A common question that people traveling to the Southwest who want to see the Grand Canyon ask is “which is better, the South Rim or the West Rim?” While each destination has it’s great features, Bindlestiff Tours feels confident in our position that the South Rim is a far better experience for our guests who are looking for natural experiences of The Grand Canyon than the West Rim. Our reasoning behind this choice is simple, that delete When people think of seeing the Grand Canyon in person they think of all of the pictures that they have seen of it in the past, with the majestic canyon sprawling as far as the eye can see, covered in forests of Ponderosa Pines and featuring a color palette that’s stunning…and nearly every picture you have ever seen of the Grand Canyon was taken from the South Rim. The reason is simple. The South Rim gives you the beauty and majesty that you are looking to experience. The West Rim gives you the Skywalk, which is more of a man-made attraction that allows you to observe the floor of the canyon through a glass walkway. but the scenery in the area is not quite as lush as the South Rim.
Bindlestiff Tours is specialized in transporting adventurers to scenic national parks and guiding them in a way that will allow them to experience the area in their own way. Our philosophy is to educate our customers on the area from the perspective of the people who live there, and allow them to experience the area on their own terms. This is one of the unique elements of a Bindlestiff Tour vs our competitors. We never want you to just observe the scenery from behind the windows of a tour bus, and instead we want to allow you to experience the area and the natural surroundings as a “participant” instead of a tourist. This philosophy shows in every tour we provide, where our tour leaders guide you through an area while providing background and facts about it, but never telling you how you must experience it. We leave those types of tours to the others, and to those looking for more of a “tourist” type of experience.
With all of this said, there are differences between the South Rim and the West Rim that make the two places very different. The South Rim (as mentioned above) is the area that you typically see in the photographs. The Grand Canyon National Park is considered by many to be the best National Park in America. We provide year round tours to the South Rim, where you will observe not only the incredible views of the most famous canyon on earth, but also experience the beauty of the Ponderosa Pines, the intense vegetation and many species of elk, deer, mules, lizards and mountain lions. This is also the most developed area of the park, complete with numerous hotels and gift shops. Delete and replace with – The Grand Canyon national park South Rim provides awe-inspiring views of the deepest and widest part of the Grand Canyon.
The West Rim lies in between the South Rim and Las Vegas, and is situated on the Hualapai Tribal Reservation lands. The West Rim does not have as much foliage as the South Rim, and does not boast the same intense colors of rocks due to erosion. The West Rim is not located within the Grand Canyon national park and in fact is a 6-hour drive from the South Rim. While there are certainly very positive aspects of the West Rim, such as the Skywalk (a glass bridge suspended over the canyon floor,) the single man-made aspect of the area draws millions of tourists simply for the walking of the bridge. While the beauty of the West Rim undeniable, it’s very different from the South Rim.
If you want to experience the Grand Canyon in a way that will remind you of the breathtaking, natural beauty that exists in the American Southwest, then make sure you visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our tours specialize in this area, and we strive to provide an immersive, natural experience to each and every customer.