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For the United States Park Service:This very much depends on what division you work for, what type of park you work at, as well as what location you work in that park if it is a large park.In the old days, park rangers were generalists and did everything: this included, acting as historians, environmental researchers, public educators, doing maintenance on facilities, enforcing park rules/laws, and acting in emergencies such as fire, search & rescue, and medical emergencies. Many State and local Park Services still have generalist rangers that are expected to do all of these as part of their job but the National Park Service has since divided up its “Rangers” or employees into 5 broad divisions. There are still some small National park Units (e.g. Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments) or remote areas inside larger parks (e.g. Dog Canyon in Guadalupe Mountain National Park) where an NPS ranger is expected to do all of these things but they are very rare. So the groups are:Administration:These people are the office workers that work behind the scenes. They include accountants, lawyers, IT professionals, Administrative Assistants (secretaries), Human Resource people, and everyone else that all large companies and agencies have that members of the public rarely see. In large parks, some of these people are found at the headquarters area in the park (e.g. Mammoth, in Yellowstone) other places they are found in an office building in the nearest city by the park, and still, others are found in the Regional (Atlanta, Anchorage, Denver, Omaha, Philadelphia, Washington DC) or National offices (Denver or Washington DC).These are permanent positions and work would be like any other white-collar job. They may or may not have to wear the uniform on a daily basis if they are not in the public eye. In general, these workers are not offered government housing (unless they work in a large remote park without services nearby) and live in the local commuting area in a self-provided house.Maintenance:This division has both skilled (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mansions, mechanics, etc) and unskilled (lawn mowing, janitors) labor workers that keep the facilities running. They can be seasonal or permanent workers and usually work something similar to a regular 9-5 Monday-Friday shift. The exceptions are usually seasonal maintenance workers that are tasked with janitorial and groundskeeping work on the weekends. In remote parks, the seasonal maintenance workers are usually provided on-park housing while the permanent staff lives off the park in self-provided housing. Remote park locations usually have one or two permanent maintenance staff that are required to live on the park in park-housing in case of a maintenance-related emergency.In the summertime, some large remote parks hire seasonal Trail-crew workers. These workers work in teams to repair old, and build new, hiking trails. These workers usually are provided park housing when not on the trail. However, depending on the park they may only take day trips to fix trails, or they may be on the trail for weeks at a time and thus required to camp on-site with the trail crew for extended periods.Resource Management:This branch includes most of the park academics and the Wildland Firefighters. Most wildland firefighters are seasonal hires and like most seasonal NPS workers are provided seasonal housing on the park that they are working at. Their bosses are usually permanent employees and most of them live off the park with possible exceptions of those in very remote large parks. Wild-land firefighters' schedules can vary greatly depending on location. Some spend most days doing maintenance or working-out on their shift. Other times they do controlled-burns of rangeland to prevent larger fires. Most of them are hoping for the big one to rage. Usually, they respond to wildfires on their home park but during wildfire season they can be shipped to anywhere across the country where a large wildfire is burning and must be responding (in travel) within 24 hours. Once on a fire, they will usually live in whatever accommodations are provided, usually a tent city, and be sent out to work for days at a time working on fire lines, manning helicopter equipment, or doing whatever job position they are assigned to fill. They get hazard pay while working on a fire so they come back with a sizable paycheck.The rest of the Resource Management Division are mostly academics like geologists, biologists, historians, archaeologists, etc. They usually consist of a permanent staff of highly degreed people (Masters or Ph.D. types) and a seasonal staff consisting of those with Bachelor's degrees or above in various subjects. This is the job category that requires the most formal education. Their work hours can vary depending on what project they are working on and they may spend only a few hours in the field or have to take overnight camping trips for weeks at a time depending on the requirements of the job. These are the people that produce scientific peer-reviewed papers on all the research or discoveries of the park. As