National Geographic Visitor Center is located one mile south of the South Rim entrance to Grand Canyon National Park, on Highway 64.
Grand Canyon Base Camp #1, a 2,000-sq. ft. attraction, provides regularly scheduled interpretive presentations from Grand Canyon Association Experts, destination information, gear and supplies for the Grand Canyon experience.
Hiking trail maps
Interpretive exhibits feature geology, past and present explorers, wildlife living above and below the Grand Canyon, guide and research zones, maps of hiking trails and favorite photography locations, replica boats of the Powell Expedition and modern day river runner boats.
National Geographic Visitor Center is the only place outside the park that offers these experiences.
Grand Canyon IMAX movie
The six-story giant screen theater, with 12,000 watts of Digital Dolby surround sound and seats for 500 guests, is the highlight of the Visitor Center experience. The 35-minute Grand Canyon Movie is the most-watched IMAX film ever shown.
It takes viewers on a journey in time, beginning with the mysterious Anasazi, who inhabited the canyon 4,000 years ago, to the 1869 adventures of Major John Wesley Powell, who explored the Canyon and today's Colorado River rafting thrill-seekers. Viewers have the sensation of sitting beside the characters, as they go places visitors would never see on their own.
National Park passes
The Visitor Center offers a Grand Canyon information desk, free National Geographic Grand Canyon maps, a National Geographic Outfitters store, National Parks Ranger services and a convenient location to buy National Park passes and sightseeing tours.
Visitors see National Geographic Grand Canyon exhibits and photos, interactive maps and a satellite image display showing the vastness of the Canyon.
Each guest receives a free National Geographic Visitor Center Explorer's Pack. The Explorer's Café, in the Visitor Center, seats 180 guests.
