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When we were staying in Las Vegas for a couple of nights, we took a bus trip to the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon. The tour first stopped at the Hoover Dam (You can see my post on the Dam here,) then traveled through Joshua Tree National Forest to get to Grand Canyon West.
Grand Canyon West is on Hualapai land and is not part of the National Park. Hualapai means ‘People of the Tall Pines.’ The Hualapai reservation was established in 1883.
Once in Grand Canyon West, we needed to leave the tour bus and use the Hualapai operated shuttles to get around the park. There are three stops: The Skywalk at Eagle Point, Guano Point and a wild west city. We opted to explore the first two.
After we’d had our thrills standing on the glass Skywalk over the Grand Canyon, we decided to leave that crowded area for the next stop on the Hualapai shuttle: Guano Point. While everyone was taking selfies at Eagle Point, we had Guano Point virtually to ourselves.
At the cafe, we redeemed our lunch voucher that came with our tour for a nice BBQ meal and a yummy cookie for dessert. We sat in peace and quiet on the outside patio and ate before the ravens could descend on us.
Then we walked the short Highpoint trail to fabulous 360 degree views of the canyon and the Colorado River. No view of the Grand Canyon is a bad view, but we thought they were even better here than at Eagle Point.
We explored the remnants of the 1950s mining operation from which the point derives its name. Guano is bat poop and was used as an ingredient in fertilizer…and also in ladies cosmetics, back in the day! Yuck!
There were buildings for the miners up here and also a tram that ran across the canyon, almost 9000 feet, to the bat cave. This turned out to be an unprofitable business venture and the mine was abandoned in 1960. The actual Bat Cave across the canyon is now in Grand Canyon National Park while Guano Point is on Hualapai land.
To see my other posts on the Grand Canyon, please click the following links:
- Bright Angel
- Hermit’s Rest
- South Kaibab
- Yavapai
- Grandview
- Desert View
- Western Rim Skywalk
- Western Rim Guano Point (Coming Soon)
Location: Peach Springs, AZ 86434
Designation: Hualapai Reservation
Date designation declared: 1883
Date of my visit: 4/9/2017
