How about some major thrills on this Las Vegas trip? Take a Grand Canyon helicopter tour to the West Rim and you'll get all the excitement you can handle! Just 120 miles outside of Sin City, the West Rim is the only place in which you board a helicopter and ride it 4,000 feet to the canyon's base!

1. Daring Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour
Flies 4,000 Feet to the Bottom!
By Keith Kravitz © 2011 | http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptertourreviews.com
It's the dream of many Las Vegas travelers: Descending nearly a mile into the craw of the
Grand Canyon and triumphantly standing on the banks of the mighty Colorado River.
Then reality takes hold. You do an epic overnight hike or take a Grand Canyon
helicopter. Considering most people are looking for a great day trip, a chopper ride is
your only true option (and the best one!).
There are two main places where helicopters fly the canyon: The West Rim and the South
Rim. Helicopter flights can be found at both locations, but it's only at the West Rim that
you can land on the Canyon's floor.
Flights leave daily from the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The West Rim is only 120
miles away to the east. Be prepared to spend up to 45 minutes en route. On the way,
you'll fly over some incredible landmarks like Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the
U.S., Hoover Dam, the newly completed Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, a 700-year-old
Joshua Tree forest, and sections of the Mojave Desert that look untouched by time.
You now are in canyon country. The West Rim is drier than the South, which is located
in the Kaibab Plateau, home of the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the nation. The other
thing that defines these rims is color. The West Rim's are subdued and pale while the
South Rim's are more vibrant.
The thrills go up a notch as the helicopter leaves the West Rim behind and starts its
4,000-foot descent to the bottom. Brace yourself for some excellent canyon carving.
Sheer cliffs, surreal rock formations, and sandstone buttes pass by until your helicopter
softly alights on a makeshift helipad next to the Colorado River.
Most helicopter tour operators, including Papillon, Maverick, and Sundance, let visitors
deplane, toast their journey with Champagne, indulge in a small meal, and explore the
surrounding area. Time at the bottom is a minimum 30 minutes.
You can also get non-landing West Rim helicopter tours and a host side-adventures that
include Hummer tours, horseback rides, Western wagon rides, and smooth-water rafting
trips. The other attraction that gets a lot of attention at this rim is the Grand Canyon
Skywalk. Rightfully, so, too. Check out these crazy facts:
1. Lets you walk 70 feet beyond the edge.
2. Suspends you 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.
3. Can withstand magnitude 8 earthquakes and 100 mph winds.

2. 4. Can support 800 people. Only 120 people are allowed on it at one time.
5. Over 200,000 people visit it annually.
6. Each of its 46 glass panels cost $250,000!
Noted earlier, you will find helicopter flights departing from the South Rim, but they do
not land. The compromise is that you get to fly through the entire Dragoon Corridor, the
deepest portion of the Canyon, until you reach the beautifully isolated North Rim. Some
the cleanest, clearest air exists here, letting you easily attain visibility of 150 miles or
more. There are no helicopter flights between the West Rim and the South Rim.
The return flight to Vegas can also be adventurous. Depending on the pilot and the
package you booked. I highly recommend including an option to fly the Las Vegas Strip,
a perfect compliment to just having experienced one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Travel writer Keith Kravitz writes exclusively about
Grand Canyon tours. Use this link to see Top 3 Grand
Canyon helicopter tours