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 | 960,968 acres |
| National Conservation Lands id | NLCS000112 |
| Center point | 35.92° N, 111.99° W |
| 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
1 federal campground sits inside the boundary and 9 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.
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. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. 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.
Fire nearby
- PrescribedCy26 Nkrd- Misc Piles Rx
30 mi from the center point · 2 acres
- PrescribedKendrick Park Piles Rx
38 mi from the center point · 17 acres
- PrescribedCy26 Wrd-Northside Piles Rx
43 mi from the center point · 165 acres
- PrescribedWalker Hill Piles Rx
45 mi from the center point · 725 acres
Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.
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
- under 0.1 miGrandview Lookout Tower and Cabin ↗Twin Lakes, AZ
- under 0.1 miGrandview Lookout Tree ↗Grand Canyon, AZ
- under 0.1 miHull Tank Lookout Tree ↗Grand Canyon, AZ
- under 0.1 miKane Ranch Headquarters ↗House Rock Valley, AZ
Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.
Guidebooks for Arizona
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
How big is Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument?
960,968 acres.
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?
Rules vary by unit. The BLM page has the current camping rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.
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° N, 111.994° W. Grand Canyon National Park is 1 mile away. The official page carries directions and the office address.
Source: Bureau of Land Management
Is there a fire near Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument right now?
4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Cy26 Nkrd- Misc Piles Rx at 30 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.
Source: Fire nearby
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?
The National Register has 42 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 and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
- 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.