Desert View Watchtower

Climb a 70-foot stone tower on the South Rim for views of the eastern Grand Canyon and Colorado River.

Desert View, AZ-64, 23 miles east of Grand Canyon Village · Grand Canyon Village, AZ

About Desert View Watchtower

Architect Mary Colter designed this 70-foot circular stone tower, finished in 1932, to echo Ancestral Puebloan watchtowers. On the lower level you look through reflectoscopes, black glass mirrors that cut haze and glare on the canyon view, and in spring, summer and fall you can watch demonstrations by artists from tribes tied to the canyon. Upper floors, open when staffing allows, carry murals by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie. No park shuttle comes out here, so you drive yourself.

#grand canyon
#observation tower
#south rim
#historic landmark

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What's around here?

The closest stops to Desert View Watchtower, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
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Grand Canyon National Park
Under $25
Walk or ride the free shuttle along the South Rim to look a mile down into the canyon the Colorado River carved.
16 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Museums
Yavapai Museum of Geology
Check prices
A geology museum on the South Rim with large windows facing the canyon and exhibits explaining its rock layers.
16 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Tours
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Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters
$50+
Helicopter and airplane air tours over the Grand Canyon departing near the South Rim.
17 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours
Sightseeing
Verkamp's Visitor Center
Check prices
A historic South Rim building that serves as a visitor center, with exhibits on local community history and a park store.
17 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
Cameron Trading Post
Check prices
Historic trading post near the Little Colorado River Gorge that combines a motel, restaurant, Native American art gallery, and large gift shop.
26 mi awayMore like this
Sightseeing
History Buff
Wupatki National Monument
$25–$50
Walk up to sandstone pueblos built in the early 1100s, including the 104-room Wupatki Pueblo with its ball court and blowhole.
44 mi awayMore like this