Grand Canyon Lodge Frontier Cabin- North Rim Grand Canyon National Park

What to expect when booking a stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. You may be surprised to read about our experience staying in a cabin on the North Rim.

Grand Canyon Lodge - North Rim Grand Canyon National Park

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Grand Canyon Lodge - North Rim Grand Canyon National Park

The night of moths, mice, and bright lights…

We were so excited when we booked a cabin at the north rim of the Grand Canyon! It was the perfect location for getting up early to watch the sunrise over the canyon walls.

When we checked into the room we learned a few things about what it takes to stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge.

One of the first things is the parking is the same parking as general visitors so you may have to battle to get a parking spot “near” the cabin you are staying in. I say near because they are across the road and some of them are a bit of a distance from the parking lot, especially when hauling luggage.

Once we were in the room and settled for the night we realized that we had a lot of new moth friends flying around over our heads. On our way to our cabin, we had seen the neighbors standing outside with their flashlights trying to entice their moths to exit their cabin. This probably should have been a hint that we were going to be in for the same.

While we were winding down and chatting about what we wanted to do in the park the next morning my wife saw movement out of the corner of her eye. We had a new little 4 legged mouse friend running around the floor near our bags and under the beds.

Thankfully once we started moving around trying to figure out where he came from he ran to the back wall and disappeared. There was a crack in the floor and 1^st log of the cabin that our new little friend was able to squeeze through.

You would think that would be the end of our fun night and we would be able to get a good night's sleep but we have to talk about the bright lights of Grand Canyon Lodge.

The cabin has an amazing fan that helps cool it down and allows you to close the windows so more moths do not enter the cabin. When we were going to turn in we tried to turn off the cabin lights only to realize that the fan was connected to another light so if you turned off the power you turned off the fan.

We made the choice to sleep with the light on and keep the fan going so the cabin did not get super hot and stuffy instead of opening the windows and dealing with more moths and who knows what coming inside.

The windows do have screens on them but the number of moths between the screens and the windows told us they would find a way inside.

I am going to say that this was a night at a National Park Lodge, unlike many other nights we have had. I am pretty sure in a few years we will be laughing about our night with nature on the North Rim.

The night of moths and mice and bright lights was not how we planned our stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge to go that is for sure.

When I went by the front desk in the morning to drop off the keys I asked if moths and mice were a normal problem. The person I talked with nonchalantly told me that mice were a given but moths were a new problem they really needed to work on. She was a lot more worried about the moths compared to the mice.

Frontier ADA Cabin with 1 twin/1 full-size bed

We ended up with an ADA Cabin so the configuration was a bit different than some of the other cabins, especially in the bathroom. There was a twin-size bed and a full-size bed in the cabin along with a small table, 2 chairs, and a mini-refrigerator.

If you are a pillow person you are going to want to bring your own pillow with you. The twin-size bed had 1 small pillow while the full-size bed had 2 small pillows. We actually ended up stacking extra towels under the pillows to get some cushion.

The cabin is rustic and bare bones. There is one plug-in on a far wall that can be used to charge your phones just make sure you bring your plugin. There are no USB adaptors in the room.

The ADA Bathroom was amazing! The water pressure was shocking being on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The bathroom was honestly the best part of the entire cabin.

Accommodations at the Grand Canyon Lodge North Rim consist of Frontier, Western and larger Pioneer cabins (located close to the rim) as well as motel rooms located within a short walking distance from the lodge.

Some of the cabins have front porches with chairs but not all of them.

Western Cabins have 2 queen-sized beds and include standard and rim view cabins.

Pioneer Cabins have One Queen, One Full and Two Twin Beds (Bunk Bed) and include standard and rim view cabins.

Frontier Cabins have One Double Bed and One Single Bed and come in standard view cabins.

Dining

Main Lodge Dining Room - Reservations are recommended if you plan to enjoy dinner in the main lodge dining room. When I stopped by to ask about dinner availability the person in front of me was screaming they were so upset they couldn't get in for dinner. Another person was trying to cancel a dinner reservation and 2 other guests were fighting over who was going to take it.

Save yourself the headache and make reservations online before heading to the park. To make a reservation, please call 928-645-6865 (February 1st through April 15th) or 928-638-2611 (May 15th through Oct 14th).

Deli in the Pines - The Deli in the Pines is open daily from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm. You can find easy grab-and-go food including pizza by the slice, sandwiches, breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls, and so much more. We found the staff at the deli to be the nicest staff we encountered during our stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge. I made it a point to visit the deli because they were so friendly and made me smile each time.

