Desert View Watchtower Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience Desert View Watchtower. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• 45-minute Helicopter Flight Over the Grand Canyon from Tusayan, Arizona

• Grand Canyon Deluxe Day Trip from Sedona

• Small-Group Grand Canyon Day Tour from Flagstaff

• Grand Canyon Landmarks Tour by Airplane with Optional Hummer Tour

• The Perfect Grand Canyon Tour with Local Expert Guides

Technically, Desert View Watchtower is free to visit, but access is within Grand Canyon National Park, which has an entrance fee. It’s US$35 per vehicle (good for seven days) to enter the park; the annual America the Beautiful pass gets you into every national park site for US$80. International visitors pay an extra US$100.

Yes, Desert View Watchtower is definitely worth visiting. It's one of the few iconic structures along the South Rim and in the park at large—it can be seen from miles away. Its architect, Mary Colter—one of the few female architects in the 1930s—took her influence from the Ancestral Puebloan people of the Colorado Plateau.

Per one customer who booked the The Perfect Grand Canyon Tour with Local Expert Guides, "Miguel was an excellent guide! Very informative about the ecosystem(s) we drove through, and shared lots of information about Navajo traditions and culture. It was a comfortable ride, which is important for a long day tour. The sights themselves were tremendous. No pictures will do it justice."

The Desert View Watchtower in Grand Canyon National Park has its store and viewing room open daily from 8am until 7pm. The tower's upper floors are open when staff allows from around 8:20am until 6:20pm, and you’ll need to get a free admission ticket in person at the attraction, as access is first-come, first-served.

No, there’s no entrance fee to the Desert View Watchtower itself; however, you will need to pay the fee to enter Grand Canyon National Park. Passes range from US$20 (per person) to US$35 (per vehicle), and you must pay with a debit or credit card—no cash is accepted.

The views from the top of the Desert View Watchtower View Room are stunning and worth visiting. The watchtower is situated on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and overlooks the eastern portion of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Plus, there are glass-black mirrors you look through to cut the sunlight as you take in the sights.

Yes and no—there aren’t guided tours inside the Desert View Watchtower, but many Grand Canyon South Rim tours do stop there. While at the Desert View Watchtower, you’ll want to grab a timed ticket to get inside the View Room, where you can look out over the canyon and see the Native American handicrafts set up inside.

The best time of year to visit the Desert View Watchtower is during the spring or fall when temperatures are not as scorching hot as they can be in the summertime, but when you also beat those heavy summer crowds of tourists at the Grand Canyon National Park.

Yes, there are plenty of things to do near the Desert View Watchtower inside Grand Canyon National Park. Some of the park's closest and most popular attractions include Hopi Point, Grand Canyon Village, Lipan Point, Mather Point, and walking trails, such as the Bright Angel Trail.

There are tons of things to do when you're done visiting Desert View Watchtower. According to travelers, these are some of the top attractions in Grand Canyon National Park:

• Grand Canyon West Rim

• Grand Canyon Skywalk

• Colorado River

• Grand Canyon South Rim

• Cameron Trading Post

View Viator's guide to all the best attractions in Grand Canyon National Park.