Grand Canyon Backcountry Permit Related Links

2025 June Walhalla Glades Rim View. Charles Miles. 6/20/2025.

The Grand Canyon is a popular place and 'everything' is already online somewhere... That said, as an occasional visitor to the canyon - an outsider, not a local, over the years I realized that I was searching for and re-finding some of the same information every trip. So I decided to put everything I need in one place and make it public just-in-case it might help someone else. Charles Miles, 5/24/2026

Backcountry usage statistics

5/24/2026 - See the note at the bottom - I don't have any insider knowledge but I'm not sure these reports will continue to be produced...

Since 2015 Grand Canyon NP has made Backcountry and River Use Statistics available. Whether you are looking at the corridor trails in the main portion of the park or for obscure backcountry areas seeing the numbers offers an amazing perspective - 2024: 19,171 lottery entries and over 11,000 permits issued for over 70,000 user-nights! The report includes monthly usage for each campground and backcountry use area - you can use this to gauge how hard/easy a permit might be to obtain and, a favorite of mine, look at lesser used areas that might be interesting.

A detail that you might not notice when you browse these reports is that the reports available from 2009 to 2024 are all authored by Steve Sullivan. From the 2024 report:

Retirement of BIC Manager: It has been an honor to serve you and our country since 1993 through Grand Canyon National Park and the Backcountry Information Center. Please accept my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your incredible love and care for the canyon, your unwavering support of the National Park Service, and the time you have dedicated to advocating for the greater good. It has been a pleasure to represent all of you, and as I sail on to new adventures, I wish you the best!
-Steve Sullivan, Permits Program Manager

Given the note above and that it is now 5/24/2026 I'm not sure if the publication of this report will continue. It would be a shame if it didn't. The existing reports can be found in the Grand Canyon National Park Archives.

Backcountry Use Areas

Planning a backcountry trip may involve both specific campsites and larger use areas - but either way to reserve your trip you will likely need to turn your hopes and dreams into the correct code for each campsite/use area you want to visit:

Backcountry Trails and Use Areas - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Map (PDF) of the Backcountry Use Areas/Codes
Reference table of Backcountry Use Areas - I am not sure if this table is/stays completely current but it offers more information than the list on the official Backcountry Page.
Single PDF File with NPS Trail PDFs, Use Zone Map and Backcountry Usage Information** - Compiled in October of 2019 to create a single no-internet-needed resource for quick Grand Canyon planning that I could easily share and put on my computer/phone/tablet... This resource will not stay up to date - but should be very useful offline/compiled info for a number of years.

NPS Trail Brochures

The NPS has published some great information about most (or maybe all?) of the trails in the canyon. These often have interesting details beyond the description of the trail and are in PDF format which is useful for offline viewing. These probably won't be how you plan your hike - but are well worth looking at.

I believe atm the best way to view all of these guides is to visit the Grand Canyon National Park Park Archives Brochures/Site Bulletins/Trading Cards page. In addition to the trail PDFs this page has a fascinating collection of brochures going back to 1916!

Permits

In late 2023 the Grand Canyon made the move to Recreation.gov (iOS/Android apps available) for Backcountry Permits - I'll miss faxing in permits (which I did all the way to the Recreation.gov change over!) and getting emails back but have to say that it is useful to be able to see the open dates!

Recreation.gov is the primary way to get permits for the Grand Canyon. This online site makes some permits very easy to deal with, but there are still lotteries, a schedule for when reservations become available, last minute in-person only permits and a number of areas that are marked with a house/flag symbol ('In-station Permit') that don't allow online reservations. With that in mind it is very likely that you will end up using more than just Recreation.gov to figure out your permits. Everything is linked from Recreation.gov, but for convenience:

Recreation.gov Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Permits
Recreation.gov Backcountry Detailed Availability Instructions - This has brief instructions for Recreation.gov and a lot of useful information.
Official Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Permit Page - Additional information.
Key Hiking Messages - Critical Updates and Closures - Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service) - Not strictly a reservations link but very helpful!

The process seems to have changed slightly since the last time I made a permit for a backcountry area that doesn't allow online Recreation.gov reservations and I believe you will need to contact the Backcountry Office directly to start the process:

Please call 928-638-7875. This is a popular line -- if you are having difficulty getting through, please send an email to [email protected] explaining what you are wanting.

Other Resources

Links for Harvey Butchart's Logs and Maps - Harvey Butchart was a notable 20th century canyon hiker and explorer. Aficionados of the Grand Canyon will enjoy seeing his extensive notes.

History:

Conservation: