Desert View Campground sits at the East Entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, 23 miles east of the busy Grand Canyon Village, and that distance is exactly why campers like it - the NPS describes it as a peaceful setting. You get 49 reservation-only sites, each with a picnic table and a fire ring with a cooking grill, plus flush toilets and seasonal water spigots. This is dry camping: no hookups, no showers, no dump station, and a hard 30-foot combined length limit. The Desert View General Store, gas station, and the Watchtower are a short walk or drive from your site.
BOOK IF: You want a quieter Grand Canyon basecamp near the East Entrance, you're in a tent or a rig under 30 feet combined, and you're comfortable dry camping with flush toilets and a camp store nearby. SKIP IF: You need hookups, showers, a dump station, or a rig over 30 feet - Trailer Village RV Park or Mather Campground on the Village side will fit you better.
Tent and RV/trailer sites (2 tents and 2 vehicles per site, or 1 vehicle with one RV/5th wheel/trailer)
Desert View Watchtower, Desert View Trading Post (coffee and ice cream), Desert View General Store, and the Grand Canyon Conservancy Bookstore - all within the Desert View settlement. Grand Canyon Village is 23 miles west on Desert View Drive.
Good family setup: flush toilets, a camp store with ice cream a short walk away, seasonal ranger programs at the amphitheater, and quiet hours enforced 10 pm to 6 am. Sites are limited to 6 people.
Late spring and early summer for the driest weather; if you come July through September, plan around afternoon monsoon thunderstorms and set camp early
Paved roads all the way in and paved pads at the sites - keep every wheel on the pavement, it's a rule here. The hard number to respect is 30 feet combined length, bumper to bumper, with trailers capped at 20 feet. No hookups anywhere, so arrive leveled-up on water and empty on tanks. Generator windows are short: 7-9 am and 6-8 pm only.
This is the quiet corner of the South Rim. You're 23 miles from Grand Canyon Village in a small settlement with a store, gas, and the Watchtower - and that's it. The NPS calls it a peaceful setting, and the strict generator windows and 10 pm quiet hours keep it that way. If you want shuttle buses and restaurants outside your door, this isn't it.
Flush toilets (seasonal) between sites 9 & 11 next to the Camp Host - that's the whole bathhouse story. No showers and no laundry at Desert View, period. Bring a solar shower or plan a stop in Grand Canyon Village, 23 miles west.
Campers pick Desert View for the quiet - the NPS itself describes a peaceful setting and a more solitary experience than the Village campgrounds. The trade-off is bare-bones amenities: flush toilets and water spigots, but no showers, hookups, or dump station.
Tent and RV/trailer sites (2 tents and 2 vehicles per site, or 1 vehicle with one RV/5th wheel/trailer)
Seasonal amphitheater ranger programs; a short walk to the Desert View Watchtower, trading post, and general store
Recreation.gov only - no first-come, first-served sites are held back (Booking: Book up to 6 months out on Recreation.gov; same-day reservations possible online or by phone (877-444-6777))
Pets Allowed - Pets must be leashed at all times and may not be left unattended
To Park Entrance
Right inside the East Entrance, within the Desert View settlement; 23 miles east of Grand Canyon Village on Desert View Drive (SR 64)
Elevation
7,463 ft (2,275 m)
" Campers pick Desert View for the quiet - the NPS itself describes a peaceful setting and a more solitary experience than the Village campgrounds. The trade-off is bare-bones amenities: flush toilets and water spigots, but no showers, hookups, or dump station."
No. Desert View is reservation-only through Recreation.gov, and the park holds back zero sites for first-come, first-served. Your best fallback is a same-day reservation online or by phone at 877-444-6777 - unoccupied sites without an occupied sign get released to same-day bookings.
No. The maximum is 30 feet combined total length, front bumper to rear bumper, including your tow vehicle. Trailers themselves max out at 20 feet. If you're over, look at Trailer Village RV Park on the South Rim instead.
Neither. This is dry camping - no hookups at any site and no dump station. The water spigots can't be used to fill RV tanks either, so arrive with a full fresh tank and empty waste tanks.
Yes - that's the draw. Quiet hours run 10 pm to 6 am, generators are limited to 7-9 am and 6-8 pm, and you're 23 miles from the Village crowds. The NPS describes it as a peaceful setting.
Yes. Pets are allowed but must be leashed at all times and can't be left unattended at your site. Don't leave pet food outside either.
Not at Desert View - there are no showers or laundry here, just seasonal flush toilets between sites 9 & 11. Pack a solar shower or plan a run to Grand Canyon Village, 23 miles west.
That won't work here. There are no group sites, each site is limited to 6 people, and the park's rules say affiliated groups - clubs, Scouts, organizations, large family gatherings - cannot break up into separate sites.
2 listings
4 listings
Information is compiled from official sources, verified traveler reviews, and editorial research. Learn how YourNPGuide works →
We use basic, essential analytics to measure traffic. You can also allow deeper first-party analytics that help us improve our park guides. We never sell your data. Learn more
We use basic, essential analytics to measure traffic, plus optional deeper analytics to improve our park guides. We never sell your data. Choose what you allow. Learn more
Essential analytics that measure basic traffic stay on. The deeper, first-party analytics below are optional — turn on what you are comfortable with. We never sell your data. Read the notice
Site function plus basic visit counts via Google Analytics and Search Console — needed to see how many people visit. Always on.
How far you scroll, whether you finish an article, and which sections are read — so we know which guides to improve.
Clicks on links and buttons, and searches you run on the site — so we can fix confusing navigation and content gaps.