for housing permanent workers usually provide their own off park (unless in an extremely remote area) and seasonal workers usually have government housing on the park (unless working at a small urban park). These workers mostly work in the field behind the scenes and are not usually required to wear the uniform unless they are in the public eye.Resource management also employs workers (usually seasonal) to check for and eradicate invasive species. This can mean jobs such as checking boats for zebra mussels, hunting pigs, or spraying herbicide on invasive plants. Closely related are technicians that try to limit the interactions with dangerous wildlife such as bears in parks with campers and heavy bear populations. Usually, these employees are back at home at the end of the day.Interpretation (I)/Education/ Visitor Assistance:For the most part, these workers are the public face of the National Park Service. There are both permanent and seasonal positions and they are responsible for operating the entrance stations, campgrounds, visitor centers, creating and providing educational programs to all ages, and guiding visitors on hikes. They are also responsible for creating educational signs and exhibits around the park. These Rangers usually work a normal shift and then go home at the end of the day. As usual seasonal rangers get park housing (except in urban parks) and permanent rangers live off the park (except in very remote parks). Experience in Natural resources, history, education, presenting to large and small groups, and the ability to speak foreign languages are sought after in these jobs. Some parks have “Environmental Education” positions that generally do the same educational type of thing geared towards school children. They may do outreach to schools and/or have summer programs for kids who are on summer break.Visitor and Resource Protection:These Rangers are commonly called “Law Enforcement (LE)” or “Protection (P)” Rangers. They are the rangers that carry guns and handcuffs like a police officer and are responsible for enforcing the law. The extent of the laws that they enforce gets complicated and changes depending on the park and the type of jurisdiction it has. In general, these rangers are park police officers at a minimum. After that, they may or may not be responsible for other things. In inner-city parks, they usually only enforce park rules. In remote parks, they may also be required to enforce state laws and may be responsible for Emergency Medical Care, Structural Firefighting, and Search & Rescues.Protection Rangers can be classified as front-country or back-country. Backcountry rangers are the most like traditional rangers and may hike, canoe, or ride a horse into the backcountry and be stationed out there for weeks to months at a time depending on the schedule set by the management.Front-country rangers are much more like park police they work shifts and are home every day at the end of the shift. In urban parks that’s the end of the story--go to work do your shift and you’re done. You then get to go to your own home and forget about work until tomorrow. In rural/wilderness parks Protection rangers, both seasonal and permanent, are usually required to live on the park. This is so they can respond to call-outs that can occur at all times of the day and night regardless of if they are “on-duty” or not. In this way, the park service keeps rangers always available without them actually having to be paid to be “on-call” like a professional firefighter sitting in a station would be.Law enforcement rangers at a minimum need to have taken and passed, within 3 years, an NPS Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program (SLETP) course but may also be required to have many other Emergency Medical and Search and Rescue certifications depending on the job.***All permanent Firefighting and Law Enforcement officers (wildland fire and LE rangers) in the federal government have 6C retirement which means a mandatory retirement on your 57th birthday. The government wants 20 years of service from you so you have to be originally hired into a permanent (seasonal positions don’t count) 6C covered position before your 37th birthday unless you get a voucher for completing military service.Others:There are some positions that are very specialized and found in some places and not others like:-Rangers specifically employed to do Search and Rescue (PSAR in Shenandoah, Rock climbers in Yosemite, Lifeguards at Gateway National Recreation area)-Unarmed rangers that do back-country patrols (Sequoia, Shenandoah)-Animal Packers and caretakers (i.e. Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Grand Canyon have horses and mules; while Denali has sled dogs)-Various Regional Specialists are based out of a regional office and are sent to any park in the Region as needed for specific problems for example: Structural Engineers from the regional office may be sent to a site if a historical structure is about to fall, and Criminal/Fire Investigators are sent to major investigations on parks in their region.That is the basics. But as stated earlier the job can vary a great deal from park to park. Some NPS sites are in the middle of a city, some in the middle of nowhere (that nowhere can be on land or ocean). The smallest site (Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial) is one 4-story tall building (5 if you count the basement) that covers 0.02 acres, the largest is Wrangell-St. Elias at 20625 square miles. In some parks, Law Enforcement is the only staff that does all emergency services. In other parks Search and Rescue, EMS, and Fire Fighting may be partly or mostly staffed with Interpretation Rangers, Scientist, or Maintenance staff. In some parks the divisions get along great in others they never talk to each other out of inter-departmental spite.***********************************************************************************Lifestyle and Living situations:Park Types:As stated earlier there are different types of Parks that make for very different living situations. There are your Urban Parks (e.g. Independence National Monument, St. Louis Arch, Statue of Liberty, Lincoln Home, etc) these parks are usually small in size, have a lot of local people using them and tourists but very few, if any, staff live on them they usually live in the surrounding city. Then there are the remote parks ranging from small to large in size. Usually, the small parks are sparsely populated with their small very isolated staff living on them (e.g. Chaco Canyon). Large parks can also be sparsely populated and very isolated (e.g. Everglades, Wrangell St. Elias) or they can be heavily populated with so many concessionaire and NPS employees and their families that the park essentially contains its own town or city with things like their own school district, grocery stores, jails, courts, victim assistance programs, and hospitals (e.g. Yellowstone, Grand Canyon has 2000–3000 residents mixed in with all those visitors) these large populated parks clearly have some very remote locations in them as well so it can be isolated if you are a backcountry ranger but feel like living in a town if you are front-country (the majority of workers in the park).-Job Security:Legally seasonal positions can only last a maximum of 6 months. In reality, the positions usually only last for 4 months. This means Seasonal workers are constantly looking ahead, planning, and applying for jobs. There are a lot of seasonal park ranger jobs in the summer but few in the winter so that leads to a lot of unemployed or alternatively employed park rangers in the winter season. Seasonal workers do not get the benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc) that a permanent worker gets.In terms of job security for workers with permanent positions— like most fully employed Federal Employees—they have a job throughout the year that caries over until you quit, retire, or get fired. That job comes with some relatively good protections (thanks to the 4th Amendment) and decent benefits (retirement, Health Insurance, etc) as long as you make it through your first 1–2 years which is considered a “probationary period.” Within a probationary period, you can be fired at the drop of a hat unless your work area has some sort of Union protection. Unionization is on a park-by-park basis and sometimes only applies to certain departments. Most parks don’t have them but some do.Permanent Law enforcement rangers also don't really have job security until they have completed the Land Management Police Training (LMPT) program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and then Field Training after that. This usually happens 2–3 years into your permanent job and long after the ranger has already been through at least the original SLETP academy (which teaches the same stuff as FLETC) and years of seasonal law enforcement work (which is really the same job as permanent law enforcement work). In Field training a field trainer (you will have AT LEAST 3 of them) that doesn't like you can fail you for anything or nothing. If you think you’ll only be failed out of field training because of poor skill performance and not personal grudges, retaliation, or because one of your field trainers just doesn’t like something about you; you’re living in a fantasy. If you are failed out of Field Training (which may take place on your home park or a park on the other side of the country that you’ve never been to before) you will be banned from ever working as a law enforcement ranger in any capacity (seasonal or permanent) for life despite having already been a solid seasonal and permanent ranger for years by that time.