Buggeln Hill

Best Time to Visit Buggeln Hill

Because this stop is valued for shade rather than a view, it works well as a midday break during summer heat, when the marquee overlooks along Desert View Drive offer no relief from direct sun.

What to Know Before You Stop

• The adjacent Buggeln Picnic Area has picnic tables, vault toilets, and exhibit panels on the surrounding forest habitat.
• There's no water source on site, so bring your own if you're stopping for a meal.
• Treat this as a quiet, shaded break from the crowds at the big viewpoints, not a scenic-overlook destination in itself.

Getting to Buggeln Hill

It sits directly on Desert View Drive, about 12 miles east of Grand Canyon Village, with the adjacent Buggeln Picnic Area offering an easy pull-off. Grandview Point and the other Desert View Drive overlooks are close by if you want an actual canyon view after this stop.

What to Expect at Buggeln Hill

Buggeln Hill is a forested rise along Desert View Drive on the South Rim, about 12 miles east of Grand Canyon Village. Unlike the marquee overlooks along this road, Buggeln doesn't deliver a wide-open canyon panorama — the rim here is shaded by ponderosa pine and Gambel oak, and you only catch small glimpses of the canyon through gaps in the trees. It's named for Martin Buggeln, an early Grand Canyon entrepreneur who ran the Bright Angel Hotel and later a cattle operation on the nearby Hance Ranch before the Park Service acquired his land in 1948.