Local pilot will give you a ride over eastern Idaho in a helicopter

Garrett McGroarty is nan aviator and circuit guideline astatine Idaho Extreme Adventures, which provides chopper tours of portion of eastbound Idaho. See what nan chopper looks for illustration successful nan video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com

ST. ANTHONY – Garrett McGroarty loves seeing nan sunset complete nan St. Anthony Sand Dunes and nan Tetons from nan cockpit of his three-passenger Robinson R42 Raven helicopter.

The 20-year-old St. Anthony man is nan aviator and circuit guideline for Idaho Extreme Adventures, a institution that provides chopper tours from Rexburg to nan separator of Island Park. The hangar and pad are adjacent nan soil dunes astatine 1695 East 500 North successful St. Anthony.

The tours are unfastened to anyone, including farmers who want to spot an aerial position of their land.

“We’ll alert them complete hundreds aliases thousands of acres and fto them spot their cattle from supra aliases spot really their crops are growing,” McGroarty tells EastIdahoNews.com.

One of nan astir celebrated tours gives passengers an aerial position of nan Rexburg Temple.

The business launched successful April 2023 and past summer, McGroarty says he provided tours for astir 450 people.

EastIdahoNews.com met McGroarty astatine nan hangar for a look inside, which you tin watch successful nan video above.

The business is adjacent to Idaho Dunes RV, an RV parkland adjacent nan soil dunes his family besides owns.

McGroarty sewage nan thought for Idaho Extreme Adventures during nan COVID-19 pandemic. He was a sophomore successful precocious schoolhouse astatine nan clip and everything was unopen down. As a result, it was a “rare opportunity” for McGroarty to return a difficult look astatine what he wanted to do pinch his life.

“With immoderate of nan biggest soil dunes successful nan country, nan Tetons, Island Park, West Yellowstone — location was nary chopper circuit companies successful nan St. Anthony area and truthful we figured it would beryllium a awesome career,” McGroarty says.

McGroarty sewage his commencement flying helicopters astir 3 years agone while attending Idaho State University. At this point, he’s astir a twelvemonth distant from graduating and he’s thrilled to beryllium doing thing he loves.

He has fond memories of taking a thrust successful a chopper arsenic a young boy. An worker astatine Air Idaho Rescue successful Idaho Falls is adjacent friends pinch his family and they’d often springiness him rides.

“Flying different tours, different places each complete nan state made maine recognize really overmuch I emotion flying and I felt for illustration I could situation myself and get my ain license,” says McGroarty.

Currently, nan tours are confined to a 25-mile radius astir nan chopper pad astatine nan St. Anthony hangar. But McGroarty is successful nan process of getting nan Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator certification, which will let him to alert greater distances.

He’s hoping to supply flights to neighboring states successful nan adjacent future.

The introduction level formation gives passengers a chopper dune tour, which covers each nan soil dunes, including immoderate hidden ones, arsenic good arsenic Devil’s Dune, Thunder Mountain and Egin Lake. It starts astatine $140 per person. The value goes up, depending connected nan magnitude of nan flight.

To schedule a circuit aliases study more, telephone (208) 243-9554 aliases email info@idahoextremeadventures.com. You tin besides visit nan website.