A beautiful place to be!
Great place to rest after a long canyon hike. I prefer remote camping in the Canyon, but if you are in this area it is a nice respite. Camp spots are a bit close, but they are covered which is a nice relief from the sun.
Great place to rest after a long canyon hike. I prefer remote camping in the Canyon, but if you are in this area it is a nice respite. Camp spots are a bit close, but they are covered which is a nice relief from the sun.
We chose to make the ascent from the river over two days, stopping at Indian Garden halfway up so that we could take some side hikes. This campground is very convenient for that purpose, but I don't know if there's any other reason to stay here. The area is absolutely gorgeous and frequented by lots of deer. It's a quick trek out to a stunning view of the colorado river and to get a unique perspective of the canyon. However, the campsites are very close together and you don't really feel like you're in nature.
If you're using this as a jumping-off point for other hikes, I couldn't recommend it enough, but if you're imagining this as your final destination I would advise you to hike down to Bright Angel Campground or somewhere in the backcountry instead.
An excellent stay—highly recommend!
We stayed here on our way back out of the canyon as an overnight between Bright Angel and the rim. I'm glad we broke the hike out up into 2 days. It gave us the opportunity and energy to check out more things and see the overlook that is nearby.
The campsites each have tent spots and covered picnic tables. There are pit toilets and running water available. The ranger was friendly and chatted with us for a bit. The sites also provide ammo cases to store your food from critters.
The garden has many beautiful plants and we saw deer from our site. It's worth the stop over.
Indian Gardens is really an oasis as described lots of greenery with a small river running through. Temperatures were a bit cooler here which was a nice escape. Squirrels were the worst here so make sure to stow your food properly!
This was our first stop on our way from Rim to Rim. There were picnic tables and neat hangers to hold your backpack so the pesty squirrels couldn't get into them. The views are amazing, and we set up a tent although it would be great for hammocks. There is also a little ampitheater area where they have a big thermometer in case you're curious about the temps! Fill up your water here before you continue!
We usually choose this camp the last night of a canyon hiking trip. It's a good place to stop to break up a longer hike. Just 4.5 miles from the top, It makes an easier last day. There is plenty of shade, good drinking water, and modern out house bathrooms. It can get a little noisy. When the first camp wakes up in the morning, everyone wakes up. This can be a good thing since everyone usually want's to get an early start to beat the heat. There are shelters over the picnic tables, a good place to hang the hammock.