Worth it: Skywalk @ Grand Canyon West? (rated, market, about)

[dynimagelv]

and as to the Helicopter rides....remember this....helicopters can NOT fly.....they are simply so ugly that the earth repels them.

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Actually I enjoy the Rim more when I find a place with no other tourists, so I can enjoy my view in solitude or with my friends and family. Unfortunately you always have to drive out of your way to get away from the crowds. Another good strategy is to visit Grand Canyon out of the peak tourist season, or visit the viewpoints out of the peak hours. (Ask a park ranger for advice.)
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I'm so grateful for this forum -- this has been very helpful. It sounds like finding your own spot on the North Rim makes more sense than going through the hassle of the reservation. Although, when most of the posts in this thread were written, it was 2 years ago. It MAY have gotten better.

Reminds me of the time I went to Haleakala on Maui to view the sunrise. I had all sorts of wonderful expectations about standing in silent awe as the sun came over the "House of the Sun" -- I wanted the experience of the early Hawaiians who viewed it for the first time. But the platform for viewing the sunrise is like this skywalk... and people are bussed in and chatting, and kids running around. It was too crowded for my tastes. It was coooooooold up there, and windy. Even though it was summer, it was probably in the 30's. But I braved the cold and wind and walked around past the sign that said not to walk past this sign , and stood in the wind and quiet for the rest of the sunrise.

There are no words for the grandeur of nature. Haleakala, Grand Canyon, The Tetons... they bring me to my knees. How small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things.

I think my trip to the canyon will miss the skywalk this time, and I'll navigate over to the North Rim.

Thanks!

[KarmaPhx]

I have been to the canyon a few times, the last time we went, we checked out the sky walk. I do not think it was worth the money honestly, its a cool experience, but not worth the $50+ you pay.

For close to $150 you can have a helicopter ride, which is much more fun.

[Rick Lee]

I wouldn't mind paying the fee to go on the skywalk. But all the other BS charges for the busride and other stuff is what I don't want to deal with. Why can't I just ride my motorcycle up the skywalk and pay the fee?

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

I'm so grateful for this forum -- this has been very helpful. It sounds like finding your own spot on the North Rim makes more sense than going through the hassle of the reservation. Although, when most of the posts in this thread were written, it was 2 years ago. It MAY have gotten better.

Just one thing: North Rim, South Rim, any rim, inside the Grand Canyon, outside the Grand Canyon, any place you can drive to an overlook of the Colorado River gorge. There are magnificent views in Canyonlands National Park for example, and every place from Moab UT to Lake Mead, and probably along the river south of there maybe all the way to Yuma (I haven't explored this area).

Another recommendation: Get the Auto Club's "Indian Lands" map (covers parts of UT, AZ, NM and CO). You can see most of the reasonably easy to get to viewpoints right on the map.

[myscrawls]

We went to grand canyon south rim and the sky walk on west rim. The skywalk is good if a bit overpriced. The south rim is just plain awesome. You can share our experience here at www.myscrawls.com/travel/grand-canyon-skywalk

[catman]

I'd love to try the Skywalk, but I'm not about to pay $75 to do so. That's just plain greed. Ridiculous. $150 for a helicopter ride sounds like a bargain in comparison.

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by catman

I'd love to try the Skywalk, but I'm not about to pay $75 to do so. That's just plain greed. Ridiculous. $150 for a helicopter ride sounds like a bargain in comparison.

You might want to research the safety record on those helicopters before hand.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by catman

I'd love to try the Skywalk, but I'm not about to pay $75 to do so. That's just plain greed. Ridiculous.

Out of fairness, I must point out that you're not paying $75 just to walk on the Skywalk. $50 of that is the "package" that gets you into Grand Canyon West. That includes unlimited bus rides to the different attractions and view points. I seem to recall there are three view points, all of which have spectacular views. There are concessions of Indian jewelry which is reasonably priced. There is a recreated western town with cowboys in authentic dress having staged gun fights. There are recreations of Indian teepees and adobe buildings which give you a sense of how these structures were built and what life would have been like in them. There are native American dance exhibitions as well. Lunch is included in that price, either BBQ in the western town, or a cold lunch at one of the view points. All in all, you're looking at about a half-day's worth of entertainment for $50.

If you do choose to go out on the Skywalk, that's an extra $25. Honestly, I have no problem with this. If they charged people say $10 or $20 to enter the park and go out on the Skywalk, you'd never get near the place.

Remember too, this isn't a national park. It is entirely Indian owned and operated without US tax dollars. The dirt road into the park doesn't support high volumes of people, and neither does their parking lot. We were there on a March weekend day, and it was very quiet there; not crowded at all. Sometimes one pays a bit more in life to do something out of the ordinary.

[ExNooYawk]

Someone on here thinks the Grand Canyon is OVERRATED? Amazing. Here's the story of the first time I ever saw it. We flew in from NY. I had never, ever been out west (early 90's). It was dark when we got to the Kachina Lodge. Who knew there were so many stars at night?! Next morning I woke up and pulled open the curtains. CLONK. My jaw hit the floor. I was literally stunned. We spent the remainder of the day exploring the South Rim and I thought it was the most spectacular, beautiful place I'd ever seen.

Overrated my ass.