You’re going to want to see this: Grand Canyon West + Hoover Dam & Valley of Fire
We finally did it…took the long-awaited trip to the Grand Canyon! As you may recall, we chose to visit the west rim, which is not part of the Grand Canyon National Park, but sits within the Hualapai (pronounced Wal-lah-pie) Reservation.
The Grand Canyon West experience was worth the trip all on its own, but we added two amazing side trips:
Hoover Dam on the way there…
And Valley of Fire State Park on the way home.
I couldn’t be happier about that decision. Both were just short detours from the Interstate, and we were rewarded with spectacular views. We made the entire trip comfortably in two days (leaving from Las Vegas, Nevada and returning to Washington, Utah).
And now on to the main attraction…
Grand Canyon West
We arrived at the Cabins at Grand Canyon West late in the afternoon; however, based on the excellent advice of the kind lady at the front desk, we waited until morning to visit the canyon viewpoints. By doing so, we avoided the crowds and took advantage of the cooler morning temperatures.
Eagle Point
Our first stop was Eagle Point, named for the rock formation visible at the center of this photo. Hualapai legend is that a giant eagle saved the tribespeople from a great flood by flying them on his back and depositing them on the Grand Canyon west rim when the flooding stopped. The eagle then turned to stone and remains there today.
Eagle Point is also the home of the Skywalk, a 70-foot glass cantilever bridge extending 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. We were assured that the Skywalk can hold up to 800 people at a time (or seventy-one 747 airplanes) and withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake or 100 mph winds. Luckily, the bridge was not put to any of those tests during our visit.
Personal items (including cameras) are not allowed on the Skywalk, presumably to prevent damage to the bridge and litter from making its way to the canyon floor below. The cynical side of me thinks the resulting reliance on the professional photographers also plays a role in that decision. That said, I didn’t mind contributing to the tribe and taking home these visual reminders of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In case you’re wondering, the cost was $25 for one image or $50 for all the images (6 photos of our group and another 29 photos of the bridge and surrounding views).
Visitors are provided with a free locker to store belongings and the oh-so-stylish booties you see in the photo above.
Before leaving Eagle Point, we also took a quick self-guided tour of a Hualapai Village, including authentic housing, ovens, and sweat lodges.
Guano Point
Our next stop…just a quick shuttle ride away…was Guano Point. Guano Point provides unrivaled views of the canyon without so much as a railing between you and the canyon floor.
This point receives its unusual name from the guano cave that was discovered there in the 1930s. The U.S. Guano Corporation purchased the property in order to mine the nitrogen-rich guano for fertilizer. They built a tramway system with a vertical lift of 2,500 feet to aid in the extraction. By 1959, the cave’s resources were exhausted, and the mine and the tramway system were abandoned. Shortly thereafter, a U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed into the steel cable, permanently disabling it. According to Invention & Technology Magazine, the squadron was on an unauthorized out-of-bounds sightseeing trip. Oops! Miraculously, the plane was only dented and the pilot made a safe landing.
That completed our tour of the Grand Canyon West. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would highly recommend this location to anyone considering a visit to the Grand Canyon. To be fair, I haven’t visited any of the other rims for comparison, but this one was amazing.
Your turn
- Have you been on vacation recently? What was the highlight?
- Do you have any questions for me about the Grand Canyon West? Anything you are wondering about that I didn’t cover?
- What else is on your mind? Anything at all; I just love to hear from you.
Your photos are astounding. I knew that it was beautiful but not quite as much as it is. I’d ask you if you’d ever go back, but I think I know the answer already.
It was astounding, Ally. The only reason I may not make it back would be because there are so many other places I want to see. I definitely recommend everyone see it at least once though.
That picture with the clouds is amazing. Is that yours? And yes, while a rip off, you have to spend the bucks. Esp if it’swith all your fam together, as that becomes rarer.
I was thinking of you, hoping you were there for the aurora….#WWWhimsy
The cloud/bridge photo was one of the professional shots, Lydia, and yes, it is amazing. We were not there for the aurora, but wouldn’t that have been special. Some people in Utah did see the aurora; unfortunately, I was not one of them. That is one of my bucket list items. We even traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska one winter to try to catch one, but it was too cloudy while we were there to see much of anything in the sky.
