Grand Canyon Cowboy Experience

The Grand Canyon Cowboy Experience (formerly the Grand Canyon North Air Ground Tour) flies you to Bar 10 Ranch, a remote working cattle ranch on the north side of the Grand Canyon, away from the crowds. A Twin Otter Vistaliner or Cessna Caravan leaves Papillon’s air terminal in Boulder City and crosses the Mojave Desert, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Colorado River: about 90 minutes of flying in all.

At the ranch a guide takes you through Whitmore Canyon in a Polaris Ranger, into the Lake Mead Recreation Area and out to the rim of the Grand Canyon, where the cliffs drop more than half a mile. Back at the ranch you can tour the old ranch house, meet and feed a horse, watch a lasso demonstration and look over the covered wagons, and a homemade barbecue lunch waits before the flight home.

Count about 7½ to 8 hours from hotel pickup to drop-off. Transport from a limited list of Strip and Downtown hotels is part of the tour, or you can drive to Boulder City yourself.

The tour runs only from April 1 to November 16, and not on Saturdays or Sundays in November.

There is also an ATV version, with your own single-rider ATV on a guided 4x4 trail: riders must be 16 or older with a valid driver’s license and wear boots or sturdy closed shoes.

Everyone 18 and over needs an original REAL ID-compliant license or a passport; without one, Papillon refuses check-in and refunds no one in the booking.

Check in 45 minutes before flight time, or the booking is cancelled as a no-show. Changes are free until 72 hours before departure. Cancelling by then gets you a credit voucher for the full price, good for a year, not a refund; inside 72 hours, no changes or refunds. Reconfirm by phone a day or two ahead.

From 300 pounds, you pay for an extra comfort seat at check-in. Children 2 to 11 have their own fare, and under-2s fly free on a lap.