Campground · Grand Canyon National Park
A pine-shaded base for exploring the South Rim.
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
Mather Campground’s Pine-Forest Base“You're approaching Mather Campground, a South Rim base among ponderosa pines. If you're camping here, the Blue Route shuttle stop near the registration kiosk lets you leave the car at camp for village trips.”
Plays as you drive up to Mather Campground in the Parkwolf Grand Canyon Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Mather Campground is a developed 327-site campground in Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, set among ponderosa pines. The National Park Service describes it as the largest campground in its system. It is a practical base for a South Rim stay, with regular sites plus group, horse and walk-in hiker/biker areas.
A Village (Blue) shuttle stop is near the registration kiosk, so you can leave the car at camp and use the shuttle to move through Grand Canyon Village. Market Plaza is about 0.4 mile from the campground entrance, so village services are nearby rather than inside the camping loops.
Standard campsites include a picnic table and parking space. There are no electrical or RV hookups, but Mather has a free dump station and most RV spaces are pull-through. Vehicles are limited to 30 feet, so check the dimensions of a specific site before bringing a larger rig. Site spacing and privacy vary; deer and elk also turn up among the trees.
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
EasyThe Trail of Time3.3 mi · 2 hr · 1.2 mi awayA paved timeline where every meter spans a million years.
ChallengingBright Angel Trail7.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayCanyon layers, mule trains and a 4,400-foot descent to the river.
ChallengingPlateau Point Trail12 mi · 10.5 hr · 1.5 mi awayA long descent earns a wide view of the Colorado River.
ChallengingSouth Kaibab Trail6.3 mi · 5 hr · 2 mi awayA steep ridge descent with a first river view at Skeleton Point.
ModerateRim Trail12.8 mi · 7 hr · 2 mi awayThe full 12.8-mile rim walk, easiest to sample by shuttle.
ChallengingRim-to-Rim: South Kaibab to North Kaibab21 mi · 16 hr · 2 mi awayA one-way canyon crossing from the South Rim to the North Rim.ChallengingSouth Kaibab–Bright Angel Loop15.8 mi · 14 hr · 2 mi awayA 15.8-mile canyon traverse from South Kaibab to the Bright Angel rim.
EasyShoshone Point Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.9 mi awayPines open to a rugged rim point with a North Rim view.
Store · 0.3 mi awayCanyon Village Market & DeliA useful South Rim resupply stop for groceries and camping gear.
Lodging · 0.4 mi awayYavapai LodgeA practical Market Plaza base, with a paved path to the rim.
Campground · 0.4 mi awayTrailer Village RV ParkA full-hookup RV base in Grand Canyon's South Rim village.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayShrine of the AgesA community hall born from an interfaith chapel plan for the rim.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayGrand Canyon Pioneer CemeteryA small cemetery that makes South Rim history personal.
0.6 mi awayGrand Canyon ClinicUrgent care and family medicine in South Rim Village.
0.8 mi awayCanyon Adventures Bike Tours & CaféThe park's only bike rental opens up more of the South Rim.
Visitor center · 0.9 mi awayGrand Canyon Visitor CenterGet your bearings, then take the short walk to Mather Point.Parkwolf’s Grand Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
