More North Rim Campsites To Go Online in March

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chris and Ellen Winchester
Kaibab Camper Village
928.635.5251
chris@KaibabLodge.com

Jo Ann Mickelson
Arizona Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds
602.403.6196
arizonaarvc@aol.com
GoCampingInArizona.com

More North Rim Campsites To Go Online In March

Kaibab Camper Village, the only campground with full hookup RV and tent sites near the North Rim, will put its entire inventory online at KaibabCamperVillage.com

JACOB LAKE, Ariz., Feb. 20, 2018 – Finding a campsite with full hookups near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon will soon get a little easier.

Chris and Ellen Winchester, who purchase Kaibab Camper Village in late January, plan to put the campground’s 98 RV and tent sites and two rental cabins online at KaibabCamperVillage.com.

“All of our campsites and cabins should be available online in early March,” Ellen Winchester said, adding that Kaibab Camper Village will be open from May 14 to Oct. 14, coinciding with the May 15 to Oct. 15 period when the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is open to the public.

Located at nearly 8,000 feet, Kaibab Camper Village is the only privately owned and operated campground near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It features tent and RV sites with 30amp electrical connections as well as water and sewer service, coin operated laundry and shower facilities and a camp store. The campground also includes a pond called Jacob Lake.

Prior to purchase Kaibab Camper Village, the Winchesters worked as concessionaires and managed two primitive Forest Service campgrounds for five years, Jacob Lake Campground and DeMotte Campground, both of which are on the Kaibab Plateau.

They have also owned and operated the historic Kaibab Lodge since 2004, when they decided to leave their previous jobs in Flagstaff for an opportunity to own and operate the historic lodge.

Chris Winchester was previously director of information technology for Flagstaff medical Center. But,when he learned that the historic Kaibab Lodge was for sale, near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Winchester had stayed at the Kaibab Lodge during his college years, when he worked with a Forest Service helitack firefighting crew.

“He fell in love with the place,” Ellen Winchester said. “So, when he saw it was for sale, he said, ‘We have to go look at this.’ ”

Ellen, who ran a successful bounce house rental business in Flagstaff, fell in love the lodge, too.

Built in the last 1920s, the lodge includes a restaurant with a stone fireplace with 31 rooms in separate buildings and cabins, all of which were built on 27 acres of ponderosa pines.

The lodge building includes a 63-seat restaurant, which serves breakfast and dinner during the summer season.

“We do a chick cooked in beer that is out of this world,” Ellen said. “We also do lots of specials. Our homemade lasagna night is very popular. We also serve ‘Ellen’s homemade key lime cheesecake.’  We describe it as rich and creamy, light and fluffy, sweet and tart at the same time.”

The  menu also includes lots of gluten free menu options, including gluten free homemade pies.

Ellen said visiting the remote Kaibab Plateau and the North Rim is very different from the South Rim.

“We describe the North Rim as getting to see the canyon as it was 50 years ago. It’s a really different experience. There’s 4 to 5 million visitors to the North and South Rim combined, but only 15 percent of them go to the North Rim.”

But while the North Rim is remote, it is a popular place for hikers, many of whom seek campsites during the first couple of weeks of June and the last two weeks of September into early October.

“We encourage people to make reservations as soon as possible,” Ellen Winchester said.

For more information on the Kaibab Lodge and Kaibab Camper Village, please visit www.KaibabLodge.com and www.KaibabCamperVillage.com.

Kaibab Camper Village is affiliated with the Arizona Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, which hosts a travel planning website at www.GoCampingInArizona.com.