There is a ranch deep within the inner canyon. Last year when we were doing some preliminary planning for our Grand Canyon trip, this looked like something that I absolutely wanted to put on the itinerary.
Photo Credit: Grand Canyon National Park Service - Flickr
When we started doing some deeper research we realized that this is one of a few things that might not be feasible for this trip. There are three ways to get to Phantom Ranch; an intensive hike, a raft, or a mule ride into the inner canyon. The hike takes about 4 hours down and 8 hours up and would be too difficult for at least one of our children to endure. Rafting is out of the question due to Sammie's current aversion to boats. We looked a little deeper into the Mule ride packages, but the cost is much more than we are looking to spend. Staying at phantom ranch looks like it would be an amazing experience and it will definitely be something that gets added to our list to do when we come back to the park later in life.
Take a look at the video NPS has produced about visiting Phantom Ranch, If you plan on including this in your plans, know that they recommend booking very early, reservations open up 13 months in advance