Camping at the Grand Canyon is a must do for any traveler seeking the views of a lifetime. When I called to inquire reservations were highly suggested. When we arrived we understood exactly why, the campground at Mathers was at capacity.

When we pulled in there was a line assembled to check in during the late afternoon. Though long it went quickly and by the time I had made it to the front with my reservation the park ranger was quick to give me a map and directions.

Our site for the next two nights was 109, a primitive tent site on the third loop. When we arrived it was clearly marked and easy to navigate into with our small car. The only confusion came when attempting to identify where our tent was supposed to be positioned. There was no clear cut tent pad designated so we found the best area and set up for the stay.

The ground here was hard and rocky, much more difficult to drive in tent stakes. The grounds themselves contained nice tree coverage and a picnic table and fire ring.

Despite the harsh feeling of the rocky ground, when it was time to sleep we slept very well. The wind had been very aggressive when we first arrived but had died down since our arrival. I do recommend a bed roll or bed pas for sleeping which gives a little cushion. Our set up was perfect with some of the heavier blankets lining the floor for cushion.

Bathrooms were only about 75 yards from our campsite and were accommodating for both flushing toilets and pay showers. I do recommend bringing quarters if you plan on using the facilities for showers.

There is also an onsite laundry facility at the check in station.

The camping ground is positioned on the blue loop shuttle which will take you pretty much anywhere else you would like to go once you get into the park. I strongly advise using this system rather than driving to each lookout because parking can become difficult at lookouts.

Don't expect a ton of cell service in the mountain region. Cell service was hit or miss depending on what area of the camp or trails we were in, but that can be expected with the remote nature.

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All in all we give this a 5 of 5 Bunnies for the well maintained roads, site spacing, clean facilities and helpful staff.

For more information about the campground and also the Grand Canyon adventure we took check out these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byMOIVZxZe0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wUJGh4Cy1w

We really enjoyed our time here at Mather. If you plan on staying more than 2 days visiting the Grand Canyon, stay in the park.

We were in Loop B, which was plenty far from the showers, laundry and shuttle. If I were to plan again, I'd try and get loop A, as we did so much walking and hiking aside from just in the campground. If you are walking to the shuttle to go west, just keep walking to the market and get on that one, as it's 4 more minutes of walking and the bus there cuts out 3 extra stops.

All sites are pretty well spaced out, enough privacy. Hammocks allowed so that was great.

My biggest gripe is the lack of funding for this park. The showers and bathrooms desperately need updating. Additionally, the campground boasts WiFi in the laundry/shower house in all literature and pamphlets, but they don't have it. The workers say they have never had it and don't know why it's listed. Considering that there is barely any cell coverage, WiFi is helpful for people who are staying here for long periods of time and need to check in with others. For example, we always let someone know our hiking plans for safety reasons, but couldn't send any type of message due to lack of coverage. Again, this is a funding issue. The employees were always helpful.

If you stay at Mather, you'll see enough elk that it won't even seem like a big deal after a while! They wander the campground and hang around the entrance. They're looking for water. We saw a couple in a backyard of the residential area while we were biking.

Loved this campground. We were there 4 nights - first night at one site and three more at another. We're not planners, so we snag our reservations on recreation.gov when other people cancel - and they do! And sometimes they don't; it's a shame that people make a reservation and never show up. Other people end up heading out for dispersed camping even though sites are not used. I think some people show up around 10 or 11 at night, camp on an unused site, and leave by 6 am. (Not endorsing this...it would be embarrassing to get caught!)

Biking! The only time we used our car was to go to Tusayan for dinner one night. You can even bike on a paved path to Tusayan. We covered that as well as the entire South Rim via bike. Best biking is the Hermit Road; only shuttle buses and bikes are allowed on this road. In the early morning, you can pretty much have this road to yourself. Amd I think this western side of the South Rim is better than the crowded Eastern side.

Ok....back to the campground. It's quiet; people are tired at night because they've been out all day. Bathrooms are fine, potable water is available, and showers ($2 for 8 minutes) are at the campground entrance. If you want electric/water/sewer hookups, you need to go to the RV campground in the park. It's close to Mather. You won't see elk there.

Wi-Fi - best reception is at the park headquarters. It's not great at the store, but the store has a good craft beer selection at decent prices.

When I visited Grand Canyon as part of my national park road trip, I decided to try my luck to find a site near the south rim. I figured it would be a long shot, but I asked the attendant if they had any cancellations and sure enough, they did! I'm glad I asked. This campground is directly on the main drag in the south rim village.

