The Grand Canyon

Trailboss September 30th, 2007

See the Grand Canyon from the air. There are many companies providing helicopter rides into the Grand Canyon. Fly in from Las Vegas and take in a great view of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead as you approach the Grand Canyon. Helicopter tours of the Canyon provide headphones with pre-recorded multi-lingual commentary about the history and geology of the Grand Canyon area. Generally, helicopter rides have a capacity of 6 passengers. The flight to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas runs about 45 minutes each way.

Most Grand Canyon helicopter tours originate at Tusayan Airport which is located just outside the park and fly over the forest to the canyon rim, straight across then above the North Rim and back. The birds-eyes views you can get from the air give you a better idea of the scope of the Grand Canyon. You can pick a short flight of 25 minutes or the longer flight of 55 minutes that spends almost 40 minutes over the actual canyon.

Be prepared to take some time researching all the different tours available. You can take short tours that just fly you over the rim and back to exclusive tours that take you to the inner canyon, put you on a pontoon boat to float the Colorado or take you to Hava Supai where you’ll ride horseback to see the beautiful Mooney Falls.

Realize that helicopter tours are very popular and should be booked at least 24 hours prior to the flight and longer depending on the popularity of the flight and the time of year. You’ll need to disclose your weight as the tour operater will arrange the passengers to balance the ride. Oh, and don’t show up intoxicated as the tour operator will most likely refuse you service.

Here is our list of some of the more popular helicopter tour companies:

Heli USA
Grand Canyon Express
Grand Canyon Tour Company

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