Grand Canyon NP--Phantom Ranch

Tips for Birding

In-depth information is found on the Grand Canyon National Park website.

About this Location

Phantom Ranch is a historic oasis nestled at the bottom of Grand Canyon. It is on the north side of the Colorado River tucked in beside Bright Angel Creek. Phantom is the only lodging below the canyon rim, and can only be reached by mule, on foot, or by rafting the Colorado River.

In the 1920s, the National Park Service selected the Fred Harvey Company to build a tourist facility within the canyon. Mary Jane Colter was commissioned to draft the plans for the facility. She produced sketches for a series of cabins. Everyone was pleased and announced they would name it Roosevelt’s Chalets. Upon which she snatched up her work and declared, “Not if you are going to be using my work”. A consummate perfectionist, she had already chosen the name: Phantom Ranch. The rustic cabins and main lodge are built of wood and native stone blending with the natural beauty of the setting.

About Grand Canyon National Park

See all hotspots at Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world. Incised by the Colorado River, the canyon is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest. However, the significance of Grand Canyon is not limited to its geology.

The Park contains several major ecosystems. Its great biological diversity can be attributed to the presence of five of the seven life zones and three of the four desert types in North America.

The five life zones represented are the Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran, Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. This is equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada.

The Park also serves as an ecological refuge, with relatively undisturbed remnants of dwindling ecosystems (such as boreal forest and desert riparian communities). It is home to numerous rare, endemic (found only at Grand Canyon), and specially protected (threatened or endangered) plant and animal species.

Over 1,500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the park.

Content from Phantom Ranch Lodge website and Grand Canyon National Park website

Grand Canyon Panorama Map