Hi Christie – I posted my comment but it disappeared so trying again. Apologies if you get a double up from me! Just wanted to say that it was wonderful to have a virtual tour of the Grand Canyon West and Hoover Dam Valley with you! Your photographs are lovely and yes even the ‘professional’ one! I tend to agree with your cynical side about their profit making motives but it *would* be difficult to retrieve personal belongings from the canyon floor I guess! lol I recall doing an assignment on The Grand Canyon when I was in high school. I don’t recall anything I wrote about though! Not a thing! Thanks again for linking up with #WWWhimsy – Have a wonderful week! xo
I’m sorry about the challenge commenting, Min, and I appreciate you trying again. The trip…including the extra expense of the professional photos…was well worth it. The Grand Canyon is pretty amazing. And, I can see how it would be a problem if people were dropping things over the edge.
Thanks, as always, for hosting #WWWhimsy!
Hi Christie – it’s all so spectacular and I imagine it would be much more so in real life. So good that it lived up to what you’d hoped for and that it was all so easy to access. I also liked that there was variety in what you visited with the dam, canyon and village and that it was all so interesting.
We’re off on a short holiday in a couple of weeks – I’m looking forward to the change of scenery and being near the ocean.
Thank you, Leanne. It was a truly wonderful trip. I hope you enjoy your ocean holiday. That sounds lovely.
Hi Christie we did a similar tour when we stayed in Las Vegas. We flew over Hoover Dam though and to the Grand Canyon. We then took a short boat ride on the Colorado River. It waw magnificent and your photos have brought back lovely memories for me. Thanks so much for sharing. x
That sounds fabulous, Sue. There are so many incredible sites to see…both near and far. I still hope to get out to your part of the world sometime soon.
I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip.Your pictures are beautiful! My next trip planned is to Bear Lake with kids and grandkids in August. We rented a big house we will all stay in and play at the beach.
Hi Christie, thanks for sharing your Grand Canyon experience!! So glad you had a good time 🙂 I’m contacting a travel agent this week to talk about a trip next March. I’ll definitely add the Hoover Dam to our itinerary and since we live in SC, I’m also adding a leg to see the Redwoods in CA.
Hi Sharon! I think you will love the Grand Canyon and the Redwoods. I was there nearly 40 years ago when my children were just little.
Thank you, Cindy. Your upcoming Bear Lake trip sounds wonderful. As you know, I have many fond memories of Bear Lake with the family…including some with you. I wonder if Hannah remembers our trail running with the cow! 😂 I hope to get back there at some point.
Christie, that looks absolutely fabulous! So pleased that your research paid off so well 🙂
Thank you, Debs. It was fabulous!
That looks amazing! We have been to the Hoover dam before we have yet to make it to the grand canyon.
Thank you, Joanne. It was pretty amazing, and I would definitely recommend it.
I loved reading about your visit to the Grand Canyon West. If we ever get back there that is the GC trip we will do as we have been to the GC three times. Last time we went by Helicopter leaving Las Vegas late afternoon and landing at the bottom where we had light dinner. We arrived back in Las Vegas after dark and were able to see the city lights from the air.
Oh, that sounds incredible, Jenn.
That was so awesome. The land is one amazing place isn’t it? I had my one and only trip to Las Vegas as part of my self-designed tour in 2006 and wanted to see beyond the strip. The half day tour to Hoover Dam was wonderful and I learned much about the original land owners too. Very very interesting.
Denyse
We do live on a pretty amazing planet, Denyse, both the natural elements and some of the manmade ones, like Hoover Dam.
Wow Christie this all looks amazing! I do want to visit the Grand Canyon one day but in the meantime your experiences are helping fill that gap!! Thanks for sharing with us. I’m not sure I could do the glass bridge – was it scary?
#wwwhimsy
The bridge was not as scary as I thought it might be, Debbie. In fact, for me, standing still and looking down was not bad at all, but it was disorienting to walk while looking down. Evidently, my mind was warning me against stepping into the void. The edges were opaque, though, so that was easier.
Oh, your photos make me want to go again. I am not sure which rim we visited on either of my trips to the Grand Canyon. I was in high school the first time and got so sick as soon as we got set up in our campground. Really didn’t see much at all. Then PC and I went about 10 years ago and he got so sick that he couldn’t get out of the car. Yes, I think we need to go back.
Thank you for sharing your photos. Why the booties? To protect the rock formations? Love the folk tale about the eagle.
You have not had good luck with the Grand Canyon, Leslie. Maybe the third time would be the charm! The booties were only for walking on the glass bridge to keep it from getting scratched. I loved that story about the eagle too.