Magnificient GrandCanyon’s Glass Skywalk
Wonderful Things
The Hualapai’s million acres (404,685 hectares) of land border about 100 miles (161 kilometers) along the western rim of the canyon.
The Skywalk will jut out 70 feet (21 meters) from the canyon rim, allowing tourists to go for a stroll with nothing between their feet and the Colorado River—4,000 feet (1,220 meters) below—except for four inches (ten centimeters) of glass.
The Skywalk will be accessible through Grand Canyon West, the tribe’s once-humble tourist destination.
Although Grand Canyon National Park along the south rim sees about four million tourists a year, until recently Grand Canyon West hosted only about 125,000 visitors.
To help bolster their numbers, the tribe agreed to build the Skywalk, which will eventually be joined by a three-story visitors’ center, including a restaurant with patio seating along the canyon.
Members of a Native American group based in a remote part of Arizona are hoping to entice more tourists by inviting visitors to step off the edge of the Grand Canyon.
The 1,500-member Hualapai tribe announced last week that the Skywalk—a giant, 30-million-dollar steel-and-glass walkway—will open to the public in March 2007.
The Skywalk will jut out 70 feet (21 meters) from the canyon rim, allowing tourists to go for a stroll with nothing between their feet and the Colorado River—4,000 feet (1,220 meters) below—except for four inches (ten centimeters) of glass.
The Hualapai, or “People of the Tall Pines,” are working with the Las Vegas, Nevada-based Destination Grand Canyon to market the Skywalk and draw in valuable tourist dollars.
Many other tribes have turned their government-sanctioned right to run casinos into a major revenue source. But the Hualapai’s remote location has undermined their efforts to host gambling.
Few tourists were willing to make the drive to the reservation with Las Vegas so close. And once they did, said Hualapai tribal member Robert Bravo, they didn’t stay long.
“Ninety-four percent were coming out of Las Vegas. They’d throw a couple of nickels, a couple of dimes here and there. They’re all on a time schedule.”
Bravo, who serves as operations manager for the tribe’s tourist hub, says other tribes can rely on gaming to support their people, but the Skywalk is the answer for the Hualapai.
“This is what’s going to feed the tribe.”
Water rippling in a stream in Fern Glen Canyon reflects the brightly lit red rocks of the canyon walls