-Unequal Federal Hiring Practices and the Jealousy that followsAnyone who works in the US Federal government can tell you about this but it is especially prominent in highly sought-after positions with highly skilled workers.Long story short it is this is essentially the dynamic that two elite college students might have toward each other. There is the smart kid who got in because s/he had Straight A grades for all 12 years of grade school is involved in 8 different civic groups, has founded 2 charities, and is a community pillar at the age of 18. Then there is the dumb rich kid that gets in because his/her family bought their way in. Both students know the rich kid got an unfair placement and doesn’t have the skills to back up the position given and the smart kid knows 5 other high-achieving students that are more qualified than the rich kid but didn’t get in because the rich kid got the slot. So, the smart kid resents the rich guy for his lack of skills and unfair promotion to his level without the work and the rich guy resents and is jealous of the smart guy because the smart guy makes him look bad by just existing with his brain. The NPS, thanks to the U.S. Federal Government's hiring practices has the same dynamic.The Department of the Interior which houses most of the nation's land management agencies has the most diversity in its jobs of any other department in the Federal Government. Some of the individuals with the most diversified skill sets in the government are Park Rangers. The amount of tasks and skills the ideal ranger has is huge. Think about the generalist ranger from the days of old. Each of these rangers are trained in multiple skills including firefighting (wildland & structural), natural sciences, mechanics, law enforcement, emergency medicine. They are teachers, guides, rock/alpine climbers, boat operators, pilots, scuba divers, lifeguards…..all rolled into one person.Essentially, these guys/gals have consciously or—in the rare case of someone born to a very unique family, like the child of park rangers—unconsciously, been gathering the skills of being a ranger throughout their life. They have gone to college and got naturalist/teaching degrees, learned to rock climb, navigate in the wilderness, alpine ski in avalanche terrain, roll a kayak, they have joined the volunteer fire department, reserve police force, and volunteer search & rescue patrol. They have likely worked multiple jobs and lived in multiple states across the country if not countries around the world learning these skills. They have had to adapt to many different cultures in their path to ranger-hood and therefore are usually pretty accepting of others. These are the people the NPS wants to hire.However, the Federal Government has laws about hiring and those laws give out special status to various groups that place them above anyone else for both hiring and promotions. The largest group that has many of the most important “statuses” are people with military service. An applicant with military service and no experience as a ranger or much in the way of ranger skill (other than firearms) often is required to be hired over a highly qualified seasonal ranger with all the experience listed in the previous paragraph and 15 years spent actually doing the job. These status applicants can often skip the seasonal law enforcement academy (for LE rangers) skip the stage of spending years in a seasonal position and be hired straight to permanent status with no previous experience. In law enforcement, they also skip to the front of the line to go to FLETC (a process that takes 2–3 years for non-status rangers). This may be a mixed blessing since at FLETC instructors often just glance over skills for the LMPT class because they assume that, unlike students in other programs who are hired straight into their jobs, LMPT students have already been doing the job as seasonal and permanent rangers before they got there. This means that for a military applicant who got sent straight to FLETC/LMPT without previous work experience they get shorted on the skills practice one should have after coming out of FLETC. Even after FLETC (which only teaches law enforcement not anything else) a status ranger may still have to be trained how to do the job by a more qualified seasonal ranger they kept from attaining a permanent position. And thus you have a dynamic of jealousy and resentment in the NPS between those that have lots of skills and still struggle to get in and get promoted and those that do not have the skill and get handed the job because of a grant of “status.”******After many decades of highly qualified seasonals never getting past “Status” applicants to get into permanent positions, the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) finally got the “Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act” passed into law. This gives long time seasonal rangers limited “status” that now at least gives them a fair chance at getting a permanent job that they didn’t have before.*******-HOUSING:For staff that live off the park the job is like any other job in that you work for 8 hours a day, 5 days (or some other version of 40 hours) a week and go home at the end of the day to have your own life like any other 9–5 job.For workers that live in the park it is an entirely different story (especially for permanent employees):Staff that live in the park either have their own recreational vehicle that they set up on a park-issued RV site or they are issued “apartments.” These “apartments” are sometimes stand-alone houses, sometimes historic quarters, sometimes trailer homes, sometimes park-owned RVs, oftentimes multifamily “townhouse” type buildings (usually single-story unless living in an area prone to flooding—e.g. Everglades), and occasionally actual apartment or repurposed hotel buildings. Seasonal employees may get