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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Grand Canyon West Rim Meadview Visitor Center Has Shuttle Bus Service To Skywalk

By Concepcion Willis


This Grand Canyon West Rim Meadview article examines some of the attractions which can be found at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. This area is not included in the main US National Park, but is part of the Hualapi Indian reservation. The glass bottomed Skywalk, which opened here in 2007, is one of the main reasons visitors come to this part of the canyon. It is also considerably closer to Las Vegas than the South Rim, and many operators offer road, light aircraft, and helicopter tours out of Vegas. An alternative to this is to drive to the Visitor Center, which is in Meadview, Arizona, and join the shuttle bus to the Skywalk.

Grand Canyon West is located in the Hualapi Indian Reservation. It is about three hours drive from Las Vegas, six hours from Phoenix and five hours from the South Rim section of the US National Park.

The Hualapi tribe offer several attractions for those who visit their resort. These include the magnificent views across the lower section of the canyon from Eagle and Guano Points, as well as many activities such as white water rafting, helicopter trips, and horseback riding. There are also cowboy and Native American demonstrations at the Hualapi Ranch.

Nonetheless, for very many visitors, the main attraction at the West Rim is the amazing glass bottomed Skywalk. The Skywalk, located at Eagle point, was opened by former astronaut Buzz Aldrin on 20 March 2007. Aldrin then led the first group around the U-shaped Skywalk.

The Skywalk extends 70 feet from the canyon rim, and those who dare to look down will see nothing below their feet but the bottom of the gorge, which is 2000 feet deep at this point. The Skywalk was designed by Lochsa Engineering of Las Vegas. It is designed to hold a weight equivalent to twelve jumbo jets, and to withstand wind speeds of 100 mph. 120 people are allowed on the Skywalk at any one time. As there may often be queues, reservations can be made to reduce waiting times.

The last few miles of the drive to the canyon edge are via an unpaved road, and visitors may not drive their own vehicles on this section. There are two main ways of seeing the Skywalk.

The first option is travel via an organized tour. Many operators based in Las Vegas offer half-day and one-day packages to the canyon, which include the Skywalk. These tours may be by road, by light aircraft, and by helicopter. Road trips may often include a stop at the Hoover Dam. The second option is to drive to the Visitor Center, which is in Meadview, Arizona, from where one may join a shuttle bus to the Skywalk.

grand canyon west rim Meadview




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