Grand Canyon Skywalk is a sham!
PDF Note: This post was written in August 2009 so prices and all details are effective at this time and may subject to change. It’s best to contact the Skywalk directly for latest up to date details.
After reading good and bad things about the Grand Canyon Skywalk, we wanted to experience the feeling of “walking in air” on this architectural marvel, that was completed in March, 2007 after 2.5 years and 30 million dollars worth of hard work. After reaching there we were shocked for what it was worth and we DO NOT recommend visiting this horse-shoe shaped glass walkway.
The reasons why we call it a sham are:
1. The road leading to the Skywalk has 20 miles of dirt-road which, surprisingly, is not constructed even after 2.5 years of the opening of Skywalk. This can be be extremely difficult to drive if it’s pouring down.
2. Parking at The Skywalk is provided but access to the Skywalk is only permitted by supplied coach buses. The cost of the coach ride is $30, which will take you the Skywalk and two other viewing areas. There is also an additional fee of $45 for being on Hualapai land making the total cost $75 per person.
3. No personal equipment is allowed on the Skywalk and lockers are provided. No photographs may be taken by visitors on the Skywalk! However, up to three photography stations are installed. Photographs taken may be purchased in the gift shop at $29 each.
4. The whole experience of “walking in the air” is impossible because visitors have to walk on a carpet laid on the half-side of the glass floor. Walking on the glass is prohibited which makes it feel like ‘walking on land’! We were told that this was because of the “upcoming” rain, but all we saw was clear skies!
5. The authorities may close the Skywalk on a slight chance of high wind or rain, and visitors who make it up to the Skywalk parking area, after driving through the dirt road, are NOT informed that the Skywalk will be closed and are still issued tickets. Upon reaching the Skywalk, they are informed that they will have to wait until the winds have died down or the rains have stopped. No refunds!
Video of the 14-mile dirt road
One of our readers asked if the skywalk is handicap accessible. This is what their website says:
Wheelchair Accessible: Manual and battery-operated wheelchairs are allowed on Grand Canyon Skywalk using our access ramp.
Wheelchairs Available: Grand Canyon Skywalk provides wheelchairs for temporary use on the Skywalk. No rental fee is charged. Wheelchairs are available when you check-in at the Grand Canyon Skywalk ticket counter.
Customers with disabled parking permits are allowed to bypass the shuttle and drive themselves to the Skywalk and other points of interest within Grand Canyon West.
Damn injuns!
Thank you for the warning. We were planning on stopping there during our fall trip to AZ, but we will stick with the traditional Grand Canyon stuff.
Well, I know somewhere I will never be visiting. I feel as if I should feel sorry for anyone who gets ripped off by this scam, but then again, anyone stupid enough to pay $75 a person for this “attraction”, probably deserves it.
You just saved me a bunch of money. I was definately planning on hitting this site during my upcoming trip to the Grand Canyon. Thanks for the heads up!
I’ld pay $75 to base jump from the thing, but certainly not to look at it. $15/person is more like it (Price of Sears Tower view.)
Wow. That is disappointing. The skywalk sounded cool as hell, but you just killed my excitement. No photos? That’s just a bald-faced cash grab. Gross.
No photography of your own is just out and out highway robbery plain and simple. There is no other excuse for it but why are people surprised by things like this anymore? Anything worth seeing in America has been turned into a massive line creating, money printing tourist trap. Took the kids up the Empire State Building a couple of years ago against my better judgment. Beautiful iconic building but the whole thing was tinged by the 3 hour wait to get up there and the feeling that I’d been grabbed by the ankles, flip upside down and shaken out for everything I had from the moment I walked in there. I’ve traveled A LOT in the United States in my 40yrs and have loved every mile of it but sometimes when I come back home, I wonder if there’s anything left seeing that’s worth the sometimes herculean effort entailed with the experience. Even 20-25 years ago things were FAR different. Somewhere along the line people just began to accept being fleeced as part of any vacation.
What’s with copying the text in this article from Wikipedia?
this is plagiarized from the Wikipedia article. nice job.
Before throwing around accusations of plagiarism, you might want to consider the possibility that the author of this article edited the wikipedia entry himself.
However, everyone who knows about plagiarism knows that even if he was the one who wrote in wikipedia, he has to cite himself and the source because wikipedia is the “publisher” that he does not own. He plagiarized.
I was able to take pictures, albeit in a stealth mode. No one tried to stop me. This “attraction” is a complete rip-off to the enth degree. You can sneak a camera in, I did. It is a place where if a friend did not pay my admission, I would naver have gone. The south rim is so much better.
Uh, maybe this is the author that WROTE the Wiki article? Did you guys check that?
What will these redskins think of next? First they give all their land to us for firewater, then they complain about genocide or something, and now they’re trying to rip us off? What a bunch of Nazis!
