Skywalk is a 500-ton U-shaped steel-and-glass walkway that juts 70 feet over the edge of the Grand Canyon, which drops along sheer cliff faces for 4,000 feet to the Colorado River below.
The project took two years to complete and opened in March 2007. It’s the latest in a series of attractions, such as Old West-style villages and a variety of tours, at Grand Canyon West, a 9,000-acre development in a remote 100-mile stretch of the canyon's South Rim, 120 southeast of Las Vegas, owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe.
To see it on your own, you drive 46 miles south of Hoover Dam on US 93 and take the left turnoff to Dolan Springs, then continue another 30 miles to Hualapai Valley Joshua Trees. From there, it’s 12 or so miles on a very rough dirt road to the Quartermaster Viewpoint and Skywalk.
It costs $29.95 per person (plus an $8 impact fee, $3 fuel surcharge, and tax, for a total of $43.05) to enter Grand Canyon West, then another $32.05 (including tax) to step out onto the platform. Various packages good for admissions and meals are available at small discounts.
A number of tour companies run buses between Las Vegas and the West Rim. Pink Jeep Tours, for example, has an 11-hour trip that includes lunch and admission to Grand Canyon West for $239 per person, though it doesn’t include the $32.05 to get out onto Skywalk. Shop around to get lower prices; Grand Canyon Tour Company, for example, is offering a similar tour for $109 per person or $199 for two. Paradise Found Tours’ price is $114 currently. Be sure, however, to read the fine print to determine what's included (lunch, admission to the Canyon, admission to Skywalk, etc.).
You can also take a helicopter tour of the West Rim. Stars and Stripes Air Tours, for example, has a seven-hour helicopter tour that includes ground transportation at the canyon and admission to Skywalk for $340 per person. Maverick Helicopters, Papillon Helicopters, Scenic Airlines, and Grand Canyon Airlines do similar tours for similar prices.
And yes, it’s true that you’re not permitted to bring cameras onto Skywalk. In an effort to protect the glass (from dropped items), no personal possessions are allowed onto the platform, which include cameras, cell phones, backpacks, purses, strollers, etc. You can purchase professionally snapped photos of you on the bridge, similar to those you buy when you come off a thrill ride. You can take photos of Skywalk from the sides of the bridge. Skywalk advertises that lockers are available for your possessions, but unless they were installed recently, your stuff actually goes into bins placed on shelves in an unlocked room and you're given claim-check tickets for it. So it’s recommended that you leave all your valuables on the bus or in your car when you go out on the platform.