their own “apartment” but usually end up having at least a housemate if not a roommate. Permanent employees usually end up getting their own “apartment” and can live there with a family if they have one. Pets are usually allowed for permanents but not allowed for seasonals—although if a seasonal gets lucky enough to not have to share an apartment they might be allowed to have a pet (this depends on management). Seasonal apartments are fully furnished but permanents have to provide everything but a refrigerator and a cooking range for themselves.The rent for apartments (or RV sites) is deducted directly from your paycheck (for both seasonal and permanent staff) and the government does some funky math to base the rental rates off the rental rates of the “surrounding area” (which might not actually be the closest community to you) not the market value of your particular apartment (as the apartment is not on the market) or how well it is kept up. So, you may be assigned to live in a run-down trailer near a resort town. If so you’ll likely be paying a lot for your cramped junk pile. On the other hand, if you get assigned to live in a new building (VERY RARE with the current budget) or a historically significant building that is required to be well kept up at a park near a lower-income area of the country you could pay relatively little on rent for a pretty nice place.-Work/Home Life:If you are living on the park your work and home life WILL BLEND MORE THAN NOT. Just how completely depends on your job position and how remote your park is. The closer you are to a city/town the more non-park-related outlets you’ll have but remote locations mean the park becomes your work life as well as your only source of recreation when not working.If you are a back-country ranger so long as you go in and check out of the field at the right time and call/radio into dispatch at your appointed times you’re on your own. You can do your job how you see fit with very little oversight but you need to be comfortable with living off the grid with no company, modern conveniences (electricity, running water, phone service, etc), or connection with the outside world for extended periods of time. Working without vehicles and without power tools in a “designated Wilderness” You'll probably burn a lot of calories each day. So you'll need to plan how to get the needed food into the backcountry and keep it from spoiling without refrigeration. While in the backcountry you will to some extent always be on duty.As for front-country rangers that live on the park it is essentially like living in a remote small town where all your neighbors are also your coworkers and your employer owns everything, including the house you pay rent on and the utilities. So the Park is your boss, landlord, maintenance personal, the utility company, the fire department, as well the Local, State, and Federal law enforcement (all these departments are all under one superintendent). This means that the park has access to your house at all times thanks to the housing contract you had to sign when you got the job. It also means that as the landlord and your boss they can force you out of your house on a whim. I and others have our apartments “condemned” for legit as well as BOGUS reasons or have been forced to move out when the management decided to give the house to another employee that is higher on the pecking order than you for some reason (i.e. the new superintendent wants cheap housing). These moves always seem to come at the most inconvenient times (like the middle of winter, at bad timing for your family and/or when you are already swamped with work) and often involve moving you to less suitable and/or more expensive housing. Oh… and did I mention that your coworkers and supervisor may also be your next-door neighbor so disputes between neighbors or roommates are also office disputes and vice versa. They are all the same thing and many a time I’ve come into the office to my boss talking to me about a disagreement I had with my “neighbor” or “housemate.”So, if you, your coworkers, and supervisors are all friendly agreeable types that see yourselves as on the same team working for a common goal then the neighborhood can be absolutely Awesome. In the parks I’ve worked at, we as a community, have had nightly community cookouts under amazing sunsets all summer long, we’ve had huge parties, and smaller groups of us have explored parts of the park not seen by visitors, found hidden caves, been inside glaciers, dived into shipwrecks and coral reefs, watched rockets launch from Cape Canaveral, and walked through ancient ruins as parts of the solar system lined up with the marks of ancient astronomers. It really can be an awesome life. However, EVENTUALLY, leadership will change, someone will get on someone’s nerves, or will do something to cross someone with power (e.g. a supervisor, a law enforcement ranger, or a spouse of the previous two). When that happens Camelot crumbles REALLY fast. Now, because you live at work with only your coworkers and no one else, there is no escape from the turmoil.In my experience, it was better to be seasonal in this aspect because you got to experience