Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument
Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is a United States national monument that protects over 900,000 acres (3,600 km2) surrounding the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. President Joe Biden established it as a monument under the authority of the Antiquities Act on August 8, 2023, to be managed by the United States Forest Service within Kaibab National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Conservation Lands. While the area was already protected from most development, the monument designation made permanent a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining put in place in 2012. The name combines the Havasupai words for "where tribes roam" and Hopi words for "our ancestral footprints", and many sites are considered sacred to the peoples who have lived in the region since time immemorial.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
| Designation | National Monument |
| Managed by | Bureau of Land Management |
| State | Arizona |
| Size | 960,963 acres (computed from the boundary polygon) |
| National Conservation Lands id | NLCS000112 |
| Center point | 35.9193, -111.9941 |
| Night sky | About as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 16) |
Boundary map
Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground
The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.
Weather by month
Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.
Where to camp
2 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 11 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
Show 4 moreHide
1 more within ten miles is not listed here.
Trails
5 named Forest Service trails start or end within 21.9 miles of the center point, 30 miles in all.
| Trail | Miles | Allowed uses |
|---|---|---|
| Tusayan Mtn Bike ↗ | 18.2 | |
| Tusayan Mtn Bike Loop ↗ | 8.3 | |
| Red Butte | 1.5 | |
| Vishnu Overlook | 1.1 | |
| Ten-X Nature Trail | 0.5 |
Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas, refreshed September 18, 2026. Trails in plain text have no page there yet. The radius is the one a circle of this unit’s acreage would have, measured from the center point, so a trail listed here can fall outside the boundary.
Explore
Nearby on the other atlases
- 2.3 miGrand Canyon Park Operations Building ↗National Historic Landmark
- 2.4 miGrand Canyon Power House ↗National Historic Landmark
- 2.4 miGrand Canyon Railroad Station ↗National Historic Landmark
- 2.5 miEl Tovar Hotel ↗National Historic Landmark
- 0 miGrandview Lookout Tower and Cabin ↗Twin Lakes, AZ
- 0 miGrandview Lookout Tree ↗Grand Canyon, AZ
- 0 miHull Tank Lookout Tree ↗Grand Canyon, AZ
- 0 miKane Ranch Headquarters ↗House Rock Valley, AZ
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
960,963 acres, measured from the published boundary polygon. The agency’s own figure can differ where the boundary includes water or inholdings.
Source: How acreage is computed
Who manages Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
The Bureau of Land Management.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
What state is Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in?
Arizona.
Source: How states are assigned
Can I camp at Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
2 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary, including Hull Cabin and Tusayan - Montane. 13 in all are within ten miles. Rules vary by unit; the BLM page has the current camping rules.
Source: Where to camp
How do I get to Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
A point inside the boundary is at 35.919, -111.994. Grand Canyon National Park is 1 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
How dark is the night sky at Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
NASA’s Black Marble night-lights image reads 16 on a 0 to 255 scale at the center point, about as dark as the ground gets.
Source: NASA Black Marble
Which national parks are near Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
Grand Canyon National Park (1 mi), Pipe Spring National Monument (3 mi) and Old Spanish National Historic Trail (11 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.
Source: Nearby on the other atlases
Are there historic places near Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
42 National Register listings within 15 miles, including Grand Canyon Park Operations Building and Grand Canyon Power House.
Source: Register Atlas
Sources
- Boundary, name: the BLM National Conservation Lands layer.
- States: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons; a state is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area.
- Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
- Description: Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
- Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
- Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by trail endpoints falling inside a circle of this unit’s acreage around the center point.
- Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
- Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.