DeMotte National Forest Campground

I’ve stayed here twice, the campground is beautiful and very secluded. The first stay we had a hummingbird follow us around the campsite, the second stay we heard wolves howling in the forest.

I love going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It only receives 10% of the annual visitors, compared to the south rim.

In this camping trip, I was traveling alone with another female friend and we didn’t want to disperse camp for safety reasons.

Since I’m used to dispersed camping this site was luxurious. We stayed on Loop B (the tent side) with our roof top tent.

There were 38 single campsites that each had tables and cooking grills. There was drinking water available, vault toilets and trash collection. We also were able to buy firewood from the camp host on site.

I couldn't find any of the dispersed sites near the grand canyon, so I ended up staying here. It was self-service and I paid 26$ for my car for one night. It was the only really flat campsite I had on my two week vacation. 

There are toilets and Dumpsters, but I didn't find any running water.

There was no cell service.

I decided to go camping, as soon as I got there my car battery died. Carmen was so nice and beyond helpful. She helped me get a tow truck up there and I made it back to Utah for them to take a look at my car. Carmen and the other camp hosts made rounds during the day to make sure everyone was ok. I enjoyed the spot even though i had a little car hiccup. Will def go back again

Looks like it has been updated over the last few years. Nice tent pads, tables, fire pit, lantern post.

Combo of sites adequate for larger trailers (ours is 30 ft), as well as car and tent only spots. Extremely clean pit toilets. Quiet and dark.

Set among the aspen and other trees. 6 miles from GC NP entrance Station. Store, food trailer and gas station across the highway.

Very nice forestry park near the Grand Canyon north entrance. Sites and bathrooms were clean and a store across the road for those forgotten items.

Very nice campground in a very scenic area on edge of an open meadow park. $22/$11 senior, 38 sites and about 1/2 FF and reserved. Vault toilets, dumpsters, tables, fire rings. Pressurized water spigots scattered. No full hookups, no RV dump. Hosts onsite. Reason for 4 stars is no cell signal on any network and seems no wifi at the adjacent Country Store. The Country Store does have gas, food, ice, camping supplies etc but no wifi..strange.

Surrounded by pines and aspens. So quiet and peaceful. Plenty of space. The perfect way to enjoy the north rim. Awesome camp host.

Half reservable sites, half first come first served. Some tent only and RV specific sites. Immaculate pit toilets. Flat sites. Large picnic/fire pit areas. Convenient location for visiting North Rim. Very quiet campground. Gas station, camping convenience store, propane, and coffee/food truck across the highway.

$22. Dennis is super-friendly and helpful, and it’s a comfortable, well-attended site super close to the North Rim without the big expenses. The sites come with picnic tables, fire pits, have clean bathrooms nearby, and dumpsters for disposal. If you’re planning on a long stay at the North Rim, try to get here for a couple of nights.

This was a great spot. The parks inside the north rim were closed because of renovation and this camp is just outside the main entrance ...16 miles. Nature lovers will Love this dry camp. No hookups but there are well kept vault toilets and access to water. Beautiful spacious spots . Wonderful . Great host too. General store nearby as well.

Only minus is that the sites are a little close together, but the grounds are gorgeous; abundant wildflowers, grazing deer, and a wonderful campground host, Dave. Quick drive to GCNP entrance, general store with all the essentials PLUS lots of cool souvenirs right across the road from the campground.

I have camped at a number of campgrounds near the Grand Canyon in pursuit of finding the best fit for my many travel associates and followers of my blog. I found that this campground checked a lot of boxes for me in that it wasn't directly in the Grand Canyon and was a little smaller than the popular sites which can become a little overcrowded feeling during peak seasons. It is located in the Kalibab Forest just outside the of the Canyon area.

The area is green and full of life with nice pad sites equipped with fire rings and picnic tables. The area I pulled into was tent site #32 which was a couple sites over from the toilets and trash station. I like to be close enough to walk but not right beside where the traffic of other campers walking by constantly keeps me awake. This site was backed right into the trees and pretty clear overall.

