I saw the news reports about the Grand Canyon skywalk and I dream of going someday. Doesn’t matter how bad the crowds or the 12 hour drive. I need to do this.
I wonder if I’ll be disappointed? Is the Grand Canyon just a big hole in the ground? The pictures I’ve seen makes it look so inviting.
My days of hiking are far behind me. Seems like the skywalk might be the answer for people that aren’t as active anymore. I just wonder if the crowds and traffic will spoil the experience?
It’s a very very very big hole in the ground. The sheer scale of it is almost overwhelming. Pictures simply can’t capture it properly, it has to be experienced firsthand. It’s also a very interesting hole in the ground, with lots of landmarks and contours and colors. It’s in Arizona, but the northern mountainous part, where the air is clear and the climate is welcoming. It’s definitely a worthwhile visit, even if you just go to the rim and look over the edge, although there’s also mule expeditions that lead down to the canyon floor.
I haven’t been since they built the skywalk, but I highly recommend visiting. If you’re in good enough shape, I also recommend doing some hiking – either to the bottom and back, or just a little ways down, or just a hike around the rim.
The Grand Canyon is so vast, so amazing, that a silly attraction like the Skywalk won’t diminish your experience.
There are much, much better ways to experience the GC in the park at overlooks without any significant hiking than the Skywalk. If you have the money (it’s not cheap) and are willing to kill half a day to do so, I imagine it’s a worthwhile experience. But you can do much better in the park itself with little or no effort.
Honestly, I wasn’t actually all that impressed with the Grand Canyon. Photos can’t do it justice, but neither can actually being there: It’s so big that you don’t really see a canyon, you just see a cliff here, and another one way over there. I actually find Yellowstone Canyon much more impressive, because while still pretty big, it’s just small enough you can actually see it.
The Grand Canyon is more than a big hole in the ground. It’s a big hole in the ground that will BLOW YOUR MIND.
I once flew over the Grand Canyon (on the way from Detroit to Vegas). Even from the air it still BLEW MY MIND.
I deeply regret that when I went, it was on a cross-country trip and we didn’t allow for enough time there. The whole area is amazing, though, like another planet.
Well it IS just a big hole in the ground but the scale is awesome. I remember looking down the canyon and seeing something I took to be a bird. Didnt realize for a few minutes that it was a helicopter. Wow! As a Canadian i think the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park and the desert near Yuma to be must see’s.
There is an element of truth to this, although for me personally I was still quite impressed
But the scale is so big that merely visiting an edge may not give you the full effect. I haven’t been to this Sky Walk thing but if there are limited other viewpoints in the area a visit to either the South or North Rim National Park may be better. I did both on a recent road trip and really enjoyed it - the South side had more amenities but the North side was prettier in my opinion - far greener with more color variety, I think I got much better photographs there.
As part of this road trip I also did Zion National Park in Utah, and found this canyon to be far more breathtaking, even though it is much smaller. I feel the reason is that the size is far more manageable, and the park is structured so that you start inside the canyon and can easily hike to the rim. Doing so really enhanced the experience. I think you can do something similar for the Grand Canyon, although such a hike would be a multiple day experience and require a lot of advanced planning.
I gotta go with this. Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches and Monument Valley would rate higher on my list. The Grand Canyon gets boring after the first hour unless you’re on the river.
Echoing what others have said. It is huge, beyond any believable scale. I saw it for the first time in person when I was 48, and am still in awe. You look across, and hear a helicopter. It sounds close, but but when you finally locate it, across on the other side and get a good look, it looks like it’s about the size of a mosquito.
My daughter and I did the Skywalk. Go. Absolutely, by all means, GO. I could explain why, but it’s inexplicable. Just go, so that you can say you looked straight down past your feet at the ground 5000 feet below you.
I think the ultimate way to see the Grand Canyon is from a small airplane, especially while flying far below the rim. I did this a while back, when it was still legal. I remember thinking: “If the engine quits, my chance of survival isn’t amazingly good - but what the heck, it’s absolutely worth the risk.”