Roughrider Saloon - Stop by the Roughrider Saloon from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 pm to grab a cocktail or beverage to go. This is a great place to grab a drink and head out and enjoy it while soaking in the rim views.

Things you need to know when planning to stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge

Season - 2021 Season Dates: May 15th through October 15th

Reservations - Reservations can be made in advance on February 1st of the year that you plan to arrive. To make a reservation, please call 928-645-6865 (February 1st through April 15th) or 928-638-2611 (May 15th through Oct 14th).

Rim Views - There are six cabins specifically designated as "Rim View" rooms, and fourteen cabins that sit on the rim with wooded views. Not all rooms have a direct view of the canyon but all are within walking distance of a spectacular view.

Check-In Time - 4 pm

Check out Time - 11 am

Smoking - All rooms are non-smoking

WiFi - There is no wifi available in the cabins.

Cell Phone Service - Cell phone reception is limited at the North Rim. Depending on your service provider you may get service on the Rim.

Pets - No pets are allowed. There is a $200 fee charged if pets are found in a room

Address - AZ-67, North Rim, AZ 86052

Phone Number: (877) 386-4383

Cancellation Policy: Please notify Forever Resorts 72 hours prior to your arrival, 4:00 P.M. Arizona Mountain Standard Time, to avoid the loss of your deposit.

Where is Grand Canyon Lodge located?

The Grand Canyon Lodge is located on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The lodge is within the park next to the visitor center.

GPS coordinates:

The next closest lodging facilities would be the Kaibab Lodge (928-638-2389), located 18 miles from the Lodge and Jacob Lake Inn (928-643-7232) which is 45 miles from the Lodge. The next largest city from the North Rim is Kanab, Utah, where you can stay at the famous Parry Lodge.

Make sure to rub the nose of Brighty the Burro located near the rim view seating area in Grand Canyon Lodge. It is believed if you rub Brighty's nose you will have good luck and/or return to the Grand Canyon.

History of the Grand Canyon Lodge

The lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood who also designed the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, Zion Lodge, and Bryce Canyon Lodge.

He was hired by the Utah Parks Company which was a Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary to create a lodge to replace the tent camp that had been run by W.W. Whylie.

The lodge was conceived to be one of the elaborate lodges built by the railway.

During the construction of the lodge they created a rock quarry and logging camp nearby so they could use local materials for the building. Construction started in 1927 and included a crew of 125 men who worked through the harsh winter of 1927-29. The road had to be cleared by a large rotary snowplow that was propelled by a 22-ton military surplus tank.

Original construction included the main lodge building, 20 deluxe cabins, and 100 standard cabins. An additional 20 cabins were constructed in 1929.

The first Grand Lodge was completed in June 1928 at a cost of $350,000.

Sadly on September 1, 1932, a large structural fire destroyed the multi-storied building and two cabins. Utah Parks Company began rebuilding the site on June 6, 1936. The current lodge was completed on June 1, 1937 at a cost of about $250,000.

Today's lodge resembles the original lodge designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood but is not a perfect recreation. The original lodge was a 2 story structure with a massive three-story tower. The new lodge was modified to handle the 20 foot snow loads the lodge can receive in the winter.

The walls are constructed of Kaibab Limestone. The log rafters and gables are made primarily of locally-sourced Ponderosa Pine.

The Grand Canyon Lodge was declared a National Historic Landmark on May 28, 1987. It was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 2, 1982.

Additional Grand Canyon Resources

Things to do Grand Canyon - The top things to do in Grand Canyon that you don't want to miss during your trip!

Grand Canyon Restaurants - South Rim - Check out all the delicious places to enjoy a meal during your trip.

Grand Canyon Shuttle Bus - Find out what you need to know to plan your trip.

Grand Canyon Winter - If you are heading to the park in the winter make sure to plan ahead.

Arizona National Park - Check out all of the amazing National Parks in Arizona you can visit. So many are close to the Grand Canyon!

Grand Canyon National Park Lodges - Check out all of the lodges you can stay in within the park including Bright Angel Lodge, Phantom Ranch, and the El Tovar.

National Park Lodges - The El Tovar is just one of the amazing National Park Lodges in the United States.

Check out all of our Grand Canyon National Park articles for additional information and great tips on planning an epic vacation to this beautiful Arizona National Park!