Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a very popular attraction in the Grand Canyon National Park. It is situated in the reservation area of the Hualapai Indians in Grand Canyon West, and was officially opened on the 28th of March, 2007.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a U-shaped glass-bottom bridge that protrudes 70 feet into the open air from the canyon rim, and it is 3,600 feet above the canyon floor. From the skywalk, visitors can get a stunning view of the Granite Gorge, the main canyon in the park, as well as a view of the bottom of the canyon from directly above. The end of the bridge is about 3 miles from the opposite rim.

The idea of building the skywalk came from a Las Vegas businessman; David Jin in 1996. A French construction company called Saint-Gobain was commissioned to build the structure, and the project was funded by Jin and the Hualapai Indians. Special measures were taken to ensure the skywalk is stable enough to hold the weight of hundreds of people and withstand forces of nature such as winds and earthquakes.

Presently, the structure can support a total weight of 70 tons, which is equivalent to the weight of 800 to 1000 adults, but the management only allows a maximum of 200 people on the bridge at any one time. It is calculated the skywalk can withstand an 8-magnitude earthquake and winds of 100 mph. Plans are being made to include a movie theater, museum, gift shop, and restaurants in the skywalk complex.

Traveling to Grand Canyon West by car takes about three hours from Las Vegas and six hours from Phoenix. There is also a Park and Ride Shuttle service from the Grand Canyon West Welcome Center that brings visitors to the skywalk for a small fee. Admission fee is $25 per vehicle entrance fee into the park and to go on the Skywalk is about $75.00 per person.