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Description
The Mule Barn at Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, October 19th, 2022.

The first advertised mule rides into the canyon were run by hotelier John Hance, who opened a hotel about 15 miles east of where the present Grand Canyon Village sits, and advertised lodging and mule rides.

In 1904, British entrepreneur Fred Harvey bought the exclusive concession of mule tours to the Grand Canyon, but currently the National Park Service is partnered with Xanterra Travel Collection
for the tours. I don't know when Fred Harvey Company lost the mule ride commission, but they merged with Xanterra (formerly Amfac) in 1968 and still ran various South Rim concessions, including the El Tovar Hotel. Xanterra also bought the Grand Canyon Railroad in 2006.

Not surprisingly, there are some hurdles that must be overcome in order to participate in the mule rides. First off, a mule ride and overnight stay at the Phantom Ranch costs over $1000 per person. It is recommended that you make reservations 15 months in advance. If you can't do that, there is still a lottery held on the 14th of the prior month for reservations. If you win a spot, you will be contacted by e-mail and if you don't confirm within 10 days, someone else gets the reservation instead. Whether the reservation was booked or won in the lottery, you will need to again confirm two days in advance and also check in at least 90 minutes in advance. If you don't, someone else can take your spot.

In addition, you and your clothing can not weigh more than 198 pounds. You must be fluent in English. You can not take luggage. The clothing you wear on the ride down will probably be what you sleep in and what you will wear for the trip back out. If you need that CPAP machine in order to sleep, than you are just out of luck.

As a side note, back in the late 1980's, my cousins who are ranchers in Idaho were looking for something more "surefooted" in the semi volcanic terrain than the horses they had to use. They traveled to Missouri and bought some mules and took them back to Idaho. Apparently, just being a mule is no guarantee of sure footedness. They was far more clumsy that the horses they had been using. I don't know what happened with those mules after that.

Description
The Mule Barn at Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, October 19th, 2022.

The first advertised mule rides into the canyon were run by hotelier John Hance, who opened a hotel about 15 miles east of where the present Grand Canyon Village sits, and advertised lodging and mule rides.

In 1904, British entrepreneur Fred Harvey bought the exclusive concession of mule tours to the Grand Canyon, but currently the National Park Service is partnered with Xanterra Travel Collection
for the tours. I don't know when Fred Harvey Company lost the mule ride commission, but they merged with Xanterra (formerly Amfac) in 1968 and still ran various South Rim concessions, including the El Tovar Hotel. Xanterra also bought the Grand Canyon Railroad in 2006.

Not surprisingly, there are some hurdles that must be overcome in order to participate in the mule rides. First off, a mule ride and overnight stay at the Phantom Ranch costs over $1000 per person. It is recommended that you make reservations 15 months in advance. If you can't do that, there is still a lottery held on the 14th of the prior month for reservations. If you win a spot, you will be contacted by e-mail and if you don't confirm within 10 days, someone else gets the reservation instead. Whether the reservation was booked or won in the lottery, you will need to again confirm two days in advance and also check in at least 90 minutes in advance. If you don't, someone else can take your spot.

In addition, you and your clothing can not weigh more than 198 pounds. You must be fluent in English. You can not take luggage. The clothing you wear on the ride down will probably be what you sleep in and what you will wear for the trip back out. If you need that CPAP machine in order to sleep, than you are just out of luck.

As a side note, back in the late 1980's, my cousins who are ranchers in Idaho were looking for something more "surefooted" in the semi volcanic terrain than the horses they had to use. They traveled to Missouri and bought some mules and took them back to Idaho. Apparently, just being a mule is no guarantee of sure footedness. They was far more clumsy that the horses they had been using. I don't know what happened with those mules after that.