Closing time: North Rim shuts down on Oct. 15
Autumn brings more than leaves that fall with the temperatures.
It will soon bring solitude to Grand Canyon National Park’s North Rim, a relatively quiet place compared to its sister rim to the south.
At about 9 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, maintenance crews will pull a sandwich sign out of storage, the first time it has seen daylight in six months. Within minutes it will be posted in front of the Grand Canyon North Rim Lodge, telling everyone what they already know.
The North Rim is officially closed for the season. A lot of work goes into making that happen.
Starting Oct. 16 and for the next six months, the lodge and most services will be shut down. The campground remains open to Oct. 31, and the rim is open for day use only Nov. 1-Dec. 1, unless snow forces the closure of State Route 67 during that time.
Regardless of the weather, workers will swing the gate across SR 67 just south of Jacob Lake no later than Dec. 1. A skeletal staff will keep an eye on the North Rim until the park reopens May 15.
While the closure is ostensibly due to snow, the freezing temperatures are more problematic. Most pipes are buried just a foot or two, so water must be drained before frigid weather sets in.
Crews stay relatively busy once winter sets in. In between cleaning, painting and repairing, they will clear snow from structures that might otherwise collapse under the accumulation.
At times they’ll check the guard shack at the entrance of the park, which remains unlocked during the closure should stranded hikers need shelter. The shack is stocked with blankets and provisions for such emergencies.
Grocery shopping can be a daylong endeavor in the dead of winter. It starts with a snowmobile trip to Jacob Lake, where many of the remaining staff members park their cars. It’s a 45-minute drive to Kanab, Utah, the closest city, though the journey can take much longer in bad weather.
Once the employees are back in Jacob Lake, their purchases are transferred to a sled hooked to the back of the snowmobile for the trek back to the rim.
As spring takes hold and the ground thaws, the North Rim reawakens. Rangers and support staff trickle in and on May 15, workers remove the sandwich board that’s stood guard for six months and put it back in storage.