Is the Grand Canyon on your bucket list? Many people never get to see the Grand Canyon because it is so far away. The good news is, that if you are visiting Las Vegas, Grand Canyon West is only 125 miles away.
Grand Canyon West is the portion of the Grand Canyon that is run by the Hualapai Nation and is famous for the Skywalk that allows visitors to view the Grand Canyon from 4,000 ft above. Many people visit Grand Canyon West as a day trip from Las Vegas because it is a 2-hour drive and there are many tour options if you don’t have your own car.
Grand Canyon West offers more than just the Skywalk. Guests can also take scenic helicopter rides, stay the night in the cabins, ride the Zipline, enjoy a Navajo Taco at one of the cafes, check out the activities at Hualapai Ranch, and even get more views of the Grand Canyon at Guano Point.
Although many visitors complain about the large crowds and high prices, Grand Canyon West is a great option for those who want to see the Grand Canyon without making a whole trip out of it.
I’m Cheryl and my husband and I write travel guides to help people have amazing vacations to the West. I’ve visited the North and South Rim of the Grand Canyon as well as Page, AZ, and Grand Canyon West. Read on to learn all about Grand Canyon West and how it compares to the rest of the Grand Canyon.
| Visit Grand Canyon West If…. | Don’t Visit Grand Canyon West If… |
| This is your only chance to see the Grand Canyon | You are planning a trip to the North or South Rim of the Grand Canyon |
| You have a goal to see all the view points of the Grand Canyon | If you are on a tight budget |
| You need to get out of Las Vegas for the day and see some nature | If seeing the best viewpoints is important to you |
| If getting a photo on the famous Skywalk is important to you | If you are wanting to spend more than 1/2 a day at the Grand Canyon |
The Grand Canyon is so big that it is broken into 4 distinct areas. When most people think of the Grand Canyon, they are thinking of the South Rim that is run by the National Park System. It is home to the charming Grand Canyon Village and over 5 million people visit per year!
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is also run by the NPS and is only open mid-May through mid-October because they actually receive snow there!
Page, AZ is home to Horseshoe Bend National Monument as well as Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell. It is run by a mixture of state, federal, and tribal governments.
As mentioned above, Grand Canyon West is run by the Hualapai Tribe and is completely on tribal land. It is home to the famous Skywalk.
You can read more about the entrances to the Grand Canyon in our article, Which Entrance Should You Use For the Grand Canyon? (Entrances and 4 Areas Explained).
To be honest, more than you think. Of course, there is the Grand Canyon, but there are a few shops and restaurants, the Skywalk, a zipline, the Hualapai Ranch, and scenic flights and helicopter rides.
Grand Canyon West is a 17-square-mile section of land that is owned by the Hualapai Tribal nation. The big viewpoints are Eagle Point (where the Skywalk is) and Guano Point. Guests must access these points via shuttle which is included with the park entrance fee.
When we visited Grand Canyon West in the spring of 2024, it cost us $72 per person. That included entrance into the park and a pass to go on the Skywalk.
To get to the Grand Canyon of Grand Canyon West, it is mandatory that you take the shuttle. These are nice, large, air-conditioned shuttles that service the parking lot and transport visitors to Eagle Point (where the Skywalk is) and Guano Point. The shuttles are part of your entrance fee and there are no reservations needed. You just stand in line until the next shuttle comes.
The shuttles come frequently and we never waited more than 10 minutes. It’s about a 5-minute drive between stops or 10 minutes going from Guano Point (furthest away) to the parking lot.
Eagle Point gets its name because the rock wall of the canyon looks like an eagle. It is the most famous spot at Grand Canyon West because it is where the Skywalk is. The Skywalk gets you views 4,000 feet above the Grand Canyon and the floor is made of glass. It is super cool!
Unless you pay to do the Skywalk, I don’t think this is a very good spot to view the Grand Canyon. There are big rocks prohibiting guests from getting within about 10 feet of the ledge of the canyon making it hard to look down into it.
If you do choose to pay the extra $$ to do the Skywalk, you can expect:
HANDY TIP: The best spot to view the Grand Canyon at Eagle Point is right when you walk onto the Skywalk because it has the best view of the Colorado River. However, on the other side of the bridge is where you can see the rock formation in the wall that looks like an eagle.
