Las Vegas Weekly

September 1, 2010 · 2:02 PM

Helicopter Photos, Part 2: Eagle Point Skywalk at Grand Canyon West

By Robin Leach

An aerial tour of the Grand Canyon.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Tourists who travel to Las Vegas now have the unique opportunity of witnessing one of the world’s truly unique wonders thanks to the Hualapai Indian Tribe, and Maverick Helicopters now makes the 130-mile journey to the amazing Skywalk lookout at Eagle Point, Grand Canyon West, a smooth and easy 45-minute ride.

As you can see from the unique photo gallery courtesy of Grand Canyon West, it is truly spectacular -- and, simply put, takes your breath away. Bryan Kroten, director of marketing for the Maverick Aviation Group, told me: “This is the very first time that photographs from our helicopter flight have been taken.”

The Skywalk is a true engineering marvel, a glass-floored cantilevered structure that spans 70 feet in length 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. (To give you a sense of that height, it would be as if three Stratospheres were placed atop one another.)

Although completed in March 2007, this is the first time that Las Vegas-headquartered Maverick has been granted permission by the tribe after months of negotiated specific flight paths to fly over and around the hallowed ground.

It is named Eagle Point because on the ridge directly facing the Skywalk, there is a slight dip in the center where the rock formation clearly shows the head of an eagle with outstretched wings as if preparing for flight. Behind the Skywalk is Guano Point, where tourists can walk out to experience another breathtaking overall view of the Grand Canyon.

Our sincere thanks to the Hualapai Indian Tribe for giving permission and access to Vegas DeLuxe for these magnificent photographs. The Hualapai Indian Tribe oversees all photographic images to retain respect for their sacred grounds. The Hualapai, meaning “People of the Tall Pines,” are native people of the Southwest. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they inhabited an area of more than 5 million acres. Their homeland stretched from the Grand Canyon southward to the Santa Maria River and from the Black Mountains eastward to the pine forests of the San Francisco peaks.

Today, the Hualapai Indian Reservation, created in 1883, is nearly 1 million acres, including 108 miles of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon. There are approximately 2,100 enrolled members of the Hualapai Tribe, and nearly half live in Peach Springs, the capital of the Hualapai Indian Reservation on Historic Route 66.

Maverick Helicopters and Maverick Airlines now offer various options to Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk. The most popular is the new Skywalk Odyssey and features a round-trip helicopter excursion, private ground transportation, VIP expedited admission to the Skywalk and a souvenir photo. For more information, go to FlyMaverick.com.

Grand Canyon Resort Corp., which is owned and operated by the Hualapai Nation, manages Grand Canyon West, Hualapai River Runners (whitewater rafting) and the Hualapai Lodge. Grand Canyon West is a collection of viewpoints and attractions spread over 9,000 acres of the Grand Canyon’s West Rim in Northwest Arizona 120 miles east of Las Vegas. Grand Canyon West is the only place in the canyon where visitors can access a boat ride on the Colorado River via helicopter and is home to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

The site attractions are Guano Point, with panoramic canyon views and the historic Guano mine tram; Eagle Point, the location of the Grand Canyon Skywalk; the Native American Village with authentic dwellings of multiple tribes and live Native American performances; and The Hualapai Ranch, a western town with cowboy entertainment, horseback riding, wagon rides and overnight cabins facing the canyon rim.

The Hualapai Lodge on Historic Route 66 and Grand Canyon West are open daily 365 days a year. Hualapai River Runners, the only one-day whitewater raft trip through the Grand Canyon, operates March through October. Visitors can view a complete list of activities at HualapaiTourism.com.

Contributing photographer Tom Donoghue commented: “I’m not sure I took a deep breath the entire time I was looking through the lens. These were rare, special moments. I have never seen that kind of beauty or heard that kind of silence. The feeling I came away with from the entire experience is one to remember for a lifetime. It’s riveting to the soul.”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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