Home > News > Headlines

Print   Subscribe

Travel: Hualapai Tribe's Skywalk worth a visit
Monday, July 2, 2007
Filed Under: National


"The Grand Canyon, long a symbol of the grandeur of America's landscapes, is more than 200 miles long. Just over 100 miles of that is within the Hualapai Indian Reservation. The skywalk is about 120 miles east of Las Vegas.

For more than 100 years, that part of the canyon was off-limits to non-Indians. Then, 19 years ago, the impoverished Hualapai decided to welcome tourists. Even so, the vast majority of visitors kept heading to the famed Grand Canyon National Park.

But there are several reasons to consider the Hualapai-owned section of the canyon, either in addition to or instead of your trip to the national park.

For many people, the main draw to this section of the canyon is the skywalk itself -- an engineering marvel constructed of a million pounds of steel and 90 tons of tempered glass. An even more compelling reason, in my opinion: the relative lack of tourists, at least for now.

The skywalk created an exponential boom in tourism to the million-acre Hualapai reservation. Still, that means on average 1,200 tourists a day -- or about 438,000 a year, if the current rush continues throughout the year, including winter, which is unlikely. Compare that number with the 4.1 million visitors annually to Grand Canyon National Park. Most visitors arrive by tour bus from Las Vegas, and after an hour or so of gawking, they eat lunch and head back to Vegas."

Get the Story:
Over the Edge (The Washington Post 7/1)
Username: indianz@indianz.com, Password: indianz

Relevant Links:
Grand Canyon West - http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/indexe.html
Grand Canyon - http://www.nps.gov/grca

Related Stories:
Travel: Hualapai heritage resonates at Skywalk (06/11)
Review: Hualapai Tribe markets the Grand Canyon (05/21)
Column: Grand Canyon Skywalk doensn't live up to hype (04/04)
Thousands for Grand Canyon Skywalk opening (3/29)
Opinion: Grand Canyon Skywalk benefits Hualapai Tribe (3/22)
Opinion: Skywalk over Grand Canyon a bad idea (3/22)
Hualapai Tribe takes first steps over Grand Canyon (3/21)
Editorial: Grand Canyon Skywalk won't last long (3/21)
Hualapai Tribe hopes for better future with Skywalk (3/16)
Letter: Hualapai Tribe hypocritical on sacred (3/15)
Hualapai Tribe rolls out Grand Canyon Skywalk (3/8)
Hualapai Tribe prepares Grand Canyon Skywalk (3/7)
Astronauts to help tribe open Grand Canyon skywalk (02/15)
Opinion: Hualapai Tribe steals White Man's ideas (02/15)
Hualapai Tribe plans for Grand Canyon Skywalk (12/14)
Hualapai Tribe expects big boost in tourists (09/05)
Hualapai Tribe still working on Grand Canyon skywalk (8/1)
Hualapai Tribe sees interest in Grand Canyon skywalk (02/15)
Hualapai Tribe to challenge Grand Canyon plan (11/11)
Hualapai Tribe, National Park Service in dispute (10/13)
Hualapai Tribe to open Grand Canyon skywalk (08/23)
Hualapai Tribe plans skywalk over Grand Canyon (07/23)
Hualapai Tribe awarded $2M in federal grants (7/15)

Copyright © Indianz.Com