Do Las Vegas Helicopter Tours Land in the Grand Canyon?
The short answer is "yes."
Yes, Las Vegas helicopters DO land at the base of the canyon. But there are few IMPORTANT things to bear in mind when trying to book one.
First, you can do one of these tours from the Las Vegas Strip or from Boulder City, which is a suburb just east of town.
Tours that start from the Strip are more expensive. That's because these trips include free limo hotel transfers and an extended tour over the Strip.
If you can live without the extras, go Boulder. This option includes hotel transfers but via a shuttle bus. There's no Strip flyover, either. But if you skip the perks, you'll save the bucks.
Boulder City, Baby!
Most people will want to take the money and run and will choose Boulder. Makes sense. The savings can be as much as $100 USD per person. Times that by how many are in your group and that's a significant savings.
Popularity drives demand and so you'll most likely find a Boulder departure. This is not the case if you do it from the Strip as these flights are limited and that puts pressure on availability.
The rule of thumb here is to try to book your tour as far in advance as you possibly can. This is especially true if you want the sunset tour, which leaves once a day and seems to be on everyone's to-do list.
The flight from Vegas Strip or Boulder takes about 45 minutes. This might be surprising but the Canyon is about 130 miles away, and 15 of those minutes is spent cruising to the bottom.
I've done this tour many times and I enjoy all of it, but the part I really like is the descent to the private landing area next to the Colorado River.
It all starts when you get to Grand Cliffs Wash, which is basically where the Colorado gets fed into Lake Mead, which is the largest reservoir in the West and stores water for Nevada, California, Arizona and Mexico.
You'll crest over Grand Cliffs and then descend among the Canyon's walls, which from bottom to top measure about 1 mile high. Now it's all about canyon-carving over the River until you reach the picnic area.
Sipping Champers
A really cool thing about these bottom-landing tours is that they universally come with a Champagne Picnic. What's served is most what you'd find at a cocktail party. There's also soda and water. Vegetarian requests can also be honored.
Getting out of the Canyon is just as exciting as you'll make your way through the Canyon (you'll even pass the Grand Canyon Skywalk) until you pop out over the edge. Then it's back over the Mojave Desert for Vegas.
If you departed Boulder, you'll go there and land. If you left from the Strip, you'll bear north until you reach the Stratosphere Tower. You'll round it and then head south down the Strip over resorts like Bellagio, Paris, Caesar's, Mirage and Monte Carlo before landing.
So, yes, you can land at the bottom of the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. And it's one heck of a trip. Especially since you can do the whole thing in 4 hours! Do I recommend it? Absolutely. But avoid the mid-afternoon flights during summer. Too hot. Mornings and late afternoons and sunsets are where it's at.
Tours Mentioned in This Article:
Have a great flight!
Keith Kravitz
Grand Canyon Helicopters (702) 530-8687 grandcanyonkeith@gmail.com
