Experience a Grand Canyon West Rim Adventure
For most of the millions of people who flock to the Grand Canyon each year, there are only two rims – the popular north and south rim. But that should outright be corrected.
The home of the Hualapai Indian Tribe is the Grand Canyon West Rim, which provides another great canyon vista and is often less crowded compared with the north and south rims. Only about 120,000 people visit the Grand Canyon West Rim each year. The Hualapai Indian Tribe owns a million acres of land across Northern Arizona including the west rim region. You can experience hiking without the walkways, fences, and traffic inherent in the other two rims.
As part of the Hualapai Indians' efforts to divert about 1,000 acres of Indian reservation into a tourist destination, the Grand Canyon Resort Corporation created a modern feat of engineering by building the only glass bridge in the world suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.
This unique way of viewing the grandeur of the canyon is quite incredible and the best reason for you to take a side trip to the west rim. The public started stepping on this 4-inch thick glass bridge in 2007.
Grand Canyon Skywalk
In fact, the Grand Canyon Skywalk makes viewing extremely safe. Built as an extension over the rim, the Grand Canyon Skywalk floats about 3,800 feet over the Colorado River. You can take a stroll along the 80-yard semicircular platform, bordered by Plexiglass. Its u-shaped walkway provides an amazing view of the distant floor below and takes you about 70 feet over the edge of the rim.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk utilizes tons of steel and makes use of dampers in order to lessen the occurrence of vibration. It is designed to withstand earthquakes of up to 8.0 in intensity and winds beyond 100 mph from 8 various directions and can hold up as much as 72 million pounds of weight. We hope you’ll include the Grand Canyon Skywalk in your itinerary!
While you are at the Grand Canyon Skywalk, enjoy the visitor center, as well the café that seats guests on an outdoor patio. No land, sea, or air tour can quite compare to the thrilling experience that only a glass-bottom, suspension walkway can offer.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk is certainly not for those with acrophobia but is definitely something worth experiencing while visiting the park. If peering down into the canyon’s abyss is not enough, try bungee-jumping towards it. Maybe you won’t set a new world record, but free-falling down into what seems like an endless pit is not for scaredy-cats. Actually, it’s not really as scary as it sounds.
Experience Tribal Culture
Double your fun at the west rim by watching the Tribe perform ancestral dances in their native costumes. You’ll personally get in touch with their culture and learn to appreciate their architecture.
Three exciting main points await you on the Grand Canyon's West Rim. Eagle Point is where you can relish the truest sense of an Indian Tribe where sumptuous buffets are available any time of the day. And before you leave, treat yourself to shopping in the Eagle Point Gift Shop.
A Different Kind of Adventure
Hiking on the Grand Canyon's West Rim may be guided or unguided. This is not for the faint-hearted - backpackers are warned not to go too close to the edges since there are no rails to prevent careless souls from falling off more than 4,000 feet down.
Here you’ll find that the west rim offers a different type of adventure. At the west rim, you will find groves of some of the oldest Joshua Trees in the world, many of which are 900 years old!
The Grand Canyon's west rim is much closer to Las Vegas (only 120 miles away), giving tourists a chance to party in a Vegas show after a nature trip to the canyon.
Other things to do at Grand Canyon West Rim:
Zip Lining
If you enjoy the thrills of speed and height, then you'll love the 3,200 feet of Zipline Runs that will carry you 500 feet above the ground at up to 40mph.
Whitewater Rafting
The skywalk and the zipline aren’t the only exciting ways to experience the Grand Canyon. Whitewater rafting is yet another thrilling adventure you can sign up for. You can choose between 1 and 2-day adventures on the Colorado River. You’ll also get to experience several Hualapai traditions like the shelters built by the tribe along the walls of the Grand Canyon, the geology, plant and animal life, other Hualapai historical sites, and much, much more.
You'll find that there are many unique ways to experience the Grand Canyon from the West Rim.
