The trials and tribulations of putting in for a GC Backcountry permit.
A Grand Canyon Backcountry Permit is required for any overnight stay below the Rim, and during some times of the year, on the North Rim. The Backcountry Office posts the most current information on permit rules for when and where one is required.
For the best effort of obtaining your desired backcountry permit, it’s best to be flexible in your schedule and route. The more routes, and route options, you submit the more likely you are to be approved for something you actually want. Add as much detail to your permit request as you can to explain your flexibility: reverse route, alternate campsites, alternate start dates, etc. It still amazes me that a Ranger goes through each and every permit request and manually reviews and assigns them out. What an effort that must be. I am overly thankful and appreciative of the work they put into this. And on top of this work, they respond to email inquiries about trail conditions, water availability, and walk-up permit requests. Truly a hard working group of people!
Things to Consider
There are many things you need to consider when planning your route, but the basics, from a permit perspective, should be nights per use area and group size.
Most corridor use areas do not allow for more than 2 nights (consecutive or not) per trip in designated campsite, and 7 nights, per trip, in each ‘at large’ use areas. In the off-season (November 15 through February 28) the designated campsite areas extend to 4 nights.
Group size is another consideration. Not all use areas have sites that can accomodate medium to large groups. The NPS defines a small group as 1-6 people, and large groups 7-11. There are way less large group sites, and therefore less permits available.
Permit Fees
Backcountry permits do have a fee – $10 per permit plus $8 per person per night camped below the rim.
When you fill out your permit request you need to include a credit card number for these charges. There is also a place to indicate the maximum amount you’d like charged to your card for your itinerary. This is like a pre-authorization amount. Just make sure to do the math correctly.
$10 permit fee + (($8/night x 5 nights) x 2 people) =
$10 permit fee + ($40 x 2 people) =
$10 permit fee + $80 camping fees = $90
You could put $90 as your maximum amount, but if you indicated your trip could extend a day, the math doesn’t work out. You’d need to authorize $106. Personally, I just put a large number that gave them some flexibility, as my trip dates had flexibility. For example, instead of $90 or even $106, I’d put $150. Do what you’re comfortable with, just make sure the numbers match up accordingly.
When do I apply for a Backcountry Permit???
The timing to apply for a backcountry permit is important to understand. There is a window in which your permit request needs to be faxed in. Yes, I said faxed in!! You can also mail it, but no emails, no phone calls, just the fax, ma’am.
The order in which requests are received during this window does not matter, they are equally placed into a lottery. Order of review is assigned randomly, so the person that sends it in at midnight on day 1 has the same chances as the person that submitted their request at noon on the last day.
Consult the Backcountry Office website for this information as it does change, especially with various covid related shutdowns and limitations in 2020 and 2021.
I do not own a fax machine, nor even know anyone with one, so I looked for a software solution. I ended up using a free Windows program called iFax. It was free to use (at the time) for a one-time fax of a few pages. I just scanned in the request forms and sent them as an attachment, it faxed it like a normal fax. Easy to use. Otherwise you can try a Kinko’s or local hotel, your attorney’s office, maybe even a library?
You can submit permit requests at any time after the window closes, but they will not be considered until all of those submitted within the window are processed.
Understanding Use Areas
The Grand Canyon is divided up into use areas. These allow the Rangers to control the capacity in each of the locations. The use areas are defined on the map, and listed on a table. The type of camping allowed is specified: at large, designated campsites, etc. No matter the type, it is always recommended to utilize existing campsites where they exist and available. For example, Tanner is considered “At Large” but there are obvious campsite locations that are used on a regular basis.
Something else I utilized when planning my route was the previous year’s use statistics. The NPS puts out a nice report outlining the stats of each use area. This gives you a little insight as to how busy the use areas are during each times of year, therefore how likely you are to get the permit you want.
The moment you've been waiting for.....
After all the work you put into planning routes and requesting permits, and all the work the Park Rangers put into sorting and analyzing the requests, you get “the email.” The email informs you if you were granted your permit request, or denied, and the details of your permit. This is the only communication you’ll receive. You’re expected to print out the attached PDF and have it on you at all times. The NPS gives specifics, but basically the designated trip leader needs to have it on them and visible.
A little tip….they’ll charge your credit card before you get the email, so if you have monitoring setup you might see that charge before you get the email. It’s a nice little adrenaline rush of excitement!
Another tip, if your trip leader can no longer lead the trip, do not cancel as a way to change it, you’ll lose your permit. You can ask the Backcountry Office if you can change the designated trip leader.
What if my permit request was denied?
It happens…you may have fallen too far into the requests for a super busy area at a really busy time of year. But do not despair yet! If your airfare is already booked, and rental car at the ready, you *may* score a walk-up permit from the Backcountry Office.
Always consult the Backcountry Office website for the current process, there were some changes due to COVID in 2020. Basically you can go to the Backcountry Information Center and see if they have any permits available, or be put on a waitlist for the next day. People change or cancel their trips and spots become available. It may not be the exact itinerary you wanted, but it might lead to a new adventure you never knew existed.
And worse case, day hike!! No reason you can’t hike a short ways down the Canyon (I’d recommend Santa Maria Spring on the Hermit Trail as a great day hike!!). Just know your limits and plan accordingly. But most of all, get off the beaten path!
