Top Rapid City Helicopter Tours: Reviews & Recommendations
Thinking about seeing Rapid City from up high? Like, way up high? Very, very close, an overhead trip gives you, like your one and only, a whole different way to check out the sights. That’s it; getting above it all truly offers, like, a new appreciation for the Black Hills and surrounding landscapes. This guide goes through some of the best helicopter tour outfits in the Rapid City zone, so you, that one special reader, get to pick the thing that suits you very well.
1. Black Hills Aerial Adventures
If you’re searching for an experience that is both breathtaking and fairly informative, Black Hills Aerial Adventures, well, they might be it. They’re really known for their trained pilots and a number of tours to choose from. Anyway, folks especially give high marks for the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse tours.
What To Expect: Black Hills Aerial Adventures is almost famous for giving tours that fly past some of the most famous, very monumental sights of the Black Hills. As I was saying, tours regularly cover the wonderful Mount Rushmore, the extremely astonishing Crazy Horse Memorial, and the jagged peaks of the Needles Highway.
Tour Options:
- Mount Rushmore Tour: See the memorial carved into the stone face from above; this tour is rather quick but packs a solid, respectable sight.
- Crazy Horse Memorial Tour: Watch the progress on what’s planned to be the largest sculpture that anyone could conceive of, very viewed like your helicopter.
- Black Hills Scenic Tour: Enjoy, basically, an all-round peek at the area’s natural magnificence; pretty grand gulches, very heavy, verdant woodlands, and maybe even, actually, wildlife.
Why it’s Popular: You, honestly, cannot beat getting a view of these things. Like, they’re historical statues, monuments, or things such as historical statues that were carefully considered with deep meaning. As a matter of fact, lots of visitors, and possibly the person reading this, consider that it’s worth going on their own, especially if it is their first visit. It’s just, kinda, what you do.
Cost: Rates could be anywhere around $150-$300 per person, typically. So, tours tend to change dependent on trip distance and tour features.
Read our full review: Black Hills Aerial Adventures Full Review and Details See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Here)
2. Badlands Helicopter Tours
That’s it, to see the Badlands in all of their splendor, Badlands Helicopter Tours supplies you, only you, unmatched vantage points. If you wish, they take off out of Wall, South Dakota, so, too it’s almost very handy for those coming to see Wall Drug. This makes this particular choice really different, because, honestly, a number of the other tour operators are right next to Rapid City. This offers, very well, views just in the Badlands, which, you know, offers different features that most don’t see.
What to Expect: Think colorful buttes, heavy rock formations, gullies— stuff like you will definitely take photos of. Like, really. They typically, possibly only, cover, actually, parts that could be difficult or just not easy to get to from land. Tours commonly are paired with, like, the rising or setting sun to supply a much grander impact when seen.
Tour Options:
- Badlands Basic Tour: Basically, that tour could be a good, quick, intro. A good flight is kind of about ten or fifteen minutes and kinda does a speedy overview.
- Badlands Extended Tour: More or less the extended version runs maybe about, alright, 30 minutes and reaches into more remote parts plus, also, more photographic sights to catch some views of.
Why It’s Popular: Just, almost everyone feels excited seeing it, actually, seeing these odd landscapes from above, so maybe, well, this choice would be right. Honestly, getting a special flight helps see features usually passed up or kinda hard for any normal traveler passing through to fully know.
Cost: Price could vary from $99 up to almost, you know, $250 determined on the amount of the journey.
Read our full review: Badlands Helicopter Tours Full Review and Details See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Here)
3. Rushmore Helicopters
Just as their namesake recommends, Rushmore Helicopters is basically placed super close, almost hugging, Mount Rushmore, just to highlight those landmarks. Still, Rushmore Helicopters aims just right to, like your liking, put you near a flight really dedicated around historical stuff like Mount Rushmore, obviously. Because they center at the statue, basically, you can easily slot one right in with trips you plan on your visits already.
