Visitor accommodations at the Grand Canyon’s South Rim will be closed indefinitely starting Saturday due to water issues.
Grand Canyon National Park officials said the hotels operated by park concessionaires will be closed, though lodging outside the park, such as in Tusayan, Arizona, will stay open.
The closures come amid long-running issues for the decades-old Transcanyon Waterline.
The 12.5-mile waterline has suffered multiple breaks and can’t supply water from the canyon for use elsewhere in the national park.
As of Tuesday, no water was being pumped to the South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park officials said.
The low water supply also means the national park is allowing only dry camping, meaning without hooking up to electric, water and sewage utilities, and is banning fires at the South Rim or inner canyon areas.
The Transcanyon Waterline dates back to the 1960s. The National Park Service started $208 million repair and rehabilitation work on the waterline in 2023 and expects it to be finished in 2027.
In addition to the hotel closures on the South Rim, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon remains closed following the Dragon Bravo Fire this year. The North Rim is expected to reopen to visitors on May 15.
