Entrance station · Grand Canyon National Park
Eastern gate to Desert View, often less crowded than the South Entrance.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grand Canyon Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grand Canyon National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Grand Canyon audio tourRecorded for this place
Desert View Watchtower“Desert View is coming up, with the stone watchtower Mary Colter designed in nineteen thirty-two. Allow time for the quarter-mile walk from parking, then explore the building as well as the rim.”
Plays as you drive up to Desert View Entrance Station in the Parkwolf Grand Canyon Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
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Guide
Desert View Entrance Station is the east-side vehicle gate into Grand Canyon National Park, where AZ 64 from Cameron meets the park. It is a fee checkpoint and the gateway to the Desert View area, not a viewpoint or visitor center. Passes, maps, and staff are available at the station.
If you are driving in from Cameron, this is the natural entrance. NPS says it is usually less crowded than the South Entrance, though a short line is never guaranteed. Continue west toward Desert View Drive and Grand Canyon Village; the canyon overlooks and visitor services are in the separate Desert View area beyond the booths.
The station itself is not a place to stop for a canyon view, meal, or restroom. At Desert View, a little farther along, you will find the parking area, restrooms, Trading Post, market and deli, and pay-at-pump gas. The entrance generally operates day and night, though snow can temporarily close it.
Wildlife
718 sightingsCalifornia CondorMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
533 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
169 sightingsAmerican BisonMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,891 sightingsElkMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
59 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
27 sightingsGray FoxMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grand Canyon. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingTanner Trail9 mi · 7 hr · 1.3 mi awayA rough historic descent into the canyon’s wide, colorful east end.
EasyTusayan Pueblo Self-guiding Trail0.1 mi · 20 min · 2.5 mi awayA quick loop around an ancestral Pueblo village and kiva.
EasyUnkar Delta Loop0.9 mi · 45 min · 3.9 mi awayA short river loop passes ten ancestral Puebloan sites.
ChallengingEscalante Route12 mi · 12 hr · 4.6 mi awayA 12-mile river traverse with exposed ledges and a Papago Wall climb.
ChallengingBeamer Trail9.1 mi · 8 hr · 4.6 mi awayNine exposed miles to where the Little Colorado meets the Colorado.
Gas station · 0.4 mi awayDesert View Gas StationFill up here before the next pump, 30 miles down the road.
Sight · 0.4 mi awayNavajo PointSouth Rim's highest overlook, with river views and an aviation memorial.
Campground · 0.5 mi awayDesert View CampgroundCamp among junipers, then walk to the rim for sunrise.
Store · 0.6 mi awayDesert View Market & DeliQuick groceries, deli food and camping basics at Desert View.
Store · 0.6 mi awayDesert View Trading Post and Ice CreamA canyon-facing scoop after browsing handmade crafts.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayDesert View WatchtowerColter’s stone tower frames the Colorado River from the South Rim.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayLipan PointThe South Rim's longest look along the Colorado River.
Scenic pullout · 1.6 mi awayNo Name PointA quick stop for a far-reaching northward canyon view.Parkwolf’s Grand Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
