For those of you venturing on Old Rt 66 near Peach Springs, or Seligman, Arizona. Grand Canyon Cavern Campgrounds offers an excellent place to camp.
The entrance is a few miles east of the RT 66 & IR 18 intersection. The view from the road side appears as an old run down gas station, and a small cafe. Some old vehicles staged around the parking lot up by the buildings.
We stopped in the cafe and the friendly staff pointed us to the road/drive, that snaked around the back of the cafe, and up over a small hill. We almost got nailed by the cops tucked in behind a tree (Vintage black & white cop car staged along the road) LOL!
The campground is about a mile on this paved road that winds through low growing evergreen trees. You eventually come to the restaurant first. This is some distance off the main road RT 66 and not visible from the main road.
Don’t expect RV resort accommodations. Though they do have power pedestals on many sites. The campground is typical high desert and appears not well kept. Sites are dirt. Some have picnic tables, some do not. No sites have any type of shade structure.
The Evergreen tree’s peppered about average about 15ft tall. This is high desert. So I suspect these are Cedars or Pinon Pine. They offer relatively little shade except in the late afternoon. They do provide a little privacy from some neighboring sites.
There are rough graded roads and ample sites tucked into out of the way places if you want to enjoy some privacy. We saw no site numbers. Once you pay you simply have squatters rights to any open place you want to make your camp.
Bathrooms/Showers…..not the best. But the shower water is hot. They are centrally located at the front of the camping area, and not too far from the restaurant building.
We made reservations at the last minute, the night before. Mid May there were plenty of sites. The grounds are large enough I would think you would not have trouble at any time? You might not get a level site, or one with power, but I think they would be able to accommodate you?
The prices (2017) of $32 a night for 2 with a tent was rather pricey we thought. I don’t remember if that included power or not. We did find a picnic table that had a power pedestal next to it. In hindsight a small electric heater and an extension cord would have been nice. It got real cold that night.
We had a picnic table and lots of 15ft Pinyon Pine or Ceders that offered wind breaks and some privacy. The campground location makes it near ideal for starting the trip the next day.
We didn’t have time to check out the Cavern tours. The Caverns are the actual reason this place exists! That might be another story for another day.
That Cavern tour prediction came true in 2018. See our personal Cavern Tour from 2018.
We arrived around 6pm and took advantage of the restaurant that looks like it is open until 8pm. Two of us can recommend the Pulled Pork/BBQ sandwich. We washed those down with several ice cold brews and had a very relaxing visit.
We tried to set up minimal gear to head out the next morning right at first light. It was a very cold night for sure. I believe more so because of the higher altitude. We survived the cold, and packed up gear the following morning at 4am to take off. Several other backpacking types must have had the same idea. Two other groups took off right before us.
So our recommendation is to allot the time to make this your stop. Enjoy the restaurant. Even arrive early enough to check out the Caverns.
Summer time may be different, due to heat. Camping could become unpleasant? Be sure to check this all out in advance of any trip through the area.
