Grand Canyon National Park has shut down overnight hotel stays indefinitely and is imposing fire restrictions in certain sections of the protected land after a main water pipeline broke.
The hotel closures and burn ban, which started August 29, have been implemented within the 70 million-year-old canyon and on the popular and more easily accessible South Rim. They are expected to last throughout at least the Labor Day holiday weekend, one of the busiest times of the year for the famed outdoor destination.
While the more than 1,900-square-mile park will remain open for day use, all lodging options on the South Rim are closed to overnight guests, including Bright Angel Lodge, Yavapai Lodge, El Tovar Hotel, Maswik Lodge, Phantom Ranch (situated at the bottom of the canyon), and the Trailer Village RV Park.
And while visitors can still go “dry camping,” the National Park Service said all the water spigots had been shut off at campgrounds (faucets in bathrooms will remain in use, however), meaning hikers and backcountry campers will need to carry in all of their own water or water filtration systems. Fires, including campfires and charcoal barbecues, are also prohibited. The park’s food and beverage outfits, as well as the post office and clinic, will be running.
“These measures are crucial for ensuring the safety and sustainability of water resources,” the National Park Service said in a press release announcing the closures. “The goal is to restore full operational status for overnight guests on the South Rim as quickly as possible.”
The lesser-visited North Rim (it sees roughly one-tenth of all the park visitors annually, largely because of its less accessible locale), home to the more remote Grand Canyon Lodge and two campgrounds, will remain open as normal.
Hotels in Tusayan, the closest gateway town at just over seven miles from the park entrance, have not been impacted. Those who are affected could consider accommodations there or in other nearby communities, such as Page, Flagstaff, or Sedona in Arizona, near the South Rim, or in Fredonia, Arizona, or St. George, Utah, near the North Rim.
The 12.5-mile-long Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies potable water to facilities on the South Rim and inner canyon, was originally built in the 1960s. Park officials say the waterway has exceeded its lifespan and, since 2010, has seen more than 85 major breaks that have disrupted water delivery. The pipeline failure comes amid a $208 million rehabilitation project sponsored by the Great American Outdoors Act, which the National Park Service says should be completed in 2027.
To help with conservation measures in the meantime, the park is asking “residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth, flushing toilets selectively, washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to the appropriate offices.” Closure updates within the protected land appear on the National Park Service’s Grand Canyon webpage.