What to Expect: Count on, in fact, taking those high-res souvenir images from right near Mount Rushmore. In other words, almost always flights follow really established tracks to deliver optimum looks at not just the sculpture itself, like your best friend’s look, but actually, that hill’s larger, fantastic profile.
Tour Options:
- Mount Rushmore Aerial Tour: By the way, this tour supplies fast round trips specifically hovering close over that sculpture.
- Extended Black Hills Tour: Well, this tour offers just a longer peek round area sights; you could pick stuff such as just round by places just somewhat close.
Why it’s Popular: Right, I mean almost everyone gets to, obviously, go check Mount Rushmore from way up above; I see people coming and going all the time to, definitely, visit their skies there, and that feels worth everything because just few see this sight, if you know. Right, it’s just that monument from a wholly diverse setting, which, I swear, offers those crazy unique angles for pictures; you could easily make the trip one memorable, so to speak, one.
Cost: It is safe to budget in around $120-$280 approximately depending largely if planning on some shorter view over Rushmore maybe, instead of taking those, well, deeper broader region flights maybe.
Read our full review: Rushmore Helicopters Full Review and Details See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Here)
4. Central States Helicopter Tours
Anyway, based, actually, straight out Rapid City Regional Airport so actually you would guess by them where Central States Helicopters does most service, well, probably just those trips just through both local along larger parts across South Dakota, to get a very good round-tour feeling from most, or possibly, any landmarks locally, typically the ones going through state zones somewhere far past here.
What to Expect: The thing tends to be you will get all scenic trips through state coupled coupled plus customized air-charters, typically aimed basically so locals coupled or state folks who fly over a certain section within, and get just quick tours.
Tour Options:
- Black Hills Grand Tour: Clearly, trips going over all of those areas most would know; also watch wildlife or various attractions like geologic aspects through regions too few, like you said.
- Custom Air Charter Services: We can simply set plans just by requests if trying just for dropping points during specified times; basically people seek quick personal solutions through South Dakota if they have stuff for.
Why it’s Popular: Just what they do covers way further sections past tourist spots basically or basically serves individual requests specifically thus these guys basically feel very suited towards clients trying both flexibility including comprehensive lookarounds mostly all over bigger area.
Cost: Honestly rates could simply range drastically and start higher sometimes for reasons just for flight times basically as such that come out through tailor services plus customized path planning instead those presets basically; talk through the operators mostly to have customized figures done appropriately well so they could suit, so you can pick it.
Read our full review: Central States Helicopter Tours Full Review and Details See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Here)
5. Monument Helicopters
Anyway just over at Keystone close by to, obviously, Mount Rushmore so typically you know monument helicopters concentrates those flybys centered close by notable icons; so like other iconic trips around town thus this delivers a great trip in fact.
What to Expect: Expect to almost know just about everything around all main travel waypoints to just Mount Rushmore so like just scenic areas or different cool sights so like if that sounds neat try booking that soon!
Tour Options:
- Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Combo: Expect them so check two spots just quickly while traveling high!
- Black Hills Sampler Tour: Get different pieces of areas as a single big bundle quickly.
Why it’s Popular: Because tourists that plan many stops think this so sounds really great because both combined fly options provide many views basically instead traveling further sections somewhere away, like you told, from locations to places.
Cost: Plan somewhere almost about $180- $320 basically that is if those travels encompass, so maybe both combined park travels together will sum costs around higher.
Read our full review: Monument Helicopters Full Review and Details See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Here)
Quick Points To Know
- Look around a little first.: Check prices for different trips or options to kinda save just cash.
- Weather changes lots!: I mean those good to make early weather plans through regions will go often, usually quickly mostly on, almost anything going soon actually!
- Booking those flytimes often first is wise: Usually fly services happen basically due demand, right, so plan earlier during better trip selection runs because everything may soon.
- Look what’s included from service: Services from travels almost all vary between certain additional points, right that some include recordings from sky mostly that some others won’t ever, so inspect all those.
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Click to explore)