South Rim. These cameras enable guests to verify site visitors circumstances on the South Rim entrance station, admire the view of the canyon from varied viewpoints and observe air high quality and visibility.
If you happen to plan to journey north of the Grand Canyon via Fredonia and onward to Kanab, Utah (towards Zion Nationwide Park), you may verify street circumstances on Arizona 511. At present, components of state Route 89A in northern Arizona are closed resulting from a second fireplace, the White Sage Hearth.
When will the Grand Canyon’s North Rim reopen after the Dragon Bravo Hearth?
As a result of harm to the NPS services on the North Rim, the NPS introduced that the North Rim location is closed via the top of the 12 months. Because of climate circumstances, it might usually shut on or round Oct. 15 yearly. Right now, it stays unknown if any campgrounds on the North Rim had been spared or will reopen within the 2026 season.
The NPS has a wildfire standing hyperlink and advisories posted on its web site.
What to do when you have lodging or a campsite booked in Grand Canyon Nationwide Park?
The South Rim places of the park at the moment stay unaffected by wildfires; nonetheless, the North Rim places, together with the Grand Canyon Lodge and historic cabins operated by Aramark, have all been misplaced to the hearth. A press release on the lodge web site introduced that each one personnel are secure and friends with future reservations will hear from them quickly. There’s additionally a hyperlink to the official NPS press launch.
Campsite reservations on the North Rim are additionally canceled, and a press release on the Recreation.gov web site directed friends to take a look at Mather and Desert View campgrounds (on the South Rim) as alternate options.
Will your bank card or journey insurance coverage cowl adjustments?
TPG has a complete information on bank cards that covers journey cancellation and interruption, together with what is perhaps coated in a pure catastrophe.
Associated: 4 occasions your bank card’s journey insurance coverage will help with journey woes, and seven occasions it will not
Backside line
When you have a visit deliberate to Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, double-check the placement of your reservation to see in case your journey is affected so you may take acceptable steps to reroute or rebook. The latest updates and advisories might be posted on the official web site for the park. TPG will proceed to observe the story and report on any updates.
