I am sad to say that fire has destroyed it. It was a grand place in a grand setting. Those who never had the joy of visiting may need to wait a bit for reconstruction. Funds may be tight for that for a while. Some history is in: https://www.grandcanyonnorth.com/plan/lodge-history Built in 1928, promptly combusted in 1932, rebuilt in 1936. Many decades of nearby forest regeneration were required to make this fine woodpile an accessible target again. I am sure it will be restored again; possibly better designed against fire. But not very soon.
Harder accessibility means only 10% tourism on North Rim compared to South. This matches my history, even though I despair of being average. Whole of North Rim is closed now and. 2025 is ... off. Sturdy Prius Tochatihu took me part way to Point Imperial but 'road' further was poor. I continued by bicycle, and that included a small herd of large bison thundering across 'road' before me. Life memories of many may not include such spectacles. Sorry about that.
i was nine when we went across country camping. i can still remember rushing up to a lookout point that only had a metal railing near the edge. freaked my mother out
One and only GC visit was in 1968 when I was 9 years old. Aunt and uncle took me. They were in their early 50s and subscribed to the notion children were not to be seen or heard. Not that they were "bad" or unfit, just the way a lot of parents were back in the day. In the summer, you leave the house in the morning and as long as you returned by dinner all was fine. With my kids, I strived to meet a happy spot between that and helicopter parents. Anyway, we were on whatever side of the canyon that was totally built up for tourists. Remember hiking a fair distance (?) from the rim, down the Bright Angel Trail, dodging a pack train. By myself, of course.
