Bright Angel Lodge

Designed in 1935 by Southwest architect Mary E.J. Colter, Bright Angel Lodge stands at the head of Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon Village and is a Registered National Historic Landmark. Colter was commissioned by the Santa Fe Railroad to create more moderately priced lodging in contrast to El Tovar uphill. The lodge replaced an earlier hotel and camp that had expanded with increased visitation after the arrival of the train in 1901. She incorporated two older structures into the design: the Buckey O'Neill Cabin, built in the 1890s by William O'Neill, a Rough Rider and Arizona judge killed in action in Cuba in 1898, and the Red Horse Cabin, built in 1890 and moved to the trail head in 1902, where it served as the Post Office for Grand Canyon Village from 1910 to 1935. Both cabins now function as guest accommodation.

Ninety units include rustic cabins with satellite television and private bath, lodge rooms without television—some with shared facilities—and the one-off Buckey O'Neill suite. All have telephone, coffeemaker, and refrigerator. The two-room Red Horse Cabin offers a sitting area and one bedroom. The History Room features a fireplace faced in stone representing the full geologic column of the canyon, from river cobble to rim strata. Harvey House Café serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Arizona Steakhouse operates seasonally with steaks, chicken, and ribs. There is a gift shop, coffee house, saloon, and ice-cream soda fountain open in season. You can step from the lodge directly onto the rim trail. The lodge stands a quarter-mile from the canyon edge.