Is The Grand Canyon Skywalk worth it?

Located on the West Rim of Grand Canyon, the Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge over Grand Canyon. You can enjoy the view thanks to the glass panels on the floor. But, just like every attraction, you should pay to enter it. So, is the Grand Canyon Skywalk worth it?

Considering it costs already $59 to enter the Grand Canyon Skywalk and that you can pay up to $110 if you buy a meal and the zipline tour, the Grand Canyon Skywalk is not worth it. Indeed, all the added costs of this attraction make it a bit expensive. We will dive into how much it exactly costs to see if you can afford it.

How much does the Grand Canyon Skywalk costs?

General Admission Fee$39
Skywalk Entrance Fee$20
Meal Ticket Price (optional)$19
Zip Line (optional)$32
Single photo$16.28
Photo Package$65.10
Total (cheapest option)$59
Total (most expensive option)$175.10
Table summarizing the costs of the Grand Canyon Skywalk for one person. Source: grandcanyon.com

To figure out how much it costs to enter the Skywalk, I did some research on the Grand Canyon official website. I found the numbers which I summarized in the table you can find just before this paragraph.

Basically, you first pay an admission fee, just like when you visit a national park for example. The amount of this admission fee is $39.

Then, when you are allowed on the territory, you still need to pay for the Skywalk itself. It costs $20. There are no reductions for children.

Finally, there are tons of extra fees you can pay for if you want to make the experience memorable. There is a zipline, which costs $32. You can eat for $19. You can buy souvenir photos ($16.28 for a single one and $65.10 for a package).

If you don’t pay for any extra, $59/person to enjoy a big view is pricy but not totally overpriced. However, if you pay for some extras, the price quickly gets too high. Also, there are other things you should know before booking.

Can you take pictures on the Grand Canyon Skywalk?

One of the things you should know about the Skywalk is that you cannot take pictures. It is forbidden to take your personal cellphone or camera on the Skywalk. Here is how it is quoted on the Grand Canyon official website.

In addition to admission, visitors may purchase professional photographs of their visit to the Skywalk in the gift shop. Personal cameras -OR- Cell Phones are NOT allowed on the Skywalk itself; along with other personal property.  They must be stored in a locker before entering the Skywalk.

Source: grandcanyon.com

Basically, you can still get souvenir photos, but you need to pay for them!

The locals will be happy to photograph you when you are on the Skywalk, but you will need to pay the price if you want to see those pictures.

According to Tim and Julie from Earth Trekkers, a single photo is $16.28 and a photo package is $65.10.

All piled up, those prices start to make the overall experience expensive. If you are a family of four and you plan on eating there and taking a souvenir photo, you will pay $377,12 that day.

Where is the Grand Canyon Skywalk?

The location of the Grand Canyon Skywalk is also another issue to consider when we want to conclude if it is worth it or not to enter it. So, where is the Grand Canyon Skywalk?

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is located on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. This is not the rim that offers the best views. Hence, you will have some scenic views, but you could get better ones if you drive to the South Rim for example.

This means that you pay a high entrance price for average views of the park. This is due to the fact that the Skywalk is not directly located in the national park.

How to get to the Grand Canyon Skywalk?

By bus

There are lots of tours and shuttles to get to the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The advantage of this option is that you do not need to organize anything. The tour organizers will take care of you and get you to all the points you need to see.

There are even tours including the Skywalk inside it. For more information, you can directly check Grand Canyon tours.

Note that I am not affiliated with these tours and that I simply give this website to you to save you the research time.

By car

If you want to finally save some money and stop paying for extra fees, you could decide to get to the Grand Canyon Skywalk on your own.

In order to do that, I let you view the screenshot I took on Google Maps. It is an itinerary from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

google maps itinerary from las vegas to grand canyon skywalk
Google Maps itinerary from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon Skywalk

It takes less than 3 hours to get from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon Skywalk if you take the U.S. 93.

When did the Grand Canyon Skywalk open?

The Grand Canyon Skywalk opened on March 28, 2007. The design and the construction of it was a challenge for the engineers. It cost around $30 million.

For safety reasons, the Skywalk was designed to resist heavyweight, wind, and earthquakes. It is supposed to resist 8.0 magnitude earthquakes. This is what we can find on the Grand Canyon Skywalk Wikipedia page.

The Skywalk deck was designed for a 100-pound-per-square-foot (490 kg/m2) live load along with code-required seismic and wind forces. The foundation can withstand an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles (80 km). Fine-tuning of the project occurred after a wind loading and pedestrian induced vibration analysis. Two tuned mass dampers were installed inside the outer box beam as well as one inside the inner box beam at the furthest extension of the Skywalk to reduce pedestrian footfall vibration. The walkway could carry 822 people that weigh 200 pounds (91 kg) each without overstress, but maximum occupancy at one time is 120 people.

Source: Wikipedia: Grand Canyon Skywalk

Should I do the Grand Canyon Skywalk?

Spending money to help the Hualapai Tribe is a good thing. We are willing to help the locals. However, feeling like you are getting ripped off is not a good sign when you join an attraction.

This is the kind of feeling you may experience if you enter the Skywalk. However, if you accept the fact that you can’t take your camera with you on the attraction, and that you are ready to pay the price, the experience could be alright.

Simply make sure to avoid any extra fee, and you can enjoy memorable views for less than $60.

I hope that this article was helpful and that you now know the behind the scenes of the Grand Canyon Skywalk. As you read, it is definitely an expensive experience and you should think twice before doing it. Saying it is not worth doing the Grand Canyon Skywalk is normal for modest households.

There are better views on the South Rim, and maybe driving a bit more to get there would be a wise idea. If you want to learn more about Grand Canyon, I recommend that you read the other article I wrote about it.

In this article, I detail the different views you can enjoy, and I get deep into the geology behind Grand Canyon. I also explain how to get there from Las Vegas. Here is the link to the article about Grand Canyon via Las Vegas.

See you somewhere in the world!

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