some great moments and then leave before the crud started to stack up too high. Also, the intradepartmental politics didn’t see you as a threat because the “career guys” knew you’d be gone in 6 months. So even if they didn't like you they won't target you no matter how bad you made them look (usually due to your skills, or your lack thereof — see the Section on Jealousy and Unequal Hiring Practices) since you will never threaten their career advancement. But for a permanent, if you get on the wrong side of the wrong person you’ll lose everything (career, house, neighbors, friends, retirement, health benefits) especially during your probational period or as a permanent LE Ranger that still has to go through FLETC and Field Training.Michael Hess is absolutely right about park management. For someone living on the park, the Park Superintendent is an all-powerful being. In the unlikely event you find a wise and benevolent one you enjoy it while you can and hope s/he doesn't leave or get forced out by the politicians before you leave. If you get a bad superintendent… you bide your time, keep your head down, and if you can—plan your escape before the situation consumes you (because it will).Additionally, for all employees despite the fact that as a Park Service employee you can't officially comment about the politicians in D.C. they have an enormous direct impact on your life both on and off park. The stupidity includes:Government shutdowns (you might get laid-off or may have to work through them and when it’s over you may or may not get paid regardless of if you worked or not).Executive orders: good or bad one order and your job changes. Lately, they’ve included orders to misinform the public “you can’t say anything about ‘Global Warming’ or ‘Sea level rise” (Thanks, Trump).Half your National Monument just got given away (Thanks Zinke/Trump).Congressional hearings They may be competent hearings or just showroom political antics but you still have to put up with them and their very real consequences.Bureaucratic directives: Like Executive Orders, they may be good or bad but they change on a whim (usually of the new boss or politician that comes into power wanting to make a name for himself) hopefully your job or project you’ve been working on for years isn’t blown away with them.Budget Cuts: You are still expected to do the same job but now with half the staff. The result usually leads to an eventual rise in entrance fees to make up for the difference. Make no mistake these cuts and resulting rate hikes are political games planned by moneyed elites. They serve to limit the people that will be able to enjoy the park making your public park more of just another playground for the rich. The high price then gives those rich people more of an excuse to “privatize” the park. The privatization starts with the services in the park and then moves to justifications to privatize the park itself. Thus depriving the population even more of their right to their own country’s heritage. Consider this a warning to the average American. If you aren’t vigilant and don’t protect your public lands you will lose them and the freedom to roam and explore that comes with them.

Wow. This is a huge question. The only way to answer is “It depends”. The best campground for one person could be the worst nightmare for someone else. It will depend on the season, your camping experience, camping equipment, survival skills, backpacking equipment and physical fitness.You mention that you plan on spending 3 nights. You do not mention your skill level, fitness level, backpacking experience, camping experience or season. All of these factors will affect my answer. I will recommend an itinerary and campgrounds near the end of this answer.For someone with limited backcountry experience who wants to camp with some amenities, Mather Campground or North Rim Campground are the best. I could easily spend 3 days at either campground with day hikes and excursions each day. In Summer, Spring or Fall these are excellent choices. See the Sunset Magazine article I cite in the Addendum below.For someone with limited backcountry experience, who is reasonably fit and has the proper equipment, a Corridor camping trip (see below) or the Supai Reservation are the best introductory campgrounds. In Spring, Fall or Winter these are excellent trips.For someone with extensive experience who is incredibly fit, nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment and the solitude of a night on Wotan’s Throne (A19) sleeping with Harvey’s ghost. Or the feeling of accomplishment and the party with a rafting group on Nankoweap Beach (AE9) or Royal Arch (BR9) if you have some rappelling skills. This is how I would spend 3 nights.GRAND CANYON CAMPING & CAMPGROUNDSThe National Park Service (“NPS”) and the Grand Canyon National Park (“GCNP”) maintain an excellent website with detailed and updated information. http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm This website will explain Park hours and entry fees.Some campgrounds are open year-round, some are seasonal. Some require reservations or permits and some are first-come, first-served. Some are for tents, some are for RVs