Grand Canyon West Surpasses 1 Million Visitors in 2016

The Grand Canyon has been a go-to vacation destination for generations, but even today attendance milestones are still being created. While families upon families have been going to enjoy the Grand Canyon weather and camp, this year has been a great tourism year for Grand Canyon West. As of December, West Rim tourism near Grand Canyon National Park has had over one million patrons visit the Canyon in 2016.

According to park officials, this is a 13% increase in campers and hikers walking the West Rim Grand Canyon trails in 2014. Officials project that more than 1.1 million visitors will pass through Grand Canyon West by the end of 2016, while also projecting high numbers for the 2017 calendar year. This increase of visitation over the past two years is impressive and isn’t showing sides of slowing.

So why the increased interest in Grand Canyon West? Well, the area has a wide variety of tourist experiences available. The Grand Canyon Skywalk allows visitors to see the vastness of the Canyon beneath their feet as they walk on a bridge made of strong, solid glass. Helicopter Grand Canyon tours are offered as well for those that want a similar view. Horseback rides and pontoon boat tours along the Colorado River are also provided to visitors to the Grand Canyon’s West Rim.

Grand Canyon West is operated by the Grand Canyon Resort Corporation and is owned by the Hualapai Tribe. The corporation also operates the Hualapai Lodge, Hualapai River Runners, Hualapai Ranch, Walapai Market and the aforementioned Grand Canyon Skywalk.

Grand Canyon West also have an advantage of being open year round. This allows visitors to advantage of the slower winter season by making reservations and taking a stroll on the Skywalk during the colder season. This only adds to the ever growing number of visitors attending and will benefit both tourists and businesses as time goes on.