A friend asked me after our last trip to Las Vegas if there was a local helicopter flight to the Hoover Dam. His dad worked on it in the 1930s, and he wanted to take his family to see it from the air in all of its glory.

There are dozens of helicopter flights out of Las Vegas every day and night. Not many go only to Hoover Dam, a short 20-minute hop from the famed Strip. Many fly several hundred miles from their Vegas bases to as far away as Arizona’s Grand Canyon and Utah’s Bryce Canyon.

Additionally, more inclusive helicopter flights are combinations of several attractions, lasting anywhere from two hours to several days. Some offer such special services as intimate formal dinners for lovers, champagne weddings in the air, overnight camping, horseback riding experiences and dozens of other choices.

To narrow the selection down to Hoover Dam only flights, I’ve selected one that features mostly just a hovering, non-stop visit to the massive structure and then return to Las Vegas. The dam is not only famous for its huge size and enormous power that serves cities and farms throughout the West. When it was built in the 1930s, Hoover Dam and its thousands of fun-seeking workers also created the Las Vegas of today.

The Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam Twilight Helicopter Tour includes limosine service from passengers’ hotels to McCarran Airport, where they board the helicoptor for the two-hour flight. The trip takes in aerial views of the Dam and its Lake Mead surroundings. On the return flight, usually at dusk, the chopper lingers over the famed Strip and downtown Vegas as nightfall brings on the millions of brilliant lights. The list price is $219.99. Code: 2280TWILIGHT.

As with everything else in Vegas, you don’t always need to pay list price for the tourist helcopter flights. Check with your hotel desk for discounts, as well as dollars-off coupons offered in hotel room magazines.