The North Rim Visitor Center (928/638-2481, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. daily) is located at Bright Angel Point, at the end of Highway 67. The large parking area on the left at road’s end is convenient to the visitor center, which is the building nearest the parking lot’s south edge. You can hang out on the shady veranda and watch an informational slide show, or go inside to talk with rangers and browse through displays on flora, fauna, and history.

In the visitor center, a large three-dimensional map of the canyon—showing major viewpoints, landforms, and trailheads, as well as park, forest, and reservation boundaries—helps travelers get their bearings. Weather forecasts for the North Rim, South Rim, and nearby areas are posted here daily.

Housed within the visitor center is the Grand Canyon Association (GCA) bookstore, with an excellent selection of books, maps, videos, and other items. Proceeds benefit the association, which partners with the park to create interpretive materials. Restrooms are located around the back of the building, where there’s also a shady ramada with public phones and vending machines.

You can preview your visit to the rim with a stop at the Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center (928/643-7298, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. mid-May–mid-Oct., with shorter hours later in the season), operated by the U.S. Forest Service in Jacob Lake, 45 miles north of the rim. Displays emphasize the Kaibab Plateau and Kaibab National Forest, though information on Grand Canyon National Park is also available here.

A three-dimensional map of the plateau and canyon rim indicates forest roads, and you can also purchase forest maps here if you plan to make any backroads excursions. The GCA stocks the visitor center with books about the canyon.