Forest Road 611 East Rim Dispersed Camping

We went in early November and felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. Gorgeous views, trails nearby, and fairly close to all the other North Rim activities.

If you're squeezing in a trip late in the year right before the North Rim shuts down, be aware that it can get cold. Temps were down to low single digits overnight and we had to navigate a few inches of fresh snow to get here, but if you're camping at this time of year hopefully you know what you're doing. Stock up on propane before you get close, the refill tank at Jacob Lake Inn is nonfunctional.

For those who are working, sites that are right on the rim (hint: use Google Maps terrain view) have good cell service and video calls went through without a hitch.

We stayed here 5 nights surrounded by a magnificent pine forest with perfect views of the East Rim Grand Canyon. Take Highway 67 just south of the North Rim Country Store about 1/2 mile, then turn left onto Forest Road 611 traveling east then north approximately 6 miles. This forest road is a well maintained gravel road, camping sites are located along both sides of the road beyond the East Rim View Point on a high bluff overlooking the East Rim Grand Canyon. Solitude and fantastic views says everything about this amazing dispersed camping area.

We loved this area. Beautiful site in the trees with a stone ring for fire and a short walk to clean bathrooms and overview lookout with gorgeous sunrise. No one was around. Turn left AFTER gas station/coffee foodtruck stop heading into north rim onto dirt road and up hill. A few miles on bumpy road but our campervan was up to task. We skipped turn off for saddle and marble view as those said 11/13 more miles but ours was only maybe 2/3 miles in and worth it. Also the foodtruck coffee and taquitos and muffins were delish!!
Unfortunately the site has a bit of trash from unthoughtful people but we packed in/packed out.

We drove on Road 611 until a view site appeared on the right side, just after a post that said '611V', perhaps that was the Y at the end of 611 (cell service wasn't reliable)? To note: I think there only a handful of sites with that view (but we didn't drive past where we parked), but plenty of lovely wooded sites along the way if you don't snag one. There are vault bathrooms about half way up the road to where we camped. The road is fine and the view was totally totally 100% worth it!

From high atop the Kaibab Plateau, look out onto the Marble Canyon section of the Grand Canyon. This point nearly 8500' MSL looks out towards it and the Painted Desert and other parts of Navajo Land beyond. A bit rocky for your tent, so scout out a spot, as even when I did, I still found a rock protruding into the tent right next to my pad. Made it out here in a 1995 Oldsmobile, but thankfully, it's enough off the beaten path most with a modern car will probably turn back earlier.

We decided to check out this boondocking spot after our reservations at the North Rim Campground were cancelled and we're sooo glad we did! We were meeting friends so finding a place large enough for 2 rigs on a weekend was a bit of a challenge, but we were blessed to happen onto this location on a rim! We were also right on the Arizona Trail so we had plenty of hiking and the views out our door were spectacular! We had some coverage with our Verizon cell and our MiFi, enough to make some calls and send some pictures, but it wasn't much. We'll definitely be looking to stay here again!

We had a terrific time enjoying the beautiful views on the edge. Our site is 4-5 sites prior to the Y in the road, 1.5 miles past the AZ trail head. The spot on the right wasn't marked and was heavily treed, more-so than those further in. We got here on a Wednesday so there was probably 50% availability At the time. The sites are far apart and we heard no one. The only downside is the traffic on 611 stirring up dust, especially those that drive too fast. I’m guessing that most of the traffic was probably People scouting for spots because no trailers went by all afternoon.