Work

Tourists stand on a fenced viewing platform overlooking the Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River forms a dramatic loop surrounded by steep canyon walls under a clear blue sky.

Horseshoe Bend Visitor Center

Elevating the Horseshoe Bend Experience

The partnership between the National Park Service and the City of Page aims to create a world-class visitor experience for Horseshoe Bend, attracting over 2 million visitors annually. The center is designed to preserve the natural, scenic, cultural, and spiritual significance of the site while managing visitor growth.

Initial site improvements include new entry monuments, expanded parking facilities, and a 1-mile accessible trail with shade ramadas leading to a rim viewing platform overlooking the iconic Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River.

The final phase will feature a new visitor center with shaded entrance seating, interpretive displays, a park ranger station, public restrooms, and staff offices. Constructed from Navajo sandstone masonry, weathered steel, and cast-in-place concrete seating, The Visitor Center grows out of the austere landscape. This thoughtfully designed facility will provide a safe, accessible way to experience one of our nation’s most iconic natural landforms, enhancing the overall visitor experience while respecting the site’s profound natural beauty.

Aerial view of Horseshoe Bend in Arizona, featuring a sharp U-shaped meander of the Colorado River surrounded by steep, rocky cliffs in a desert landscape.
A vast desert landscape with sparse vegetation, showing a foreground of scattered low shrubs and a backdrop of rocky cliffs under a clear blue sky.
A winding river flows through a deep, rocky canyon with sheer red cliffs under a clear blue sky. Sparse vegetation lines the riverbanks.
Aerial view showing a river meander surrounded by rocky terrain with an adjacent site plan, including marked points and a parking lot connected by a pathway.
Illustration of a cross-sectional view of a cliff with dashed lines indicating possible overlook points and sightlines, focusing on the landscape below.
Architectural floor plan with labeled sections, including monument sign, plaza, visitor area, observation space, and restrooms. The layout shows outdoor and indoor areas with pathways and service yard.
A modern building with a flat roof and wooden beams sits in a desert landscape with sparse vegetation. People are walking around the building. The sky is partly cloudy at sunset.
An outdoor scene with people gathered around a modern building featuring a wide, sloping roof and brick walls, set in a desert landscape with sparse vegetation under a partly cloudy sky.
People are walking and sitting under a pergola structure in a desert environment. The building has rust-colored supports and benches built into the walkway. Desert landscape is visible in the background.
People are seated and walking around a shaded outdoor area with wooden beams and cement benches, resembling a rest area or tourist site with information boards.
A modern, cantilevered viewing platform extends over a barren desert landscape under a hazy sky.
A group of people stand at a fenced viewpoint, overlooking the steep cliffs and expansive landscape of a canyon under a clear sky.

Project Information

Location

Page, AZ

Collaborators

Floor Associates, Landscape Architect

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