Entrance station · Grand Canyon National Park
Sort your pass and map before the drive onto 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 area
An Elk Grows a New Rack“An elk’s antlers are a new set of bones each year. A bull sheds the old pair, then grows another. While they’re developing, the antlers are covered in fuzzy skin called velvet, which carries blood to the growing tissue.”
Plays on the road 0.6 mi from South Entrance Station 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
South Entrance Station is the Grand Canyon’s staffed entry checkpoint on AZ 64, 1.6 miles north of Tusayan and 4.9 miles south of Grand Canyon Visitor Center. NPS identifies it as the entry point for most visitors. This is a practical arrival stop rather than a canyon viewpoint: buy an entrance pass, ask staff for information, or pick up a map before continuing.
During spring break and summer, NPS recommends arriving before 9:30 a.m. or after 4 p.m.; waits between those hours can reach two hours. Visitors report everything from a quick passage to a long backup, so leave slack in your drive schedule instead of counting on one particular wait.
The station operates around the clock unless snow closes it, and timed-entry reservations are not required. Have an eligible pass or a credit or debit card ready; cash is not accepted at the station. Staff can answer questions and provide maps.
A photograph from August 1951 shows vintage cars waiting to pay beside a log-built station here. Today’s twin timber canopies still mark the same roadside arrival point, though the entry lanes and booths have changed.
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
ModerateTusayan Greenway Trail6.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.6 mi awayA paved climb from Tusayan to the South Rim visitor center.
EasyShoshone Point Trail2 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.8 mi awayPines open to a rugged rim point with a North Rim view.
ChallengingBright Angel Trail7.8 mi · 4.5 hr · 4.1 mi awayCanyon layers, mule trains and a 4,400-foot descent to the river.
ChallengingPlateau Point Trail12 mi · 10.5 hr · 4.2 mi awayA long descent earns a wide view of the Colorado River.
ChallengingSouth Kaibab Trail6.3 mi · 5 hr · 4.2 mi awayA steep ridge descent with a first river view at Skeleton Point.
ModerateRim Trail12.8 mi · 7 hr · 4.2 mi awayThe full 12.8-mile rim walk, easiest to sample by shuttle.
ChallengingRim-to-Rim: South Kaibab to North Kaibab21 mi · 16 hr · 4.2 mi awayA one-way canyon crossing from the South Rim to the North Rim.ChallengingSouth Kaibab–Bright Angel Loop15.8 mi · 14 hr · 4.2 mi awayA 15.8-mile canyon traverse from South Kaibab to the Bright Angel rim.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayGrand Canyon Visitor Center IMAXA big-screen canyon primer before the South Rim.
Scenic pullout · 3.3 mi awayDuck on a RockA named rock profile makes this quick canyon pullout memorable.
3.3 mi awayGrand Canyon ClinicUrgent care and family medicine in South Rim Village.
Campground · 3.4 mi awayMather CampgroundA pine-shaded base for exploring the South Rim.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayPipe Creek VistaA canyon view framed by Mather and Yaki points.
Store · 3.7 mi awayCanyon Village Market & DeliA useful South Rim resupply stop for groceries and camping gear.
Picnic area · 3.7 mi awayRange Road Picnic AreaA practical picnic break beneath the pines along Desert View Drive.
Campground · 3.7 mi awayTrailer Village RV ParkA full-hookup RV base in Grand Canyon's South Rim village.Parkwolf’s Grand Canyon ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
