When planning your trip you have a choice of different points to visit – North, South, or West Rims. North and South are generally the popular points to go to, as people plan trips to the Grand Canyon National Park. We were already in Vegas so we headed to the West Rim on the Hualapai Reservation – about a two hour drive.
Once you’ve bought your ticket (general admission is $49), you’ll head through a building with a gift shop and restaurant, before taking a bus ride to Eagle Point. This first stop includes the skywalk bridge and is 100% not worth the money. Don’t buy the skywalk tickets.
The line is LONG like Disneyworld ride long. And the actual experience just feels like the worst tourist trap. After the line, you have to put all of your personal belongings into a locker and walk through a metal detector. No bag, no camera, no phone – nothing. Not even a smart watch. You’re allowed to leave your sunglasses on but that’s it. So you can’t take photos. Why? Maybe they’d say it’s because people would drop things into the canyon. But maybe it’s because there are photographers on the skywalk bridge to take your photo so you can buy it. Ka-ching. $$$
Now I followed the rules. Nothing but my sunglasses. But ya girl has Ray-Ban Stories so YOU KNOW I snuck my own photos and videos. Rebel.
But here’s the other thing… the Skywalk Bridge is a tiny semi circle with nothing better than you can see elsewhere. What you want to be interested in is the second stop – Guano Point. THAT’S where the beauty is. You can just walk out, take photos and take in the views and it’s much more breath-taking than the crowded little bridge. We enjoyed that way more.
There are a couple of cafes (hot dogs/nachos) and a main restaurant (burgers/chicken tenders and dusty tasting fountain drinks). A meal is $21 plus tax (you save no money if you add meal ticket to your entry ticket). There’s gift shops with souvenirs, clothing, snacks, and ice cream. Pretty basic but some cute things. Super recommend you pack a picnic instead of dining in (there’s a bunch of picnic tables) especially as there’s not much in the surrounding area in terms of stores or places to stop for food.
You can also take a helicopter ride around the area and down into the canyon – a couple of the people in our group did that and loved it. There’s ziplining and rafting too but we mostly preferred to keep our feet on land. I would definitely recommend just the basic entry and stopping at Guano Point to get your photos and take in the view. It’s a beauty.