The sites here feature drinking water near the restrooms but no hook ups on sites, which is perfect for my needs. I really enjoyed the layout of the campground and the loops which made it feel a bit smaller than many other campgrounds I had checked out.

I did notice this campground isn't one you can check out after mid October because of the weather in this area and road conditions, so I wouldn't recommend trying it out close to that deadline but when I was there in May it was perfect!!

TIPS:

• Walk in VS Reserved is a big question people will ask so I always suggest doing your research in advance especially if you are traveling in the more limited RV sites. All reservations for this site are made through recreation.gov and I did notice that while several of the tent loops are walk in only the RV site are not.

• There are animals in the area so remember to leave no items loose in your camp overnight. We saw several elk and raccoons.

This area makes you think that you are in Montana instead of the desert state of Arizona. This campground is close to The North Rim, but far enough away that you are spared a lot of the hecticness of camping IN the park

Great campsite to stay out if you're planning on going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Not too far, but far enough that it's not crazy busy. Nice campsites, trees provide some shading. Facilities are pretty decent, we had water right next to our site which was really convenient. BRING BUGSPRAY

This campsite is located in Kaibab National Forest, near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s pretty and primitive. It was fun camping in a forest after so much desert time. I’d recommend checking th S place out if you don’t want to deal with the crowds (and prices) that come with staying at the Grand Canyon. And as long as you have a Parks pass, you can come and go as you please. We asked about hiking and were told there really wasn’t anywhere to hike but there’s an old dirt road we could walk on. We tried it out and it was actually very pretty. And the road clearly had not been used for a very long time. It was remote and provided a lot of wildlife viewing. Some of the pictures are of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You cannot see it from the camp ground but it is close by.

I am still amazed that we were able to get a campsite at this popular campground just seven miles from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I loved how super clean it was with very attentive hosts. There are two loops and while it's a first come first pick set up, the campers and rigs seemed to stay in the lower loop and it was tents only on the upper loop while we were there. Just vault toilets and water, no showers, but showers were available at the campground in the Park. We had quite a few mule deer hanging out on the outskirts of our campsite, and even spotted some of those cool tassel-eared Kaibab squirrels. There is more shade in the upper loop than the lower loop, and while there wasn't really enough understory for a lot of privacy, the camp sites were nicely spaced apart. There was a nice little general store/gas station a little ways down the road if you need some supplies.

Camp sites are spacious and well laid out within the trees. Camp hosts are very friendly and helpful. A great alternative to camping at the North Rim.

This camp ground was nothing spectacular-- we appreciated the hammock trees, and the night sky was breathtaking if you walk to one of the open meadows at the top of the campground. My only problem was the host. She was very surly, would drive by and tell us we were doing something wrong every loop. We couldn't have a line running anywhere on our site to dry clothes (we got caught in a rainstorm earlier while hiking in the GC and wouldn't have accessible drying facilities until Colorado.) then it was our dogs leash was too long (when we cook we generally put the dogs on a 10 ft leash so they can roam. There was literally no other people around and they weren't bothering anyone... They couldn't reach the road or anything.) and then she would just remind us to do obvious things- like to make sure our trash makes it into the bear sealed dumpster, don't swing too much on the hammock, ect. My brother and I are adults and we were with our parents. It's not like we were suspicious rowdy kids trying to trash anything! Anyway-- other than the host being unfriendly and naggy- this was a great spot to see such an amazing wonder!

The DeMotte Campground is the nearest organized campground to the North Rim, apart from the one inside the park. I think it's 16 miles from the front gate. It's open and lovely, set in a wide meadow. Nothing fancy, nothing exciting, but facilities available which is more than you will find in the dispersed camping of the Kaibab National Forest.

Across the road is the only gas/grocery in the area. Stock up before you get there, if you head out towards the main roads it could take hours across the back roads to get back to civilization. The space is quiet and peaceful, enjoy the North Rim of the Grand Canyon while you are there.