One of the things that make Grand Canyon helicopters so special is that certain ones can land at the bottom of the National Park. These trips all leave specifically from Las Vegas and can be upgraded to include a lot of cool side-trips that will take your Canyon experience to a whole new level.

Below the Rim

Again, for clarification, I have to make it absolutely clear that these flights only depart from Las Vegas. The trips that leave from South Rim in Arizona do not fly below the rim and land. This is because the National Park Service has banned such flights and I don’t see them lifting the ban anytime soon.

Vegas helicopters leave throughout the day and nearly every hour from heliports located on the Las Vegas Strip as well as from Henderson and Boulder City. Trips that originate from The Strip will cost more, but to my mind it’s worth the extra expense because of the convenience and the fact that you get to fly over The Strip on the return segment of the tour.

The typical landing tour goes over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the Colorado River before either landing at the top of the West Rim or flying below it to the bottom before settling down on one of several private helipads that line the banks of the internationally famous Colorado River. Flight time to Canyon takes about 45 minutes.

Champagne Picnic

The most popular landing tour is the one that goes to the bottom for a Champagne picnic. The descent itself is one of the most amazing things you can do while visiting Vegas. It takes about 15 minutes to reach the base and during that time you fly past one of the most original and primordial landscapes in the continental U.S.

The Picnic itself is comprised of fruit and cheese and crackers and deli meats. Total time spent at the bottom is about 30 minutes, which is plenty of time to explore and check out the Colorado. For the more adventurous, this tour can be extended with a pontoon boat ride down the River, which, from personal experience, is awesome as you cruise among some of the oldest exposed rock on the planet.

The flight that lands at the top lands at the Grand Canyon West airfield. From there, it’s a matter of minutes to get to the legendary Grand Canyon Skywalk. This spectacular glass bridge lets you walk 70 feet past the edge until your are standing some 4,000 feet over the bottom of the Canyon! Please note that the Hualapai Tribe, which owns and operates the Skywalk, do not permit cameras on The Bridge because if dropped they can scratch the surface of glass panels that cost around $250,000 each!

100 Degrees!

Dressing for weather is recommended because you’ll be exiting the aircraft. Temperatures at the West Rim tend to be exactly like those in Las Vegas. There can be fog in the morning during winter but it usually burns off quickly. Summer is hot and you can expect temps to be more than 100 degrees so wear a hat, drink lots of water and wear lots of sun block. I find that salty snacks like Trail Mix come in handy.

So there’s your essential information about Grand Canyon helicopter landing tours from Vegas. Make sure you book them well ahead of time as they sell out. So get ready. You’re in for the flight of a lifetime!

The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

Author Bio: The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

Category: Travel
Keywords: grand canyon, las vegas, grand canyon helicopters, las vegas helicopters, grand canyon flights