Grand Canyon NP--Visitor Center

Grand Canyon NP--Visitor Center

Grand Canyon Village, Arizona 86052

Official Website
Grand Canyon National Park website
Grand Canyon National Park maps

Tips for Birding

In-depth information is found on the Grand Canyon National Park website.

About this Location

If you are entering through the South Entrance Station, make the Visitor Center your first stop. You can park your car in one of four parking areas, then get your first view of Grand Canyon by taking a short walk (or shuttle bus ride) to nearby Mather Point. From the Visitor Center, it is also possible to Park-and-Ride. Leave your car and board free shuttle buses to ride around the Village and out to scenic overlooks.

Note: During busy periods, including spring break, summer, and fall holiday weekends, parking around the visitor center is full by 10:00 am. During these times, proceed to lots A-D in Market Plaza and the Village Historic District.

At the Visitor Center you can:

  • Find information. Outside exhibits discuss park activities and attractions; hiking, the free shuttle bus system, and park ranger programs.
  • Watch Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder, a 20-minute movie that takes viewers on a rim to river and dawn to dusk journey through the park. The movie starts on the hour and half-hour.
  • Explore exhibits inside, including interactive trip planners, a large video-enabled relief map, a Science On a Sphere® program, and displays of historic artifacts.
  • Stop at the Park Store for books and a variety of Grand Canyon gifts.
  • Rent a bicycle or take a guided bicycle tour, available March through October. A coffee bar with “grab and go” food options is located here.

About Grand Canyon National Park

See all hotspots at Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon is considered one of the finest examples of arid-land erosion in the world. Incised by the Colorado River, the canyon is immense, averaging 4,000 feet deep for its entire 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest. However, the significance of Grand Canyon is not limited to its geology.

The Park contains several major ecosystems. Its great biological diversity can be attributed to the presence of five of the seven life zones and three of the four desert types in North America.

The five life zones represented are the Lower Sonoran, Upper Sonoran, Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian. This is equivalent to traveling from Mexico to Canada.

The Park also serves as an ecological refuge, with relatively undisturbed remnants of dwindling ecosystems (such as boreal forest and desert riparian communities). It is home to numerous rare, endemic (found only at Grand Canyon), and specially protected (threatened or endangered) plant and animal species.

Over 1,500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the park.

Content from Official Website and Grand Canyon National Park website

Grand Canyon Panorama Map