Grand Canyon West or the South Rim?

7 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, and most of it lies inside Grand Canyon National Park, divided into a South Rim and a North Rim. Grand Canyon West is something else: a visitor area on the Hualapai Reservation at the western end of the canyon, run by Grand Canyon Resort Corporation, which the Hualapai Tribe owns. It is not part of the national park and is not affiliated with it. The Skywalk, the glass bridge at Eagle Point, is here and nowhere else.

The choice usually starts in Las Vegas. Grand Canyon West is the closest part of the canyon to the city. The South Rim is more than twice as far, but it is the national park, with trails below the rim and free shuttle buses along it.

Side by side

Getting there from Las Vegas

From Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West, the National Park Service gives 122 miles and the operator about 130, a drive of roughly two to two and a half hours over the Hoover Dam bypass and along US-93, then Pierce Ferry Road and Diamond Bar Road, which is paved all the way. The South Rim is 278 miles from Las Vegas and the North Rim 275, according to the park. Between Grand Canyon West and the South Rim lie about 250 miles, a five-hour drive. Seeing both in a single day does not work.

That distance is why most day trips from Las Vegas go west. The coach tours spend three to four hours at Eagle Point and Guano Point and are back in the city in the evening. Their tour notes point out the difference in cost too: one operator reminds guests that Grand Canyon West is not a national park, so the $100 fee for non-US visitors does not apply.

Passes and fees

The two areas do not share a ticket. In the national park, entry costs $35 per private vehicle and covers seven days, and non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an additional $100 per person unless they hold an annual pass or an America the Beautiful pass. For a family from abroad with two adults, that is $235 at the gate for one car; the non-resident America the Beautiful pass at $250 replaces both fees for a year. Grand Canyon West does not accept any of these passes. It sells its own: General Admission, the All-Access Pass, which adds the Skywalk and the zip line, and the Sunset Pass for entry after 3 pm. Prices are those listed by the operator on 11 November 2026; the tickets and admission page goes into what each one includes.

The view and the depth

At its deepest, the canyon in the national park drops 6,000 feet from rim to river, and at the South Rim the river runs about 5,000 feet below the edge. The canyon there is about 10 miles wide. Grand Canyon West is shallower: the operator describes the Skywalk as standing 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. At Eagle Point and on the Highpoint Hike at Guano Point you reach the edge without railings, so keep well back from it.

The West has one thing the park does not: according to Papillon, it is the only part of the Grand Canyon where helicopters land on the canyon floor. Flights from Boulder City cross Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and spend about half an hour by the Colorado River before returning. If you would rather stay in your seat, a 70-minute airplane flight from the same area covers Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the West Rim without landing.

Down to the river

In the national park, trails lead from the rim to the river: Bright Angel and South Kaibab from the South Rim, North Kaibab from the North Rim. Day hikes below the rim need no permit. The park is explicit, though, that you should not try to hike from the rim to the river and back in one day; on foot or by mule, the bottom of the canyon and back is a two-day journey.

Grand Canyon West lists no trail to the river. Its walks stay on the rim, and you reach the water in one of two ways: by helicopter with a pontoon ride, or with the Hualapai River Runners, whose full-day rafting trips start with a bus ride from Peach Springs down to the river.

The North Rim after the Dragon Bravo Fire

In July 2025 the Dragon Bravo Fire burned across the North Rim and destroyed numerous buildings, among them the historic Grand Canyon Lodge, of which only stone walls remain. The North Rim reopened on 15 May 2026 for the summer season. On 10 November 2026 the park lists it as open until 30 November 2026 or the first major snowstorm, with limited day use since 15 October. The campground, gas station and general store have closed for 2026, there is no drinking water anywhere on the North Rim this season, and overnight stays are only possible outside the park. From 1 December to 14 May all North Rim roads are closed to vehicles. A date for 2027 had not been published when we checked.

The North Rim is also far from both of the others: 275 miles from Las Vegas, and about 212 miles and four and a half hours by road from the South Rim.

Which one fits your trip

With one free day in Las Vegas and no car, Grand Canyon West is the practical choice, and the Skywalk and a landing by the river exist only there. Plan for the national park instead if you want to hike below the rim, stay several days or see the canyon at its deepest, and allow for the drive. The tours from Las Vegas compare the day trips to the West Rim.

For the South Rim of the national park, its viewpoints, trails and tours from Las Vegas, Sedona and Phoenix, see our sister site visitgrandcanyonsouthrim.com.