Planning to stay and enjoy the winter wonderland at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon? You will have to wait.
Visitors will not be able to stay overnight at the national park’s oldest hotel or inn starting Saturday due to multiple breaks in The only water line in the park. With no water being pumped to the South Rim, park officials say limited resources must be conserved.
This is only the second time the park has had to shut down overnight stays due to water supply issues, although the pipeline has had frequent breakdowns over the years because it has long exceeded its expected lifespan. In August 2024, Park officials took unprecedented action Water restrictions were imposed, leading to the sudden closure of overnight hotel accommodation during one of the busiest times of the year.
Under current restrictions, visitors cannot stay at properties including El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge and Maswik Lodge, and water is not available at campgrounds. For park staff and Grand Canyon Village’s 2,500 year-round residents, that means taking short showers, reducing flushes in toilets, and turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth.
How long will you be waiting? Park officials hope not long.
“If all planned work continues without additional issues, we expect to be able to restore water service and begin reopening overnight accommodations early next week,” park spokeswoman Joel Byrd said in an email.
Despite renewed snowfall on Wednesday, welding repairs were underway, and the repair schedule calls for the system to be cleaned and recharged over the coming days.
In the meantime, day visitors are still welcome, and accommodations are available outside the park.
While winter is a slower season, more than 41,000 people used the park to stay overnight last December. In all, the Grand Canyon saw nearly 5 million visitors in 2024, about 90% of whom went to the South Rim.
The 12.5-mile (20 km) Transcanion Waterline is the main water source for park residents, employees, and tourists. Originally built in the 1960s, it has been a maintenance priority for years, and a portion of the park entrance fee goes toward helping with costs.
A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and modernization of its associated water delivery system begins in 2023, and the National Park Service calls it a critical investment to ensure the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.