Kaibab Camper Village

We needed full hookups so we picked Kaibab Camper Village to visit the North Rim. Overall it was great, but its a LONG drive into the North Rim visitors center. If I could do it all over again I would have tried to get a spot at the NP campground. The real bummer was that due to a nearby forrest fire it was really smokey. Other Notes: Laundry and bath houses are a long ways from the RV sites. Jacobs Lake is just a tiny frog pong.

I agree with the other reviewer that this place had a bad rap. Its beautiful, quiet and relaxing. It has showers and laundry that are prepay, but if your rig has its own shower then I would def reccomend this location. If you are visiting the GC North Rim it is the closest RV location to there at a little over an hour drive through the kaibab forest. We learned that there is a special squirrel called the Kaibab Squirrel with a cute white fluffy tail. Our RV is kinda challenged and we didnt have a hard time with the dirt/gravel roads to get there. The Caretakers of the place were very nice and helpful.

Thought review in my opinion and while I can see why some have rated it low I don’t really think it’s deserved. You’re not at an RV resort here so don’t book this place thinking that’s what what you’re getting. Yes the campground toilets are porta pottys. Yes you have to pay to use their showers. But I’ve got all of that in my RV so no big deal IMO. Site is level enough. Cell service is better than the last place we stayed. And the air is fresh and clean. Some of the lower back sites look like they could be pretty uneven. Try to book the ones by the front.

We made reservations here when the Kaibab National Forest was closed due to fire danger. Now it is raining and the Forest Service campgrounds in the Kaibab are open again. We reserved and paid $20 (non refindable) for a dry site, we are OK with dry. But these dry sites were out of level so far, we don't have enough blocks. In the tent sites, maybe, we could have fashioned a dry site. Chemical toilets and $2.50 for 5 minute showers did not endear this campground to us either. We decided to pay another $11/ night and move to the Forest Service Campground, Jacob Lake, instead. Jacob Lake CG is reasonably level, has nicely ventilated pit privies, very clean and well maintained. It is quiet also as there is little traffic on Hwy 89a.

We extended our stay twice which required a move but management was very helpful. There is a variety of sites from tight backins to roomy pull thrus. We had one of each. Both pull thru and back ins are available with full hookups. We used 30amp so can"t say about 50s. There is a variety of spaces I believe because there are so many trees they worked around all the trees rather than cut down trees to make spaces. The laundry only had two wash machines and one was leaking. I did not use the shower so cannot tell about that. Elevation was close to 8,000' and I never did really get used to that. At&T service was solid 3 bars.

Close to the North Rim with full hook up! Sites in the middle of the park are close so try and get one at the end of a row. Folks working here (camp hosts) were so friendly and nice, would stop to chat, give advise or information about the area. They work hard to keep the area clean. The tent areas are nice some in a meadow and some under large pine trees. Didn't use the bathrooms but the laundry room was good and change is in the office for you. Just outside of the park through a gate is a large area where you can let your dogs off leash so they can run and play, that's great for our large dogs! We stayed in a trailer, 37' and thoroughly enjoyed our stay!

After reading all the derogatory reviews I just had to add my 2 cents! We arrived today and found the office lady to be very welcoming and friendly! The park “concierge” directed us to our site and directed us into the tight space. The sites are tight but have the hookups as expected. We are self contained so don’t use the toilets or showers so can’t comment - although the toilets are just portable “Johnny’s.”
We are here (like most campers) to visit the N. Rim, so I’m fine with the park and happy to be camping in a beautiful setting!

The coordinates to the gate for this campground is;

36•42’36”N, 112•13’48”W

I could NOT find this on any page of the website. My phone, my TomTom, and the car navigation ALL argued about the directions to the camp, and we took the longer way, unwittingly. The directions to this camp MUST be better! Their directions simply guide you from the 87 & 160 highway intersection... GPS devices aren’t so smart... they need an address or coordinates.

Two other reasons for a low rating are;
1) they have only three showers/restroom facilities for this camp and during our stay, TWO of them were ‘closed for remodeling’? WHAT? I didn’t get 2/3 off of my daily rate! :-)

2) We are all squeezed right in beside each other (too many sites for the acreage), and we all have to also park our vehicles in the site, too... many don’t do so well with courtesy.

Good Traits
As noted from another Sept 30 camper, the office staff are very nice and helpful. Contrarily though, our experience with Ron (he guided us to our site), was superb. He even got into the back of the spot and gave great hand-signals to guide us into our back-in spot.

We usually boondock or stay in campgrounds on public lands, so this was our very first experience at a privately owned campground in over five years of camping with our small RV. And the only reason we stayed here was that the couple we were travelling with had dogs and needed a place with electric hookups to run their Air Conditioning for the dogs while we were out exploring the area.

Everything the other reviewers say is all true. Very tight campsites, no privacy between sites, sketchy yet expensive shower facilities, sketchy yet expensive laundry facilities, and at least one of the staff is a total jerk.

We found the ladies in the office to be very friendly, helpful and professional. When one of the washing machines in the laundry 'ate' $2.00 worth of our quarters and refused to operate, the lady in the campground office gave us 8 quarters no questions asked.

About 10 minutes after connecting our rig to the 30 amp shore power, our surge protector began reporting a low voltage condition with voltage coming from the voltage coming from the pedestal rating less than 104 Volts. We disconnected right away and went to the office to report the unsatisfactory voltage and they sent their handyman over to check it out. He initially spent about 45 minutes taking the pedestal apart changing some of the hardware in the pedestal and pronounced it 'fixed'. We connected again and began getting the same low voltage message from our surge protector.

The first handy man's shift was over so his replacement Ron, a.k.a 'the Jerk', came over to the site and began to berate us for using a surge protector and proclaimed that he has been fighting for years with guests whose surge protectors report low voltage or other electrical faults. Ron went on to say, that as soon as these people bypass their surge protectors, the problems go away. Kind of like taking your rig into the shop to get a 'Check Engine Light' evaluated and having the technician say, "Just put a piece of tape over the light and everything will be fine!"

We just disconnected our rig from Ron's faulty electrical service, but our travelling companions bypassed their surge protector like Ron suggested so they could run the AC while we were out exploring, and their Air Conditioning unit was damaged and completely stopped working by the end of the first day. Coincidence? I think not. The mobile RV technician who came out to check the AC unit said the damage to their AC was indeed a possible result of inadequate voltage. $1,800 to replace the entire AC unit due to the inadequate and faulty electrical service at Kaibab Camper Village.

In walking around the campground, we noticed that about 75% of the surge protectors campers were using at the pedestals reported the 'PE04' error code for incoming voltage below 104 Volts.

Anyway ... long story short ... the electrical system at this park is completely inadequate and will cause damage to your rig if you do not use a surge protector! If you use a surge protector, you will not get any electricity due to the faults within the campground's electrical service.

Oh, the Jacobs Lake Inn, just a mile walk from the campground advertises "World Famous Cookies" ... and the cookies are indeed exceptional! Get some!