A gray 4x4 Sprinter with a roof rack on a two-track through a wildflower meadow, cloud sitting on the mountains behind.

Forest Service cabin or lookout

Big Springs Cabin Site

Forest Service cabin or lookout in Kaibab National Forest, Coconino County, Arizona. 6,955 feet. 26.5 miles from Fredonia.

Managed by
Forest Service Kaibab National Forest
Elevation
6,955 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
7 7 cabin electric
Longest rig
15 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

Big Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been used since the 1800s, first by homesteaders and later the Forest Service. The complex consists of seven rental cabins, dining hall, shower house, group kitchen, a historic office, and several administrative structures.

Recreation

Big Springs Cabins are located on Forest Road 22. This road provides easy access to scenic overlooks of the Grand Canyon and other points of interest on the forest. The site is a perfect base camp for day hikes or drives on the Kaibab Plateau and for group retreats in the cool pines.

Facilities

While Big Springs serves as an active administrative site for the U.S. Forest Service, the rental cabins available to the public are in a discrete location separated from the administrative structures. Individual cabins vary in occupancy from two to four people per cabin and include use of the shared shower house, fully furnished kitchen, dining room, and living room. There are toilets and showers on site, but not in the cabins. There are no laundry facilities. There are seven cabins. Cabins 1 - 6 each have two twin-size beds and one full-size bed. Cabin 7 has one queen-sized bed only. Please bring your own linens, blankets, pillows, towels, toiletries and food. An on-site host is present. Administrative buildings are not open to the public.

Natural Features

Big Springs is the most abundant water source on the Kaibab Plateau. Water from the springs runs down a limestone cliff and pools near the cabins. Nestled among lush vegetation and several ponds, the area is surrounded by ponderosa pine and rolling hills. A visit to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is an easy day trip from the cabins.

Nearby Attractions

The Big Springs Cabins Site is located approximately 30 minutes from the Fredonia, AZ/Kanab, UT area and is within a one-hour drive of several scenic overlooks on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

The land around Big Springs Cabin Site

The ringed pin is this cabin or lookout; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated July 8, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.