and Campers. Some campgrounds allow pets. Some campgrounds can only be reached by strenuous backpacking. Showing up without permits or reservations can be very disappointing.In addition to Park Entry fees, there are also camping fees.Reservations for campgrounds can typically be made up to six months in advance.GRAND CANYON AREAS:The Grand Canyon is really three different areas: South Rim, North Rim and Backcountry.Even though the Grand Canyon averages less than 20 miles across, it is approximately 280 miles long and can take 5 to 6 hours to drive around from Rim to Rim. Much of this is within the Grand Canyon National Park, some of it is outside of the National Park in US National Forests or Indian Reservations.The South Rim is open year round. It is the most heavily visited area. During the busy summer season, campgrounds fill to capacity. Reservations are highly recommended.The North Rim is only open from May to November. It is more isolated and secluded and gets more snow. The only way in or out in the winter is by cross country skiing. Reservations are recommended.The Backcountry is open year round from the South Rim and seasonally from the North Rim. Permits are required and are issued by the Backcountry Information Center. If you are planning on hiking in the Backcountry see my Quora answer on Best Hike in the Grand Canyon. If you are planning on hiking, backpacking and/or camping in the Backcountry I highly recommend "The Official Guide to Hiking Grand Canyon" by Scott Thybony published by the Grand Canyon Association. http://www.grandcanyonassociation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GCA&Product_Code=M10091&Category_Code=HIKINGCAMPGROUNDSI will list the campgrounds in an outline with some comments. Much of this information is from the GCNP website with some from books and magazines listed in the Addendum at the end of this answer.SOUTH RIM http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htmInside the National ParkMather Campground. This could well be the best campground for many people!!Trailer Village. This is the best campground for anyone with an RV or camper.Desert View CampgroundOutside the National Park http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm#CP_JUMP_153571Ten-X Campground South of Tusayan http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Ten_X_Campground_Az/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=75372&topTabIndex=CampingSpotCamper Village. In Tusayan.Dispersed Camping in the Kaibab National Forest.Nearby Indian Reservations http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm#CP_JUMP_153576Havasupai Indian Reservation http://www.havasupai-nsn.gov/ This could be the best campground for someone with moderate backcountry skills who is reasonable fit.Hualapai Indian Reservation http://www.grandcanyonwest.com/Navajo Indian Reservation http://www.navajonationparks.org/index.htmBACKCOUNTRY http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/backcountry-permit.htm You must have a permit to camp in the Backcountry. Permits are issued by the Backcountry Information Office. Approximately 40,000 applications are submitted every year, approximately 13,000 permits are issued and approximately 40.000 people camp in the Backcounty. http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=513893Corridor Campgrounds: Recommended for hikers without previous experience at Grand Canyon. Maintained trails. Purified water stations. Paved roads to trailheads. Toilets, signs, emergency phones, and ranger stations.Bright Angel. This could be the best campground for someone with moderate backcountry skills who is reasonable fit.Indian GardensCottonwoodThreshold Campgrounds: Recommended for experienced Grand Canyon hikers. Non-maintained trails. Scarce water sources. Most roads to trailheads are dirt roads. Pit toilets.Clear CreekThunder River / Upper TapeatsHermit CreekOtherPrimitive Use Areas: Recommended for highly experienced Grand Canyon hikers with proven route-finding ability. Non-maintained trails and routes. Four-wheel-drive roads to trailheads. Occasional signs. No other developments.* Primitive and Wild Zones are not recommended for use during summer months due to extreme high temperatures and the lack of reliable water sources.Hance CreekBoucherWilderness Use Areas: Recommended for highly experienced Grand Canyon hikers with extensive route-finding ability. Indistinct to non-existent routes require advanced route-finding ability. Water sources scarce to non-existent. No other development.Cheyava: one of the best when the Falls are flowing.NORTH RIM http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-nr.htmInside the National ParkNorth Rim Campground. This could be the best campground for many people.Outside the National ParkDeMotte CampgroundJacob Lake CampgroundDispersed Camping in the Kaibab National ForestKaibab Camper Village (Jacob Lake)Tuweep / Toroweap CampgroundBACKCOUNTY http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/overnight-hiking.htmThe South Rim Backcountry Information Center is open daily year-round for walk-in visitors from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time). The North Rim Backcountry