Looking at the edit history of the Wikipedia article, the text in question has been there much longer than this article.
wow thanks I will never ever go to this…… I cant believe that a total of 75 bucks is outrageous then you can take photos is’nt it a tourist attraction and thats the idea, then they want to spend 30 bucks on a photo that they took. Wow thats just insane….and a huge ripoff.
I’d rather go up in the CN Tower (with my OWN camera!) for $18. What a scam this is!
another quibble with this attraction (that I read about…have not visited) is that the skywalk extends over a minor canyon that empties into the Grand Canyon. It is not actually over the Grand Canyon at all, though maybe you can see the Grand canyon off in one direction. caveat emptor.
75 $ does not buy you the right to bring a camera???????? Those dam indians are geting us where it hurts
I was here today and i liked it very much. It was a great experience, alsodriving on that road on the sunset. It’s bumpy, but if you drive slwly and carefully, there’s no problem.
Maybe I enjoyed because I’m not american, but from Italy. But also Italy is full of tourist scams and robberies even worse than the skywalk.
For those travelers interested in visiting the Skywalk, please allow us to clarify some of these points.
1. Construction continues on Diamond Bar rd, but the 14 miles of unpaved road is and easily passable by almost any vehicle. Though heavy rains do periodically wash out the road, these occurrences are rare. Those who choose to avoid Diamond Bar also have the option of taking a shuttle out of Meadview Az for a small fee.
2. Visitors can expect to pay two fees. The Legacy Pass (which is entrance to Grand Canyon West) covers your parking, admission to Grand Canyon West, and a hop-on, hop-off shuttle that takes you around the park. The skywalk has its own reasonable fee.
3. It is true that metal objects are not permitted on the skywalk. This is in an effort to preserve the glass. We want all of our guests to experience a crisp, clean view of the canyon below! If you were interested in purchasing a picture, they are far less expensive than indicated above.
4. The carpets are only installed during periods of rain so that you don’t slip on the glass. When installed, the carpets lay over the beams providing a clear view of the canyon below. In the absence of weather the carpets are removed.
5. The Skywalk only closes when the weather presents a threat to our guests, thunderstorms for example. Closures are rare. Visitors can check on the current status by calling 702-220-8372. We also have a weatherbug notification on our website. In the event of a closure, Visitors that did purchase their skywalk passes in advance will receive a refund.
Please feel free to visit us at http://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com. The truth regarding these and many other topics can be found on our FAQ.
If no camera is allowed on the deck, then what is the point of the visit? I am consider visisting this attraction and take more pictures. But after hearing that no camera is allowed, I have no reason to go.
Considering the atrocitites we have committed against Native American Indians over the past centuries, it’s about time they dish a little of it back to us.
Hmm… just went on your skywalk website, and clicked on a random picture from a random date from this August, and a download of this photo was priced at $30… which is actually $1 more than the above quoted price of $29.
We were going to visit this with some friends from Belgium shortly after it opened. They really wanted to see it because the glass used in the construction was made in Belgium. After doing some research, we were able to talk them out of it and went to the National Park instead. Money well saved in my opinion.
What is the point of installing glass walkways and supplying special covers for your shoes if you caannot walk on the glass itself?
Does that not defeat the entire object of the attraction?
My Husband and I visited the Skywalk in May and enjoyed the experience immensly!. For something that cost so much to construct, we found the cost to visit and walk on the Skywalk pretty reasonable. As for the photographs, maybe they could be a little less expensive but if you bought one of those computer dongle things with all your pictures downloaded by the official photographers, you`d really get value for money.
My wife and I just returned from a Las Vegas vacation. We had already planned to go to the Skywalk after seeing something about it on TV and the internet. Man, do I wish we had researched it further. The 120 mile long drive from Las Vegas to the Skywalk attraction was horrible; especially the last 21 miles of it which took over an hour and we were dangerously passed on this road by a Grand Canyon Skywalk bus. Once there, we found out that you cannot take your camera on the Skywalk. I would have thought that during the several conversations I had with these people prior to this, on the telephone, this might have come up. We were explained the $150.00 (for both of us) package and when I began expressing my displeasure were told that we were expected to pay the Indian territory fee regardless of whether we took the tour or not. Fat freaking chance!!! We left and drove 120 miles back to Las Vegas, stopping at the Hoover Dam and for a minimal $11.00 fee had an awesome tour and a great time. The Grand Canyon West Skywalk is a rip off and I hope that so many people come to realize this that the money hungry people running this go out of business.
