Phantom Ranch is a remote lodge deep in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, opened in 1922 beside Bright Angel Creek near the Colorado River and reachable only by trail or river. Long before its creation, Native American peoples used this area for thousands of years, leaving evidence that includes ancient figurines, pit houses, and a kiva. After early tourism camps and trail improvements in the early 1900s, Mary Colter designed the permanent complex in a rustic style using local stone and wood hauled down by mule. Its isolation, dramatic setting, and limited access have made it one of the Grand Canyon’s most distinctive and hardest-to-book overnight destinations.