Information Center is open daily mid-May to mid-October for walk-in visitors from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time). Beginning mid-October, the North Rim office is open daily from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. until November 30 or until snow closes Highway 67, whichever comes first.Once the North Rim office closes it does not reopen until mid-May.Backcountry Information Center staff answer information telephone inquiries at 928-638-7875 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on federal holidays. This telephone number is for information only.Email the Backcountry Information Center. FAX number for permits is 928-638-2125 you can send a fax 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year - HOWEVER the first day of every month we receive many faxes and the number may be busy.Mailing address is:Grand Canyon NationalParkBackcountry Information CenterP.O. Box 129Grand Canyon AZ, 86023Backcountry Permit Request Form (PDF file) NOTE: This is a printable form only. You must print the form, fill it out, and then fax/mail it directly to the Backcountry Information Center.USE AREA MAP http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/backcountry_map.pdfRECOMMENDED ITINERARY: For someone who is physically fit with good backpacking & camping experience but no prior Grand Canyon experience, in the Spring, Fall or Winter (depending on conditions), I recommend this itinerary. Day 1 – arrive at GCNP and spend the day on the South Rim. Go out to Hermits Rest, come back to Grand Canyon Village, go out to Desert View Tower. Night 1 – Mather Campground. Day 2 – hike down South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch and maybe up to the Clear Creek overlook depending on how you feel. Night 2 – Bright Angel Campground. Day 3 – hike out to Indian Gardens, and out to Plateau Point. Night 3 – Indian Gardens Campground. Day 4 – hike out to the Rim and head home. I do not recommend this itinerary from May through September. It will be too hot and miserable with temperatures in the inner canyon ranging from 100degrees Fahrenheit to 115degrees Fahrenheit. This itinerary in the summer can kill people. This is almost 25 miles and 5,000 Accumulated Elevation Gain.ADDENDUMSunset Magazine has a great website for Grand Canyon National Park. http://www.sunset.com/travel/southwest/grand-canyon-camping-00400000050459/Frommer’shas a nice website on the Grand Canyon http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcanyonnationalpark/2284020175.html

I can’t speak to the specifics of what Bill Bryson was talking about since I haven’t read that book, but since no one else has answered you, I’ll give it a stab. Lets first look at what a park does.The NPS is part of the executive branch of government. Its function is interpret laws set forth by congress that specify the means and ends of preserving designated pieces of land.The only legislation that I’m aware of that limits the way we use land in parks is the 1964 wilderness act. The act prevents any development or use of mechanization within “wilderness boundaries”. An important distinction here is that the word wilderness refers to a specific land designation. It doesn’t mean “the woods” or “wild places” or even “beautiful places”. A piece of land is only considered wilderness if legislators decide such.Each individual park has a “wilderness management plan” that describes how that park interprets protective legislation.The legislation that limits visitor use is fairly straightforward and the interpretation is pretty much the same from park to park. no bikes, no big fires, pack it in pack it out, no stealing stuff and selling it.The end of the act, however has a bit about “administrative use”. Basically parks are allowed to do all the stuff that visitors can’t IF:It’s for the good of the park and preservation of wildernessIt’s to save lives or housesAnd when we do so, we have to prove (through a shitload of paperwork and public comment) that it was the only safe way for us to do the thing. So if we need to fly a helicopter during bird mating season, we have to show that it was necessary to save a life or put out a fire.. or that it was to preserve wilderness (like if you wanted to tranquilize and remove a goat because it’s an invasive species).I work on a trail crew. A lot of people might think that the things we do harm wilderness. But that’s not so straight forward.People are going to use the wilderness. They want to go hiking. This is a good thing, when people love something, they’re motivated to protect it. They’ll approve legislation to protect it. To go hiking they need roads and trails. Building roads and trails changes the landscape. But, if we didn’t build roads and trails, people would drive and walk wherever they wanted and it would be a huge mess. Paved roads prevent erosion. That’s why we use them. Trails prevent erosion and keep hikers on a single path.I don’t think either feature does as much damage as people think. If you’ve ever seen such featured after they’ve been abandoned, you’ll agree.So.. what does it mean to harm or help? how do we define those things? it’s not quite so cut and dry.