Whitmore Camp
The camp below Lava Falls at mile 187 — volcanic basalt terrain, Whitmore Wash helicopter access, and the relief or anticipation of the biggest rapid in Grand Canyon.
Also known as: Whitmore Wash Camp, Below Lava Camp
Whitmore Camp at mile 187 on river left sits just below Lava Falls — the most significant rapid in Grand Canyon and one of the most consequential in North America. Groups that camp here have either just run Lava or are staging above it, and the camp carries the psychic weight of that proximity. The camp occupies a rocky bench on river left near the mouth of Whitmore Wash, where a rough helicopter road connects the inner canyon to the rim — this is the exchange point where commercial passengers are sometimes flown in or out, marking the boundary between the upper and lower trip. The geology here is dominated by basalt: Quaternary lava flows cascaded over the canyon rim and dammed the Colorado multiple times, and remnants of these black basalt flows are visible in the canyon walls and as dark boulders throughout the rapid. The Whitmore bench itself is a mix of sand and basalt cobble, with limited shade from scattered mesquite.