When you tour the Grand Canyon by land, it is difficult to comprehend just how huge it is.
It's over 18 miles wide, a mile deep, and a jaw-dropping 277 miles long. Touring the canyon by air is the only way you can grasp its incredible size.
You will see some of the most breathtaking views imaginable. The plateaus in the area are as high as 9000 feet above sea level.
The only way to really see this immense wonder is to tour it from the air.
Erosion caused by the Arizona River carved out this remarkable place over the course of 17,000,000 years. History is recorded IAre Cbd Oils Legal In North Carolina the colorful rock layers that make up the canyon walls.
It is a unique mixture of history and art because the rock formations are magnificent and ablaze with red and orange color.
West Rim Helicopter Tours
Helicopters are the ideal aircraft for taking an air tour of the Grand Canyon. This spectacular place is so immense that it can even be seen from outer space.
Of course, you will have a much better and more up-close view from a chopper.
Helicopter tours that fly out of Vegas pass over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, an extinct volcano and other sights on their way to Grand Canyon West (the West Rim). The big thrill is waiting at the canyon itself and the site of it will take away your breath.
One West Rim chopper tour actually lands on the canyon floor, 3,500 feet below the rim. While you're there, you'll enjoy a champagne lunch. The pilots on the choppers are also knowledgeable tour guides and will inform and entertain you during the trip.
Photography Heaven
Air tours give amateur photographers plenty of opportunities to capture the amazing sights. If you go on the air tour that lands on the bottom of the canyon, you will have the chance to take amazing scenic photos of beautiful nature scenes not found on top of the rim.
It's the best of both worlds: from your 'copter you'll see the river from high above and then up close and personal after you land.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk
A different West Rim helicopter tour flies over the area and then lands near the fabulous Grand Canyon Skywalk.
The Skywalk is an amazing cantilevered bridge that is made of glass and juts out 70 feet beyond the edge of the rim. You can walk out on glass and stand 4000 feet above the bottom of the canyon and immerse yourself in a scenic view like no other.
Helicopter Flights To The South Rim
Flights originating at Grand Canyon National Park Airport in Tusayan, AZ take you to the South Rim.
In this part of the canyon, the Little Colorado River snakes through, changing color from red to blue, but you can only see it from the air since landing is not permitted at the South Rim. The color of this river varies with the water's mineral content and the season.
You'll also see during the almost-untouched North Rim, blanketed in trees and other vegetation. It is a very different view than the barren rock walls that make up other parts of the canyon. On the way back to the South Rim, you'll pass through dramatic Dragoon Corridor.