6/17 Grand Canyon Campgrounds & a Lot of Elk

Grand Canyon is a great place to camp!  There are two large campgrounds in the South Rim Village area: Mather and Trailer Village.  Mather has large sites that are very spread out, but no electric or other hookups.  It also has a size limit for RVs of 30'.  Trailer Village has full-hookups and was fairly recently updated, with newly paved roads and asphalt camping pads.

Sites are fairly large, and my favorite shown here, has lots of space for cooking and eating out. And both campgrounds have nearby shuttle stops, which makes it easy to leave your rig and go sightseeing.  Trailer Village has 70 sites and is operated by a concessionaire, hence no federal senior discounts.  It is on a shuttle route, but away from the main traffic areas, so very quiet, especially at night.

 

  

First, elk seem to really like both campgrounds.  Here is one I took a photo of from inside my motorhome sitting in my recliner!   She was munching on oak leaves, which they really seem to like.

Frankly, she seems to be pregnant.  I was told some of the cows have had their babies and some have not. I did not see any babies, so they were probably hidden somewhere by their mothers. 

The elk cows don't seem to bothered by people, as long as you stay about 15 feet away.  They wander around most mornings, taking their time to stuff in as much food as they can. 

The only real negative to Trailer Village is that the only laundromat in Grand Canyon is at the Mather Campground, which means a shuttle ride, bike ride, or long walk to do laundry. 

This is the entrance to Mather Campground.  I remember tent camping here many years ago when my kids were small.  Personally, I like "camping" in my air-conditioned motorhome with satellite TV and a comfortable bed. 

This is the main road through Mather.  Loops go off on either side with a total of 327 campsites.