There is also an amphitheater at Eagle Point where you can see Native American performances, the Sky View restaurant that has views of the Grand Canyon from above, a gift shop, and some Native American structures like wikiups and hogans for guests to view and take pictures of.
Download our Free Quick and Easy Guide to the Grand Canyon’s 4 Areas!
Guano Point. This is my favorite view at Grand Canyon West. This is because there are no barriers blocking your views (be safe!) and it goes out to a point so you can have 360 views! It really is incredible.
There is a big rock pile you can climb on that enables you to snap a great picture with the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River behind you. It’s also fun to watch the helicopter tours (and ravens) fly through the canyon.
There is a cafe that sells snacks and meals with lots of outdoor seating with great canyon views.
FUN FACT: Guano means bat poop and it’s full of nitrogen so it’s a valuable fertilizer. In the 1930s, guano was discovered and a tram was built to mine it out. It ran for 20 years and was a 7,500 ft ride that climbed over 2,000 feet to the top of the canyon. In 1950, a fighter jet hit the cable and permanently disabled the tram. You can still see what is left of it at Guano Point.
Guests can spend $300 and up for a 1 hour helicopter ride. These rides go 3,500 ft above the Grand Canyon. I’m sure this is amazing but I have never done this, mostly because of the spotty track record of airline crashes. See our Death in the Grand Canyon blog post for more.
Hundreds of people safely do helicopter tours over the Grand Canyon every day and they depart from several areas including Las Vegas, Grand Canyon Village, and a few others.
IMPORTANT TIP: When you are researching helicopter tours, make sure to check the ACTUAL flight time. Many times it will say it’s a 1 hour tour, but you are only in the air for 15 minutes. That is the case with Grand Canyon West.
When you purchase your tickets to Grand Canyon West, you also have the option of adding a meal ticket for $25 additional dollars. They keep things pretty simple as far as food choices, which I think is really refreshing. I believe you can also purchase meal tickets at the restaurant or buy items ala cart.
The Sky View Restaurant is on the top floor of the building you enter to access the Skywalk. It’s very popular and there was a big line to eat here on the day that I visited. It looks like a very cool experience.
Guano Point Cafe (at Guano Point) is a less formal atmosphere with lots of outdoor picnic tables and a cafe that serves mostly ala carte items. If you are hungry for more, they serve pulled pork sandwiches and curry vegetables.
There is no shortage of shops to pick up souvenirs at Grand Canyon West. There is a gift shop at “the bubble” where you catch the first shuttle as well as at Eagle Point. They have everything you would expect from a gift shop including t-shirts, trinkets, postcards, decorations, and even a few snacks. Many of the items are made by the Hualapai.
There are also tables where members of the Hualapai tribe sell their hand-crafted jewelry near the shuttle stop at Guano Point.
In my personal opinion, there is no need to stay overnight at Grand Canyon West because it is so close to Las Vegas and it doesn’t require more than one day to visit the area.
However, if you want to do all the activities, including rafting the river, you may want to stay the night. They offer cabins that sleep 4-6 people and start at $219 per night. They are not near the canyon, so you won’t have a view from your room.
You can also bring your RV and they have a kennel available for your dog if you wish. Find out more about lodging at Grand Canyon West.
This is right next to where the cabins are. Most of the action happens Sunday-Tuesday when members of the tribe are onsite when they host “Crafting Hualapai Tribal Creations” at the Walapai Trading Post. This is also where the zipline is and they have a cool shooting gallery too.
While on the Skywalk, I asked the security guard the best time to visit. He told me it was exactly the time we were there, mid-April, mid-week. The temperatures were in the 60s, no wind, and NO CROWDS!
Grand Canyon West is open 365 days a year, rain or shine. At times, it can get so windy on the Skywalk that it blows people’s hats off.
In July and August, temperatures can get into the 90s. The coldest it gets is in December and January when lows reach the mid-30s. But, the highs are still in the 50s so it really doesn’t get too cold.
