Helicopter rides at the rim

6 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

A helicopter ride at the rim is a short hop, not a sightseeing flight from the city. You arrive at Grand Canyon West by car, coach or plane, check in at the airport on the rim, and a few minutes later the helicopter sets down on a landing site near the Colorado River, thousands of feet below the viewpoints. Some trips go on by pontoon boat, others fly straight back up. The long flights that start in Las Vegas or Boulder City and cross Lake Mead on the way are a different product, covered on our page about helicopter tours from Las Vegas.

The landings are possible because Grand Canyon West lies on the Hualapai Reservation and is run by Grand Canyon Resort Corporation, owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe. The National Park Service states that the Skywalk is outside Grand Canyon National Park, where federal rules (36 CFR 2.17) allow aircraft to land only at locations designated by special regulation.

Where the rim flights start

The flights take off from Grand Canyon West Airport. For its own helicopter and pontoon package, Grand Canyon West sets check-in one hour before the flight at the helicopter terminal, the white bubble next to Terminal 1, and it encourages advance reservations for helicopter packages. Papillon’s helicopter and boat trip asks you to check in 30 minutes before the start, Maverick’s canyon floor flight at least 45 minutes before; late arrivals on Maverick flights are turned away without a refund.

Keep the clock in mind when you plan the day. The rim runs on Arizona time without daylight saving, so in winter it is one hour ahead of Las Vegas. The last entry ticket is sold at 4 pm Arizona time, which is 3 pm in Las Vegas, and Grand Canyon West recommends at least three hours on site.

Landing on the canyon floor

Maverick Helicopters flies from the West Rim airport to a private landing site 3,500 feet below the rim and about 300 feet above the river. You stay there for 20 minutes, then the flight back through the canyon walls takes 12 minutes. The tour page calls the whole outing 40 minutes in its list of inclusions and 30 minutes in its highlights. The operator lists it as not suitable for people with mobility impairments.

Reviewers of this flight mostly write about the 20 minutes at the bottom: the quiet, the space to take photos, and pilots who help with pictures. The one critical English review we found concerns a booking made for the wrong date, not the flight itself.

Helicopter and pontoon boat

Grand Canyon West sells a Helicopter Pontoon Package of its own, which it describes as operated by the Hualapai Tribe: a flight 3,500 feet down to the canyon floor, a narrated boat ride on the river and the flight back, with an All-Access Pass for the rest of the day and a VIP pass to the Skywalk. The operator estimates about 15 minutes in the air, about 15 minutes on the boat and about 45 minutes for the whole tour. Grand Canyon West’s rafting itinerary names Papillon Helicopters as the company that flies guests between the river and the rim.

Papillon sells a similar trip from Grand Canyon West Airport. Its tour page lists a flight of about 5 to 7 minutes to a landing spot it puts 4,000 feet below the rim, a walk down to the pontoon dock, a boat ride on which the guide talks about the history and geology of the river, and the walk back to the helicopter. Papillon’s website gives about 60 minutes for the helicopter and boat parts together, which does not match the 45 minutes on the Grand Canyon West page; plan for about an hour.

The walk between the landing site and the boat is part of the trip. Reviewers of a plane, helicopter and boat tour describe 50 to 70 uneven steps down to the dock and back up again, hard work in July and August, when one guest reported 40 °C. Bring water and a hat in summer. More on the boats themselves, and on the full-day rafting trip run by the Hualapai, is on our Colorado River page.

Entry ticket, Skywalk and fees

Check what the flight includes before you buy a separate ticket. Maverick’s canyon floor flight excludes the Grand Canyon West entry ticket. Papillon’s helicopter and boat trip excludes park entry too and offers General Admission or the All-Access Pass as an upgrade; General Admission covers the walking trails, the shuttle to Eagle Point, Guano Point and Hualapai Point, guided tours and the song and dance performances, but not the Skywalk. The Hualapai Tribe collects its own fees to enter the reservation, and national park passes are not accepted. Our page on tickets and admission sets out the passes in detail.

Rim flights on a day trip from Las Vegas

If you do not want to drive, several day trips bring you to the rim first and add the helicopter there. Las Vegas Outdoor Adventures collects you from the Strip in a 14-seat Mercedes Sprinter, stops for photos at Hoover Dam and drives through the Joshua tree forest to the canyon. The flight lasts 5 to 7 minutes, the pontoon ride 15 to 20 minutes, and afterwards lunch is served at the operator’s private ranch. The Skywalk is not included, and the whole day takes six to eight hours.

Grand Canyon Airlines flies you from Boulder City to the West Rim by plane, about 35 minutes each way over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. At the rim a helicopter takes you to the canyon floor for a pontoon ride along the river, and a hop-on hop-off shuttle runs to Eagle Point and Guano Point; Skywalk admission is an upgrade, booked together with the tour. Reviewers mention waits of up to 45 minutes between the plane and the helicopter, and one group missed Guano Point because of them. Papillon’s helicopter, boat and Skywalk tour flies the whole way by helicopter from Boulder City, lands on the canyon floor for a 15-minute cruise and then lifts you to the rim for the Skywalk. Both take about seven hours, with hotel transfers included or available as an option.

The flight from the Western Ranch

One more flight in this area starts on a rim, but not at Grand Canyon West. 5 Star Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours flies from the heliport of Grand Canyon Western Ranch, a private ranch near Meadview about 15 miles from Grand Canyon West and, according to the operator, a two-hour drive from Las Vegas. The 20-minute flight crosses Joshua trees, Spirit Mountain and the Grand Wash Cliffs, drops about 1,500 feet below the West Rim, follows the Colorado River and climbs out of Quartermaster Canyon before it returns to the ranch. It does not land in the canyon.

The helicopter seats up to six and needs at least five passengers for a shared flight. Guests over 250 lb buy an extra seat, the flight is not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments, and backpacks and selfie sticks stay on the ground. Arrive 30 minutes early with photo ID and a credit card. Our page on ranches and horseback rides explains what else the ranch offers.

Weight, bags and ID

All passengers are weighed at check-in, and seats are assigned by weight and balance, so a group may not sit together. The weight limits differ by operator (see the questions below), and Grand Canyon West does not publish its own on the package page.

Purses, backpacks and other bags are not allowed on Papillon’s rim flight, and Grand Canyon West has metal detectors at its entrance, so leave large bags in the car. Every passenger aged 18 or over needs government-issued photo ID; Maverick accepts only a REAL ID-compliant driving licence or a passport and turns away photocopies. Changes and cancellations on Maverick flights are possible up to 72 hours before departure.