Grand Canyon Reopening

June 5, 2020  |  Grand Canyon National Park

Over the past couple of weeks, Sally and I have received many emails, instant messages, and phone calls asking, "is the Grand Canyon going to be open, and are you planning to run your monsoon workshops?" We want to take a few minutes to address these questions and provide some additional information on how I will be running my monsoon workshops and what is being done to provide a safe and healthy workshop environment.

Sunlight on Canyon Waves


As of June 5th, 2020, the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is open but with some restrictions. The main entrance, located 1-mile from the town of Tusayan, is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Desert View entrance on the east side of the park continues to be closed. The Desert View area, including the Watchtower and the campground, is closed for the time being. The North Rim is now open for day use only from dawn to dusk. The Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim will be opening on June 15th, and the North Rim campground opens July 1st. The General Store is open, and fuel is available via credit card pay-at-the-pump.

There's more detail regarding the changes in park operations on the Grand Canyon National Park Public Health Update website, including information about hiking, backpacking, and camping. Be sure to check this website regularly for updates and follow Grand Canyon National Park on Facebook.

As the park reopens and we all learn to adapt to the challenges of living in a world with COVID-19, Sally and I want you to know that we value your friendship and patronage, but even more importantly, we share your concerns for your health and safety, and for those you love. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this crisis. We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely, and we are paying careful attention to information and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the scientific community, the National Park Service, and medical professionals.

For the health and wellbeing of all participants and employees during this time, we have made several adjustments to our policies and protocols. This includes limiting the number of participants in the monsoon workshops to no more than six participants. We have also upgraded all lodging to single-occupancy so that you will have a private hotel room or cabin. You can learn more about the steps we have taken, as outlined in our COVID-19 Mitigation Plan.

We will be running this year's monsoon workshops, and we are thankful for the opportunity to share our love for Grand Canyon and the art of photography with you. We appreciate your patience, understanding, and support as we all adapt to this ever-changing situation. We hope that you will work with us to get through this challenging period and support our continued efforts to do our part in supporting the local economy during this challenging time.

We know you're ready to get back to enjoying the places we all love and making beautiful photographs, and we look forward to seeing you at the Grand Canyon!