Trailer Village, South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ

Trailer Village RV Park, South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ has one thing going for it, Location. Down the road from Trailer Village is the Mather Campground which is primitive camping only dominated by tent sites with a 30’ maximum length limit on rv’s. Not to be too callous, Trailer Village is old and has not been maintained over the years that we have visited. Sites are not kept so we swept the gravel and debris from the asphalt pad back onto the spacious graveled area that separates each site. The sites include a picnic table and charcoal grill. The turn from the main entrance road onto E Street was too tight for our 45’ length and my wife had to move a trash receptacle and pull back branches from a scrub pine in order for us to make the turn with our tow vehicle. I would in the future unhook at the registration building. Going down E Street to our site E27 we could not avoid the overgrown trees on both sides of the road scrapping the top of the coach. Although the trees do provide some shade they are not trimmed up and back and interfered not only with our coach, they presented obstacles to 5^th wheel rv’s as well. Exiting E27 was not possible due to the overgrown pine tree on the driver’s side so we chose to back out of our site and then proceed forward to  exit the park; we hooked up on the road leading to the registration building and exit road. Streets A to L are listed as FHU and feature paved roads and pads. Across the road sites M to P are listed as ‘Classic’ offering worn out asphalt and gravel pads with FHU. The pads are not level and challenge the computer leveling system. The FHU is standard with 50 amp service. Each power pedestal has a connection marked “TV Cable”; we did not avail ourselves of the service. Note that attention to their site map, when making a reservation, is necessary as some sites are limited to 28’ or less and others at 29’ and over. There is no WiFi nor OTA access in the rv park (our Google Pixel phone accesses three carriers-Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint so it appears we had all bases covered, however no signal to a weak LTE). Free WiFi with internet access is available at the Market and at Yavapai Lodge (WiFi at these two locations is disappointing with speed of 210Kbps download, 460Kbps upload and Latency [loaded] 667ms); pulling up email is difficult. The WiFi at El Tovar Hotel is password protected for lodge guests, however there is a pay to play option. Dispersed about the park are two buildings housing just bathrooms; these are dated, however quite clean. As mentioned in the beginning of this critique were it not for location this campground would be a pass-by. However, located a short drive from the South Rim and Visitors Center of the Grand Canyon this campground is close to the attraction that provides an impressive visual experience.

The Takeaway: an old non-descript, poorly maintained rv park located in one of America’s iconic landscapes-The Grand Canyon. Streets and pads are paved with gravel between sites that include a picnic table and charcoal grill. The pads are uneven from front to back and side to side. Do not be surprised to see elk roaming the rv park any time presenting good photo opportunities. There is no WiFi, nor over-the-air tv; there is cable tv at each power pedestal. Down the road at the Market and Yavapai Lodge there is free but meager broadband WiFi. Trees are not trimmed up and back so your rv has a good chance of being kissed by branches. The sole reason for booking here is the proximity to the Grand Canyon as the closest alternative is 8.4 miles away and of questionable quality or the KOA 52 miles to the south. Trailer Village continues to suffer from benign neglect. Go to  www.rickpicks.com for more photographs, other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of this park, etc.

P.S. For an enjoyable slideshow, versus scrolling thru the pictures below follow this link to my Google Photos. My recommendation would be to cast the slideshow to your HD Smart TV which will show more vivid and colorful pictures than your phone or laptop can provide.