Located 4,600 feet below than the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a community of eleven tiny houses designed by architect Mary E. J. Colter back in 1922. This is Phantom Ranch – the only lodging facility below the rim of the Grand Canyon.
You can’t drive there. The only access is by mule train, foot, or rafting down the Colorado River. It must be a welcoming site along the Bright Angel Creek with its bunks, fresh bedding, towels, and toilets. Showers are located centrally. It’s open year round but very popular so advance reservations are recommended.
Inspiring little design with the robust rock corners and slight tilt up of the shed roof over the door. Lots of windows in the wooden walls must make the interior light and still connected to the surrounding beauty.
Learn more about Phantom Ranch. Photo credit to the Grand Canyon National Park Service.
I could live there year round if they let me!!
These are cute cabins, and one day I hope to stay in one, and come away with a great feeling of accomplishment, and, of course, the T-shirt that is only sold at Phantom Ranch.
“the only lodging facility below the rim of the Grand Canyon” … wouldn’t the lodging at Havasupai reservation also be below the rim of the Grand Canyon?
Are these places for rent or sale?
We camped at the Grand Canyon last March, and hiked only down to the first rest stop and back up. The trail is steep, winding, dangerous and exhausting, one you share with many other hikes and mule trains. One false step and you could plunge several thousand feet down. It takes a full day’s hike to get down to Phantom Ranch. Not for the faint of heart (or body)! The temperature down there is 20degrees hotter than at the Rim which makes it a brutal place to be in the summer.
These lovely cabins are truly an oasis.
Phantom Ranch is a lovely oasis-a welcoming place when you’re hiking the canyon. I’ve hiked across the canyon several times with friends but never stayed in one of the cabins. We were always told you had to make reservations the year before. Train well and never underestimate the beauty or the challenge of those trails. The journey is your reward.
I hiked down to phantom ranch with my adopted bureau of land management wild burro. she carried all the gear and provisions. I had adopted her and tamed and trained her to be a pack burro. I even coaxed her across the swinging suspension bridge, and needless to say I even coaxed her across on the return trip! that was a feat in itself! my “deep pocket” cousin bought the rest of us a steak or stew dinner. a welcome from the mre and freeze dried food the burro carried! pricey meals, but why not,everything has to be transported to phantom ranch on muleback…..we didn’t stay in these cabins, camped out near the corrals, but this is a quaint and beautiful destination, well worth the effort….
This is the vacation spot of my dreams.
I wonder how do they power to the air conditioners shown in the photos.