It's nice how they have a bus shuttle at the entrance to the grounds that will take you to rim proper. It also connects you with the shuttle up to hermits rest. This place is unbelievable! The sunsets almost can't be beat (oregon coast is best). There is so much to do here; hiking, backpacking, bike rentals... next time I visit I will have to backcountry camp, there are miles of open wilderness to explore. There is also a nice restaurant with full bar and small shops around to get some last minute items and snacks.

Back at camp they have many amenities, including a full service laundry mat with plug-ins for charging. Big bathrooms with showers as well as give and take supply drop. This is one of America's must see destinations and now I know why. I must return with a week or more of time to play.

I was unfortunately only able to stay one night as the grounds were fully booked. So, in the morning I packed up to start my next leg. As soon as i was loaded, I looked back to my tent area to find an Elk eating its breakfast right where my tent was. Apparently I was sleeping on her food. An experience I wasn't expecting with so many people around. Gotta go back!

PROS:

• access to rim and other areas
• Services on site
• Unreal landscape

Cons:

• Busy, busy, busy

We stayed at Mather Campground in mid-September, and the weather was (mostly) perfect! The park itself and the campground were fairly calm by Grand Canyon standards, and the campground especially was very quiet. We stayed in Juniper Loop, which is a tent-only nonelectric loop. We definitely saw our fair share of vans and small RVs, but we didn't hear a single generator, which is always a plus!

The campground itself is very accessible to most of the activities on the South Rim, and there are shuttle stops near the campground if you choose to take the shuttles rather than driving your own car (a good idea, especially in the summer when the park is PACKED). There are nice big concrete picnic tables (which I like, because you can actually clean if you spill or there's bird poo) and nice fire rings in every site. The roads throughout the campground, including parking areas at each site, are paved.

We were there right in the middle of the elk rut, and it was fun to hear elk bugling and see them wandering through the campground. When we went to shower one morning there was a bull elk hanging out in the parking lot too!

The bathroom facilities here are flush toilets, and the bathrooms are kept clean and well-stocked. The shower facilities are coin operated, but clean and warm and well planned out with good curtains between the actual shower area and the changing area. The coin operated laundry is in the same building as the showers, near the entrance to the campground.

The only bummer we personally experienced was that it started raining early (4am ish) on the day we left, and continued to rain for the rest of the day. This certainly isn't a reflection on the campground at all, in fact the hosts were very generous about letting us stay a little past normal checkout time to see if it would clear up and allow our tent to dry before putting it away. We were a little surprised to experience so much rain, but we still had a great time at the park!

Campsite Review:

If you prefer to camp in locations where you can't see your nearest neighbor this is probably not the campsite for you. With over 300 campsites your neighbors are plenty and close.

Now, if you're fine with close neighbors then this is an amazing site. With a general store, laundry mat, flush toilets and pay showers, this camping area is pretty cool. But the best thing is that there are shuttles that take you to throughout the area around the canyon for FREE.

Most of the campers that were there while we were there camped in tents, but there is room for the smaller RVs and campers to be able to camp here without much problem. Biggest thing is GET A RESERVATION EARLY, and I don't mean a month before you go early. I mean 6 months before you plan on going to the canyon. There is a first-come, first-served site (Desert View) about 30 miles north of Mather, but it usually fills up about 10 am every morning.

For a video review of this campsite click here.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for TheDyrt, I occasionally get products to test, and on this trip I was able to test the Double Hammock form Grand Trunk. I've had other single hammocks from Grand Trunk before and loved them. So, I was excited to try out the double hammock. I had heard that regardless of if you plan on using the hammock by yourself or with another person the space in the double is the way to go and boy were they right.

I love laying out in this double hammock whenever I get the chance. Whether that is out in the courtyard during lunch or out in the backcountry on a camping trip, I love hammock.

I love that this hammock comes standard with a set of straps so you are ready to go as soon as you get it. But, I definitely recommend purchasing a set of Trunk Straps when you get your hammock. They will definitely make life with the hammock a lot easier!

For an extended video on this product click here.

Camping with the GO: Day 6

During our road trip around the US, I was able to try out the GO camper from SylvanSport. Today was one of the warmer nights that we've had while sleeping in the GO, but we weren't affected to much because of how well the GO is ventilated. Fall in love with something new each day!