Visitor Centers and Museums - Grand Canyon National Park

Our May 2015 visit to Grand Canyon National Park continued with several stops in the Grand Canyon Village area. We parked in one of the four very large parking areas at the main visitor center near Mather Point and walked to the other locations nearby. The visitor center area was completely transformed between 2009 and 2012. The transformation included the removal of vehicles and parking in the Mather Point area. The effort also included the addition of a 200 seat theater to the visitor center, nearly 900 parking spaces for private vehicles east and west of the visitor center, forty spaces for commercial tour buses, new restrooms, a shuttle bus transit center, a small cafe and picnic areas. A free-standing bookstore and gift shop is located across the plaza from the visitor center. There are no views of the canyon from the visitor center complex, but Mather Point is just a short stroll away.

Since we drove in to the park from the east at Desert View and made several stops at overlooks, we didn't arrive at the visitor center until after lunch. Although we visited on a weekday in early May, we had to wait for someone to leave in order to find a place to park. If you come during the summer peak season, make plans to arrive early in order to park at the visitor center or look for parking at other locations in the Village area. Although we chose to walk, free shuttle buses provide easy access to the visitor center, village area and numerous locations along the rim.

The visitor center houses several exhibits, a large scale wall map, an information desk and the theater. An excellent 20 minute orientation video, Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder, is shown every half-hour. Narrated by Peter Coyote, the the park service proclaims the film "takes visitors on a rim to river and dawn to dusk journey through the park. It introduces visitors to the park's interpretive themes by telling stories about Native American connections to the canyon, pioneer history, the Colorado River and water, geology of the Grand Canyon, the canyon as a place of inspiration, and the efforts to preserve and protect the Grand Canyon as a sanctuary for plants, animals, and humans."

Shuttle bus Transit Center

Shuttle bus

The Visitor Center with theater addition to the right

Large windows and glass doors allow natural light into the visitor center

The Glen - an historic boat from the park's collection

Looking down the curved main hall toward the theater

Video exhibits are easily updated

Book store

View of the visitor center from across the plaza

From the visitor center, a one mile walk west along the Rim Trail leads to the Yavapai Museum of Geology. Originally built in 1928 as the Yavapai Point Trailside Museum, the museum houses geology exhibits and a bookstore. In addition, it provides spectacular, panoramic views of the canyon from several large windows.

The museum was built with local Kaibab limestone

This three-dimensional map is one of several exhibits in the museum

Continuing another 1.4 miles west on the Rim Trail brought us to Verkamp's Visitor Center in Grand Canyon Village. Built in 1905, this historic building housed a souvenir store operated by the Verkamp family from January 1906 until September 2008. The park service opened it as a visitor center in November 2008. The building houses an information desk, small bookstore and a Grand Canyon Pioneer History Museum.

Verkamp's Visitor Center

Information Desk

Museum exhibits

Bookstore

Another section of the bookstore

An entry fee of $30 per private vehicle is collected at three entrance stations and is good for seven consecutive days at both the South and North Rims. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($10 for lifetime), Access Pass (free with documented disability) and Military Annual Pass (free for active duty personnel).

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm.