Being in Vegas, Dave and I decided to explore the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon from a helicopter. We chose Sunset Grand Celebration with Vegas Strip tour organized by Papillon Helicopters. This tour includes a flight over and stunning aerial views of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and of course Grand Canyon – West Rim.
Additionally, the helicopter lands at the bottom of the canyon on a private plateau overlooking the Colorado River. There guests will enjoy a champagne picnic and refreshments while exploring the surrounding canyon area. The tour also includes aerial views of the Vegas Strip and complementary pickup and drop-off from Las Vegas hotels by limo.
The limo arrived at our hotel on time and in 15 minutes delivered us to the terminal in Boulder City. After reading the safety instructions, watching videos and signing waivers, we were ready for the helicopter flight.
A souvenir picture of us and our pilot next to the helicopter is taken and we are ready for our tour.
Our flight has begun…
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States in maximum water capacity. It is located on the Colorado River about 24 mi (39 km) from the Strip southeast of Las Vegas. Lake Mead National Recreation Area occupies about 1.5 million acres (twice the size of Rhode Island).
Lake Mead is the 16th largest manmade lake in the world and one of the largest manmade lakes in the Western Hemisphere. Lake Mead offers year-round recreation with everything from kayaking and jet skiing to swimming, hiking and wildlife viewing. Lake Mead’s Boulder Beach is a popular stop to paddle boat, swim and camp out by the shore.
Hoover Dam (also known as Boulder Dam) is one of the largest in America. It was built between 1931 and 1936 across Black Canyon and above the mighty Colorado River. It’s a national historical landmark with remarkable views of the Colorado River, Lake Mead, and the canyons and valleys surrounding it.
The dam is named after Herbert Hoover, the U.S. president who agreed to have the dam built so that Nevada, California, and Arizona could increase irrigation waters, manage flood waters and create hydroelectric-power. It was built in just five years – an impressive feat, considering the dam is made of enough concrete to pave a road from New York to California (from Wikipedia).
Getting close to the Grand Canyon.
Beautiful views of the Grand Canyon. Our pilot descends the helicopter lower into the canyon.
The Colorado River.
Landing. Our helicopter touched down and disembarked at the exclusive landing site 4,000 ft below the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Somebody’s wedding overlooking The Colorado River. Sooo romantic!
We are getting ready for the picnic with champagne.
Our pilot asked us to load back into the helicopter for our return flight.
Time to fly back to Vegas. A memory photo with our pilot.
We saw some Joshua trees from the helicopter.
Lots of red rock in this part of the canyon.
Beautiful sunset.
We could see Vegas from far away in the sky. On the way back we flew over the world famous Vegas Strip and took a video, which I’ll publish later. Once we were back, we boarded a limo and returned to our hotel.