The biggest concern about when to visit depends on the crowds. It is not uncommon for weekends, holidays, and anytime in the summer to be really crowded. On days like this, people wait in line for up to 3 hours to get on the Skywalk. The average wait time is 1 1/2 hours. When we went, in mid-April on a Tuesday, we didn’t wait at all.
We were able to visit Grand Canyon West in 3 hours. We didn’t do a helicopter ride or eat a meal, but we did take the shuttle to all the stops and drove our car to Hualapai Ranch.
Most people visit from Las Vegas so they only spend a few hours here.
Grand Canyon West doesn’t open early for sunrises, nor does it stay open late for sunsets. If you want to catch one of those famous Grand Canyon sunrises or sunsets, you will need to spend the night in one of their cabins at Hualapai Ranch.
It’s a pretty straight shot from Las Vegas. Just hop on US-93 and you’ll be there in about 2 hours. I really enjoyed driving through the Joshua Trees on the way there.
There are several tour companies that will transport you to Grand Canyon West from Las Vegas by way of the Hoover Dam (also worth seeing-it’s so big!). Check out the different tour options. Tours start out at around $99 and go up from there.
I think that the average visitor experiences a bit of sticker shock when visiting Grand Canyon West. We are all used to the entrance fees of our national parks being affordable. It’s different when these natural wonders are tribally or privately owned.
When we visited in April 2024, it cost us $72 per person to enter Grand Canyon West and to access the Skywalk. Our photo on the Skywalk was $25 for a digital copy of one photo or $50 for 5 digital photos. Our day cost us $175 for the 2 of us.
A meal ticket was $25, and helicopter rides started at $299. We didn’t do either of these things.
If this is your only chance to see the Grand Canyon in your lifetime, I think it is. Not everyone has the time and money to visit the South Rim (the best spot to view the Grand Canyon- in my humble opinion).
Plus, if you think about it, a special trip just to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will require more time and will most likely require paying for a night or two of lodging- which is more expensive than a day trip to Grand Canyon West.
However, after visiting all 4 areas of the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon West is my least favorite. The Hualapai do a wonderful job keeping operations running smoothly and create a nice visitor experience, but the views really aren’t comparable. For example, at the South Rim, visitors can walk the rim of the Grand Canyon for 14 miles! There are just so many more viewpoints available within the national park.
| Visit Grand Canyon West If… | Don’t Visit Grand Canyon West If… |
| This is your only chance to see the Grand Canyon | You are planning a trip to the North or South Rim of the Grand Canyon |
| You have a goal to see all the viewpoints of the Grand Canyon | If you are on a tight budget |
| You need to get out of Las Vegas for the day and see some nature | If seeing the best viewpoints is important to you |
| If getting a photo on the famous Skywalk is important to you | If you are wanting to spend more than 1/2 a day at the Grand Canyon |
Every area of the Grand Canyon, including Grand Canyon West is spectacular. If this is your only chance to see the Grand Canyon, you have the budget for it or you have a goal to see all areas of the Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon West may be a perfect option for you.
The Grand Canyon is incredible! Need a game plan so you don’t miss out on the best things to do? Check out our itinerary.
Most travelers want to visit the most popular sites and still avoid the crowds. We have a detailed itinerary that gives you a step-by-step game plan so you can get to the best places at the right times!
Not only that, but we’ll tell you about the park while you drive with our audio guide! Stop planning and start having the vacation of your dreams now!
GRAND CANYON GUIDE: To read or watch all of our content about the Grand Canyon, Check out our Grand Canyon Homepage
AREAS: The Grand Canyon is divided into 4 areas: The South Rim, North Rim, Grand Canyon West, and the East Side of the Grand Canyon (Page, AZ). Learn about the 4 areas of the Grand Canyon with our Free Printable.
THINGS TO DO: There is much more to do than hike and look at viewpoints. Explore Antelope Canyon or ride a mule.
WHERE TO STAY: Learn all about where to camp or stay when visiting the Grand Canyon.
WHERE TO EAT: Check out the best places to eat and get groceries at the South Rim
WATCH: Enjoy videos of the beautiful Grand Canyon while learning our best tips by watching our Grand Canyon YouTube Playlist
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