OK folks, here’s the deal – going on the Skywalk is one of those things you commit to doing, and then Just DO IT! We drove to the site over the dirt road – not all that bad, it’s not the interststate, so you don’t need to be in a hurry. We knew the price before we got there and were pleasantly surprised by a 25% Military Discount. A key to really enjoying the Skywalk itself is to arrive early in the morning – we were there at 9:00 a.m., and there were only about a dozen people on the bus. You CAN walk on the glass, and after the few others went back inside, I spent about 20 minutes of quiet solitude all by myself on the walk. We also enjoyed the native dancers, the houses/shelters on display, and the fantastic views of the Colorado River and Lake Meade. As for the pictures – forget about them. It’s a moment that only you will experience, and a picture wouldn’t do it justice.
Thank you!
This has web eyeopening. We were going to go visit this place, but I’ll be sure to tell everyone I know of this ripoff.
The skywalk sounds like it is intended for international travellers and vegans who do yoga and meditate, not so much for the middle-class American looking for a thrill.
A family of four can walk the skywalk for $300, which is about equal to Disneyland for a day. This attraction should probably be priced similar to the Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, which runs $27 CDN per person. To charge $75 per person and to do so in such a sneaky way (forcing attendees to pay two fees) is a scam, plain and simple. I would gladly pay $30 + tax to walk the skywalk, but I won’t pay $41 just to walk on land that my ancestors didn’t want.
My daughter and I visited the Skywalk in early January and had a wonderful time! Eagle Point and Guano Point were beautiful. We took some fun photos of our own hanging off the cliff. We went to Vegas but visiting the Grand Canyon was the highlight of our trip. Definitely recommend it!
We just returned from Las Vegas yesterday…and part of our trip was to go to the ” Skywalk” at the ” Grand Canyon”..we were so disgusted with the fact of paying for the additional bus fee…the dirt road etc. Then the sign that said that we were not allowed to take pictures of our most beautiful natural marvel…got us really steamed…but the final straw that made us get back in the car was that to buy a cup of coffee… you had to purchase their special mugs to drink out of!!!!!!Wow….then we were done!!!!! Next trip will be to another side of grand canyon where we don’t feel like we are being taken advantage of. We do not recommend this to anyone!!!!
We just came from the South rim stay of the Grand Canyon. I must say that it will always leave you wanting more. We flew over the Canyon in an small plane and only then got an idea of what the canyon has to offer which is infinitely more than what you can see at ANY rim. You can whine and cry and whail as much as you like but any view of this canyon will leave you wanting more. Personally, I’d spend lots of money to give this canyon all the exploration it has to offer. Minor canyon or no, hell, really??? Is there a minor canyon here? If I had the opportunity and the time, I’d explore every nook and cranny. If you think that every experience has to come with a personal slide show, stay home and surf the internet.
The skywalk is a rip off. You’re not allowed to take any personal cameras unto to deck itself. Save some money and pass this opportunity up, you won’t regret it. Without your camera, you need about 5 minutes to experience all this walk has to offer. Don’t waste your money!
I am planning another trip out west, and was really interested in the skywalk until I read the “no pictures” rule. Over 40 years I’ve traveled many hundreds of thousands of miles and if I can’t take a picture, I don’t go there. Simple as that.
The over the top fees, just makes it a rip off.
Wow, thank you to all who posted here. I am glad I found this site before I foolishly went to the skywalk.
Absolute scam. Very, very dissatisfied at the underhanded extortionate tactics used by the owners.
Glad to read this story. I was planning on visiting the walk, but now I will not. I am planning a Mat trip. Thank you for the info. Garry
Thank you for the story was planning to go in mid May. Now no. Thanks again a money grab.
I wish I would have seen this review before we took the long drive over there from Las Vegas. It was the last day of our vacation and we were at the end of a tight budget. We finally got there and didn’t have enough money to even do the bus ride out to see it. I thought we’d pay their enviromental fee and just not walk on the skywalk but you can’t even see it for less than 42 per person. I left in tears. What a waste of time.
Thank you for the advise. I was planning to go there with my kids on their Spring break. But now I will take them to Disneyland. I don’t think it’ll worth to drive from Los Angeles and get ripoff! specially when no cameras are permitted!!?? they must be outta there mind.
FIRST OF SKYWALK IS ONE OF THOSE SIGHT U GOTTA SEE!!! THE ROAD IS NOT BAD! THE VIEW OF HIGH GREENS AND SNOW IS WORTH THE RIDE. WE WENT WHEN IT WAS RAINING AND WE GOT TO EXPERIENCE THE WHOLE ORDEAL. THERES PLACES TO TAKE PICTURES. HELLO!!! THERE NOT MANY PLACES U CAN SEE THE RIVER AT THE GRAND CANYON. U SPEND MORE MONEY AT DISNEYLAD. THE PHOTO U GET IS AWESOME. YOU GET A MEAL!! ITS WORTH IT!!! HELLO ITS SACRED LAND TO THE HUALAPIS U GOTTA RESPECT IT!! I THINK ITS WORTH IT. THERES JUST SOMETHING U GOTTA DO IN LIFE AND BEING THERE WAS ONE. MADE ME FEEL GOOD AND VERY HUMBLING.
