How Long Does it Take to Get From Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon by Helicopter?

It takes 45 minutes to go from Las Vegas to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. To the South Rim? Well, there are no helicopters to the South Rim because it's too far.

Let me dive deeper into the South Rim issue. From Vegas, the South Rim is 280 miles east. This is way out of range for a helicopter. Sure, you could land at some mid-way point and refuel but then the trip price would skyrocket.

Then there's the fact that you'd be buckled into a helicopter for nearly 1.5+ hours one-way and that's just too much time to be stationary with no toilet. I'm sure we've thought about it but passed. The round-trip logistics are simply too much.

South Rim?

So would one go from Las Vegas to the South Rim by air? Airplane. There's a great tour that takes 60 minutes one-way. It departs multiple times a day in the a. m. (there are no p.m. flights because of time constraints) and can be upgraded to include a helicopter ride, jeep tour or bus trip.

The cheapest and most basic version of this airplane ride is the one that comes with the bus. Like all options, this one lands at Grand Canyon South Rim Airport in Tusayan, AZ, which is about 1-hour from Flagstaff or 2.5 hours from Sedona.

The flight path from Vegas to the National Park is south of the actual Canyon, which, personally, I find beneficial because you get to see a lot of Northern Arizona, which has some incredibly beautiful backcountry. Tip: get a seat on the left side of the plane for Canyon views en route or right-side window (planes are configured one seat left and two seats right) for ride back.

The bus tour is really a shuttle bus that you share with others that gets you inside the Park. It stops at several of the key lookouts like Mather and Hopi (depends on time and crowds) and there's plenty of time for pictures and exploration. The Jeep does nearly the same thing except it's open-topped (summer only) and takes about nine passengers.

The option that includes a helicopter ride goes from South Rim to the North Rim first. Once it reaches the North, the chopper does a u-turn and takes you back to the airport, but not before flying over the Colorado River and through the Dragoon Corridor, which is the deepest and widest part of the Canyon.

West Rim!

Flights to the West Rim are an entirely different matter. This rim is much closer at 125 miles from the Vegas Strip, which means flight time averages about 45 minutes. Breaking it down, you're looking at about 30 minutes to get from Vegas to the point where the Canyon starts at Grand Cliff's Wash.

(Grand Cliff's Wash is quite spectacular as it's where the Colorado River is channeled into Lake Mead, the West's largest reservoir that's fed by the massive watershed supported on the west side of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado state. Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico all have claims on Lake Mead water, which is receding due to drought).

The helicopter at this point drops down into the Canyon and follows the River to a private landing area that's in essence a concession that the company has to negotiate with the Hualapai Indian tribe, whose reservation includes all the land that surrounds the West Rim and much more. The Tribe also owns and operates the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the glass bridge that lets you walk about 75 feet over the edge until you are 4K feet over the bottom!

The West Rim helicopter tour that's most popular is the bottom-landing option. It comes with a Champagne picnic and is a huge hit with international travelers, couples and families. The picnic area is right next to the Colorado River and if you go for this option I strongly recommend you wear closed-toe shoes like runners or boots.

Sunset Flight

There's a sunset version of the landing tour that's super popular and that's because it's limited due to the fact that it departs once a day. There's another great option that includes the Grand Canyon Skywalk but it doesn't include going to the bottom. If you want a top and bottom tour plus Skywalk I suggest you look into the airplane tour that does just that (listed at bottom of this article).

The trip back to Vegas is approximately 45 minutes. However, if you take the land-in-bottom tour that departs from the Vegas Strip, add an additional 10- minutes to the return because you'll be doing an extended tour over the Vegas Strip that starts at the Stratosphere Tower and ends at the Mandalay Bay (this tour also includes free hotel transfers by limousine; the basic tour has bus hotel transfers).

I hope this article answered your question about how long it takes to fly from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon by helicopter. If you require more info, call me or send an email or text. I'm online most of the time and reaching out to me via these channels typically reaches all my devices including my cell. Last tip: book a helicopter tour as soon and as early as you can. Tours sell out and if you do find a flight upon arrival, the price will SPIKE in price.

Tours Mentioned in This Article:

Have a great flight!

Keith Kravitz
Grand Canyon Helicopters
(702) 530-8687
grandcanyonkeith@gmail.com