Unfortunately, some accidents involving commercial tour aircraft have led to rule changes whereby the tour aircraft are still allowed reasonably close to the canyon, whereas amateurs are kept well away from it. If this sounds strange and faintly illogical, you probably aren’t all that familiar with the ways of the FAA.
That’s what I thought, so I hiked across it. I got the full effect and then some; could barely walk for the next few days. I can brag about it now, but I was hurting at the time.
Besides the skywalk, you might consider the mule rides, scenic flights or rafting trips. It takes about two weeks to raft the whole thing, but I think there are some companies that break it into shorter segments and fly people in and out by helicopter.
FYI, it costs $70.90 to walk out onto that thing. ($40.95 to get into the complex plus $29.95 for the Skywalk.) Some people think it’s worth it.
It costs $25 to get into Grand Canyon National Park. From March to November, there are free shuttle buses that stop at all the major South Rim overlooks. You can look at the big hole from various viewpoints easily in a day without too much hiking.
AFAIK, the only places helicopters land below the rim are near Whitmore Wash (“Grand Canyon West”) and Supai (near Havasu Falls).
I’ve visited the GC three times and I’ve been on the Sky Walk.
I do most emphatically think the GC is worth visiting, but be aware that there are many different tour operators offering many different packages. Be careful, be choosy, and get the deal that’s right for you, both in terms of the experience you get and the price you pay. Some people want to hike and walk and even camp near the Canyon. Others just want to be carried everywhere. It’s your trip - choose whatever you think suits you. The first time I went, the package included a bus to the rim, a helicopter flight to the river level (in three minutes!), a river boat up and down about a mile of river, back in the chopper up to the rim, a bus ride to an Indian reservation for a lunch that was part of the package, then a bus ride back to base. I have to say I loved it.
It is a lot more than ‘a hole in the ground’. It offers some of the most spectacular scenery to be found anywhere in the world.
Sky Walk - it’s up to you whether you want to include this. You can certainly have a great time at the GC without including the Sky Walk, and many do. The only unique view you get from the Sky Walk is the view straight down towards the base of the Canyon, which different sources say is either 4000 or 5000 feet below you. I was there at a relatively quiet time. We were allowed to lie down on the Walk and peer straight down through the narrow gaps between the panels of the glass floor (they don’t encourage this, but neither do they prevent it during quiet periods). Quite a view!
The major drawback of the Sky Walk, and the fact that they keep quiet about, is that you cannot take your camera on it. In fact, you can’t take any personal possessions out on to the Walk. You have to store all your belongings in lockers (which you pay about a dollar for) and pass through airport-style security backed by physical inspection if deemed necessary. Believe me, no matter how cunning you think you are, you will not get a camera or anything capable of taking photos out on to the Sky Walk itself. Even if you did manage it, the Walk is constantly patrolled by 3 or 4 wardens, and they will spot you if you try to take pictures. The reason? Simply because they want you to buy the ‘official’ photos that are an optional extra, or the photo books on sale in the souvenir shop.
Personally, I felt I had to take the opportuity to try the Sky Walk, and I’m glad I can say I’ve done it. But really, you can miss it out and still have a great time at the Canyon.
I have been privileged to see some awesome things in my life. I have a phrase for them:
“Things that our brain is not designed to comprehend.”*
The Grand Canyon is one of those. These are things that cannot be captured by photograph or film. You have to see them in person. It is mind boggling. You see what it is, it looks like the photographs, but the perspective and scale send your mind reeling. Go for it!
In this list I include: the Grand Canyon; the Himalayas at dawn, including Everest from both sides; the mountains on the Greenland coast, with hundreds of glaciers brimming between them, flowing down to the sea, and becoming icebergs; the island of Phi Phi Leh at dawn.
Thanks for the heads up on the skywalk. That is a pretty steep price. I’d have to think about that. Especially since you can’t take your own pictures. I may just go to the National Park.
After reading the comments, I want to go and see the canyon more than ever. According to mapquest it’s 1289 miles (estimated 19 hours). I got to wait awhile. But, I’ll get out there eventually.
