Aerial Tours of the Grand Canyon | A Bird’s eye View

You can drive to many scenic vistas within Grand Canyon National Park, or reach the spectacular overlooks in a tour bus.
Perhaps you will also hike through parts of the Grand Canyon, take a mule ride into the

canyon’s interior, or raft down the Colorado River as it carves its way through the canyon.
These are all interesting ways to see one of the greatest natural attractions in the world, but there is only one option to experience Grand Canyon National Park with a bird’s eye view – an aerial tour.

Several companies offer helicopter tours and airplane flights over the Grand Canyon, providing a remarkable vantage point. All scenic air tours of Grand Canyon are based outside of Grand Canyon National Park.

Many helicopter tours and scenic airplane tours start south of Grand Canyon’s South Rim, at the airport in Tusayan, Arizona. Scenic flight tours also originate in Las Vegas, Phoenix and other cities in the greater Grand Canyon region.

Some helicopter tour companies include Grand Canyon Helicopters (www.grandcanyonhelicoptersaz.com), Papillion Grand Canyon Helicopters (www.papillon.com) and Maverick Helicopter Tours (www.maverickhelicopter.com).
Most airplane tours over the Grand Canyon start at the airport in Tusayan.

Other scenic airplane flights are available out of Las Vegas and Phoenix among other airports. Some companies that offer airplane tours of the Grand Canyon include Grand Canyon Airlines (www.grandcanyonairlines.com) and Westwind Scenic Air Tours (www.westwindairservice.com).

Before venturing on your Grand Canyon exploration, an ideal starting point is the Visitor Center, which is located at the south rim entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. The visitor center serves as a destination and a resource for the most comprehensive selection of information about Grand Canyon area hotels, tours, attractions, restaurants and sightseeing and outdoor activities.
The Visitor Center features a 500-seat IMAX Theater which shows “Grand Canyon: Rivers of Time,” a 2,500-square-foot outfitter store, exhibits and maps, and national park interpretive services and park passes. The facility also includes a 140-seat restaurant, Expeditions sightseeing tours and the Arizona Office of Tourism.