Thank you so much. I am planning my trip to the Grand Canyon and was feeling like this was a must see. So many of my questions could not be answered by “the” official website so I just called. I was on hold for about 20 minutes and then was routed to a voicemail which gave me the feeling that I would never recieve a return call. Thank you so much for all the details. You saved us from a very frustrating day with 5 and 3 year old boys who would possibly be apprehensive about walking on the skywalk anyhow.
I just came back from a Las Vegas trip and I had visited this site before I went away. I had mixed feelings on going to the sky walk and after reading peoples responses still had no idea if I was going to make the trip or not. We ended up going their partly because we have done every sightseeing thing to do in vegas and wanted something different to see. The drive took us 3 hours from Las Vegas to the parking lot of the Grand Canyon West Airport where you must park. Everyone is correct that the price to enter park is 45 and sky walk is an extra 30 making the total 75 bucks. The drive was not too bad. Some congestion by the hoover dam because of road work. Follow directions from the Sky walk website and it will lead you right there. The 10 mile dirt road that leads you to the end really wasnt as bad as people said. We drove a Hyndai Accent rental and we were fine. I wouldnt drive anything smaller though. We went during a beautiful cool dry day so not sure how road is when wet. The major issue I had with driving was the road you make a right on, I think its diamond bar rd was paved but little did we know it was 25mph. I did not see a speed limit sign anywhere and the road was better than the road previously on at 55mph so we assusmed it was 55mph. Well there was a sheriff on side of road that pulled us over as soon as he saw us. I was lucky and got out of the ticket becasue I am a police officer but the sheriff told us that he saved us $330 bucks by not giving us a ticket. He wasnt too nice either. So be aware if you see a sheriff slow down to 25. Its kind of easy to see them because there is nothing else around on this road and no where to hide. Back to the skywalk. I think 75 bucks to enter park on go on sky walk was worth it. Its a once in a lifetime adventure. We already knew you could not take anything on the sky walk and they give you free lockers to put all your stuff in. There is nothing built yet still inside the skywalk. I think there working on putting a cafe or eatery inside but its just completely empty now. There are guys on the skywalk who take a bunch of pictures of your group. I would take as many as you can because there is no obligation to buy. Also the pictures are 30 dollars in a nice little frame but I went for the 100 dollar package which consisted of 4 of those photos in a frame, a usb with all my pictures plus the ones they gave me, a pen, magnet, shirt, weird gloves that I did not get why they were in there and a bracelet. I figured I was going to waste the money away in vegas so why not buy some memories with it. I regret not having the guy take more pictures of us since i did not know that package existed until i had already left the skywalk. If your a big family I would probably say just go to Grand Canyon South and it would be so much cheaper. But for a couple I would recommend going. There is also another spot the bus takes you after the skywalk that is just so beautiful and you can walk around. Well I hope this helped some people becuase I know I had also used this site before going.
My husband and I were going to do this too…nottt !! I’d rather get a massage and have anice dinner with my hubb
We were just there yesterday and I could not agree more, it was an absolute disgrace! Felt completely ripped off and Im surprised our RV survived the dirt road. The skywalk itself even without the blatant misrepresentation and inflated cost was mediocre at best. AVOID AT ALL COST!!
We were just there yesterday, I cannot stress enough what a horrible disappointment it was. It is a disgusting rip off and the skywalk itself is mediocre at best. What an absolute waste of time, energy and money!!!
I loved walking on the Skywalk and my kids enjoyed it. I would go again! The road is a little rough and we rented a small car so we felt every bump on the dirt road. The next time I go, I want to take the helicopter down to the floor of the canyon…
Thanks for the eye opening review and comments. I was reading more and more into the costs, the PITA to get there, and now this last limitation of “no personal effects” (metal objects or other BS excuse) – what crap is this? I can’t even take a stupid picture of my dopey family at the thing and having to purchase it from some stranger is completely out of the question. I’m glad I saved the ~$100, which I will gladly blow in Vegas or even on a speeding ticket. At least the County general fund will benefit.
Thanks for the tip! What a rip off…
Who cares about the origin of this article.. Whatever. Thanks for saving me time, money and exposing a real rip… A person can ,very unknowingly ,think the sky walk is the only expense and then be hammered.. OR drive all the way over there with 8 people in a van (as I was going to do next week) and find out it will cost our family of 8 adults $600. I don’t THINK so!
Did anyone notice the horrible architecture of this background building that defaces one of the most beautiful sights in the world.? Made me sick to see this monstrosity that did not blend in to the terrain AT ALL! UGH!