Here’s What You Need to Know If You’re Traveling to the Grand Canyon

The historic Grand Canyon Lodge is among dozens of structures lost. Here’s how it could impact your travel plans

a plume of smoke billowing into the sky at the Grand Canyon's North Rim

The Dragon Bravo Fire, seen here July 11, 2025, has closed the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for the rest of the season.

Grand Canyon National Park/Getty Images

Berit Thorkelson,

AARP

En español

Published July 15, 2025

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is closed for the season, leaving some travelers wondering what to do about their travel plans. Here’s what you need to know about how the fire started, the parts of the park affected and what’s still open.

The Grand Canyon fire and destruction

A lightning strike on July 4 ignited the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Hot temperatures, low humidity and strong wind gusts stoked the fire, which rapidly spread across nearly 9 square miles over the following week.

The nearby White Sage fire, also on the North Rim, has spread about 77 square miles. According to the Associated Press, Dragon Bravo, the smaller fire, destroyed the 1937 Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, park superintendent Ed Keable told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning.

Historic cabins, the visitor center, a wastewater treatment plant and employee housing were among the 50 to 80 structures lost, Keable said, according to the Associated Press. Firefighting efforts have shifted to aggressive suppression, and the fire is still “very active,” park officials said in a July 14 press release, forcing North Rim closure for the 2025 season.

“We’re all heartbroken,” says Debbie Albert, spokesperson for Aramark, the company that operated the lodge. All employees and guests were safely evacuated, Albert said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

Seventy percent of Americans 50-plus planned to travel in 2025, according to AARP’s Travel Trends survey. More than 90 percent of those travelers planned to travel domestically. National Parks are a popular domestic destination, with older travelers taking advantage of the America the Beautiful Senior Pass program, which grants those 62 and older annual access to national parks and recreation lands for $20, and lifetime access for $80. The Grand Canyon was the third most visited national park last year.

What visitors should know

This is high season for traveling to the Grand Canyon, says Ryan Randazzo, spokesperson for Discover Flagstaff, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

Most travelers explore the Grand Canyon via the developed South Rim, which sees about 4 million visitors annually, versus the remote North Rim, which typically sees closer to 1 million before it closes for the season in December.

“Anyone who has a trip booked [to Grand Canyon Lodge] will be contacted,” Albert said. The South Rim remains open. “Someone who’s planning a trip next week, and they’re planning to go to the South Rim, that visit should not be … greatly impacted,” Randazzo says, adding that fires are dynamic and the situation changes daily.

Visitors can still do popular South Rim activities including bus tours and hikes along the rim, he says. The National Park Service states that several trails within the canyon are closed for safety reasons, meaning canyon hikes, camping and backpacking are limited. This includes Phantom Ranch and both North and South Kaibab trails.

Air quality could be an issue, especially to sensitive groups, although Randazzo notes that since wildfires are common in the area, it may not be connected to the North Rim fires specifically. He recommends tracking air quality at the government-run site fire.airnow.gov.

“It’s a really special thing, as you can imagine, to go all the way to the North Rim and get to see that, and get to see a little bit more forest solitude,” he says. “It’s really a heartbreaking loss of a national treasure up there.”

What's happening at other national parks?

The Grand Canyon tragedy comes in the wake of challenges facing America’s national parks. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado is also closed while battling wildfires due to lightning strikes, and heavy rainfall caused flash flooding on the Rio Grande in Texas’ Big Bend National Park this month.

What’s more, visitation at parks overall is trending upward this summer, despite staffing shortages created by federal downsizing measures — parks lost 24 percent of their permanent workforce, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. That combination can create safety issues, including challenges in maintaining trails and facilities and responding to emergencies, according to The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Berit Thorkelson is a travel writer and editor for aarp.org. She has also written for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Better Homes & Gardens and The Minnesota Star-Tribune's travel section.

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