We had a delightful stay at Phantom Ranch, and I would highly recommend booking your stay well in advance! We went in early December, and I was lucky that I was able to book two spots in the dormitory for one night when I called in October. (We tried for two nights, but they were already booked). The breakfast and dinner might seem a little pricey, but it's well worth it considering you don't have to carry down a dinner and breakfast for yourself in your backpack. We also ordered two lunches, but next time, I might just bring my own sack lunch, as I wasn't terribly impressed. I wasn't all that hungry (surprisingly) and didn't eat a lot of it. Perhaps in the summer in the heat, I would have had more of an appetite. I didn't call ahead to see if they had showers in the dorms, but I was happy to see that they did. Each dorm has about ten beds and because of the awful weather when we went down, there were only three of us in my dorm. The staff was friendly, as were all of the people we met while we were there. I loved this trip, and I am trying to get everyone I know to hike down, as well. Hiking back up is physically challenging, but resting for a night or two in between hikes at Phantom Ranch will help out a lot. Highly recommended!

We are 56 and 53. We knew it would be a shlep but we sort of practiced for a year and it was terrific! Hiked the S.Kaibab down on a cold October morning. It was warm by the time we got to the river. Stayed overnite at the ranch dorms (comfy enuf after the long hike!), and walked back up Brighty's trail to the south rim. Amazing hikes and amazing being down there. Even hiked a bit up the North Kaibab late in the day and it was a whole separate kind of beautiful. The ranger shows were great as was the ranch food and canteen. We'll never forget it!

I arrived at Phantom Ranch by mule, the only other way is to walk in, so by design it's a pretty exclusive world. The cabins themselves are what could be described as rustic and have only a sink and toilet -- the showers are in a separate building with towels provided (you don't need to carry them down).

It really feels like another world, maybe Brigadoon, because although there is electricity there is no real contact with the outside world. You can put down that Blackberry with no guilt! After arriving (and totally exhausted), we took a walk to the nearby river and took in the spectacular. there is a quiet comraderie with everyone you pass knowing that you've done something spectacular and made it to the bottom.

Don't expect luxury, that's not what you are there for -- the mattresses aren't great and the steak dinner was just about raw (I know, I know some people love it) -- but who the heck cares?

We signed up 4 months in advance and were apparently lucky to get in, so if you haven't reserved in time, still give it a try.

We decided we wanted to try to get a cabin at Phantom Ranch at the spur of the moment during a trip to Sedona. People that tell you they book a year in advance aren't kidding! However, we called them anyway and they put us on a waiting list for the next morning. When we called we were happily surprised that they had one available! Must have been the cold weather on the rim that scared people away but we lucked out! We had to pull ourselves together and drive from Sedona to the Canyon and hike down the same day! We took the Kaibab trail down and got there with five minutes to spare before the 5:00 seating for dinner. We didn't have a choice but understood later that the 6:30 stew seating was already filled up. The steak dinner was more than adequate albeit a bit spendy ($44.00 per person), breakfast was good and the lunches for the hike out were more than adequate. The family style seating is fun but you are only given 45 minutes to eat so beware if you are a slow eater! They also offer wine and beer but plan to spend a bit for it.

The cabin was very cozy with minimal amenities (a bed, nightstand, alarm clock, small table, toilet and cold running water.) The shower house had plenty of hot water and towels.

We only had the one night as we had to hike out on the Bright Angel trail and return to Sedona the next day. The hike out was long but so worth every step of it.

I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who can endure the 7.5 miles down and over 9 miles out but definitely think about more than one night so you can explore the area around Phantom Ranch and let your legs rest for a while.