Phantom Ranch

It's probably the most famous place in the world to get an ice-cold lemonade, and the reputation is well deserved. We stopped recently on our north to south canyon crossing, and Phantom Ranch was a welcomed sight on the journey. The history of this place is amazing, so many great people along the way making it what it is today 😁🌵🏃‍♂️😎

Our family of four hiked to Phantom Ranch in December 2021. The Grand Canyon saw a decent amount of snow leading up to our departure, and the first 2-3 miles of our descent and last 2-3 miles of our ascent were snow covered. The entire Phantom Ranch process from the hike to the accommodations to the food to the camaraderie absolutely must be experienced. We reflect upon that trip probably more than anything else we've ever done as a family, and we cannot wait to return.

My three boys and I hiked down in the summer heat of 2005. It was 90 degrees at the southern rim and 115 degrees at the river. Thank God for a ranger who gave us a 20-minute death and misery lecture and recommended we spend the night at Phantom Ranch. In fact a man from England died that day from hyponutrenia, even though he had plenty of water. We were able to reserve a room only because of a cancellation. We headed down the next morning before sunrise. We spent the day relaxing at Phantom Ranch. Amazing dinner. The air conditioning in our four-bed cabin never stopped and it never got comfortable, but it was 115 outside! The next morning we started back up before sunrise, each of us with a gallon of Gatorade we made from powder and the sink in our cabin. So we didn’t get the breakfast. We finished our Gatorade on the climb up. I want to go there again and sit and read again with my feet in the ice-cold creek that runs by Phantom Ranch. Beautiful.

Scored a reservation due to a cancellation. Was able to fly into Vegas early am and hike to Phantom same day via south kaibab in time for a shower before veggie dinner. Wished we had a second night to explore before hiking back up bright angel. Note the early checkout time. Still a great experience and so glad we did it! Food was good, served family style. Unattended bags subject to search by crafty local wildlife. Comfy cabin with thin windows, could hear neighbors easily. Showers ok. Be sure to check out the short walking tour, downloadable online. Enjoy!

An iconic stay for any Grand Canyon hiker! It’s great to end the long trek down with a rest in the cabins here. Accommodations include a room with AC, bed, and toilet closet, with shower facilities in a separate building. The nearby canteen offers hearty meals by reservation and snacks and beverages via window service from dedicated, enthusiastic staff members. The ranch as a whole could use some maintenance, including general cleanup of overgrown walkways and towering dead trees near main buildings (one split in half and landed on the canteen pathway while we were there), and the communication between the ranch and the Bright Angel transportation desk could be improved as well. (The day before our hike down, the BATD told us that the PR cabins were still operating by bucket flush, but down at PR, they told us they’d been off that process for three weeks.) Overall it’s an interesting place to stay and holds a special place in the history of GCNP.

Best lemonade on the planet. Okay, maybe it was because we spent the whole day hiking down the South Kaibab Trail in the extreme heat, but 3 glasses of ice-cold lemonade hit the spot. Breakfast was great and gave us plenty of energy for the hike out. It's served family-style and consists of pancakes, bacon, sausages, fruit, scrambled eggs, and more.