Alaska Flightseeing Tours
There is something humbling about drifting on the wind hundreds of miles from the nearest human settlement, soaring above the shifting patterns of nature while in the seat of a plane hardly bigger than a car. In Alaska, this may be a common experience, as one in every forty residents is equipped with an aircraft license, but even "common" experiences in Alaska can give grand perspectives.
In a state one-fifth the size of the Lower 48 with less than 10,000 miles of road, flying is a way of life. Air taxis are to Alaska what yellow cabs are to New York and water taxis are to Venice. So much of Alaska is remote, that taking a flight tour, or flightseeing, provides a view of the state that is impossible to get while still on the ground. Anchorage, the nerve center of Alaska with its quarter-million residents, quickly disappears into a sea of wilderness just minutes after take off, and what at first seem like big mountains fast become gargantuan pyramids of rock and snow. The adage, "Fly an hour or walk a week" is never truer than when, minutes out of town, you soar above the massive buttresses of Mt. McKinley or glide over the iceberg-choked waters of Columbia Glacier.
Experience the natural history below you as you watch rivers run from valleys filled with melting glaciers, and fly over young birch and aspen forests which fade into ancient spruce bogs or endless rolling tundra. Beauty takes on a new scale in the air, as you travel not just to get from here to there, but to see every living thing in between. Civilization fades into distant memory as you float over jagged peaks that have never felt the press of a human footprint or spot a bear foraging in the wild.
Some small planes are equipped with floats to land on mountain lakes, remote rivers, or ocean bays. Others deploy skis to land on snowy glaciers. Most flights offer all window seats, pilot narration, and individual headsets. Operators offer set prices for seats on flightseeing trips to popular destinations. You can also charter by the hour for trips to remote wilderness destinations.
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Flightseeing Tours
Homer View All
Icefields & glaciers • Volcanoes
Touring Alaska by helicopter gets you to unimaginably wild and remote places. Some of the most amazing have been scouted by Alaska Ultimate Safaris. Explore a glacier surrounded by snow-capped mountains, or climb to the steaming summit of an island volcano. In either case, the views are unparalleled and the experience is surreal.
Girdwood View All
Glacier dog sled tours • Prince William Sound • Columbia Glacier
There are few things more spectacular than lifting off in a helicopter and soaring over Alaska’s glacier-filled terrain or out across its shimmering waters. Suitable for all ages. Get a taste for helicopter flightseeing on a 30-minute trip into the 20-Mile river valley and the heart of glacier country.
McCarthy-Kennicott View All
Impressive peaks over 16,000 ft • See up to 13 glaciers
If you want to get a true sense of the 13 million acres within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park — which has a mere 100 miles of roadways — start with an aerial view. Since 1992, Wrangell Mountain Air has been offering safe and fascinating tours of this remote kingdom, which boasts North America’s largest assemblage of glaciers as well as its largest collection of peaks above 16,000 feet. Choose from three main tours.
Kenai / Soldotna View All
Glaciers • Volcanoes • Cook Inlet
Natron Air’s owner and only pilot, Tim, can take you flightseeing to some of Alaska’s most beautiful places: the Harding Icefield and Mt. Redoubt Volcano. You can also opt for a bear-viewing tour that includes a beach landing, where you can photograph bears in their natural environment.
Anchorage View All
Prince William Sound • Knik Glacier • Denali (Mt McKinley) • Floatplane tours
Explore Alaska from above with this family-owned company that operates out of Anchorage. Options include flying above Denali, Knik and Colony Glacier, the Chugach Mountains, and more!
Trail Ridge Air offers an on-demand perspective of Alaska’s wilderness, with personable and knowledgeable pilots. Watch for wildlife, check out massive glaciers, alpine lakes, Denali, or even Lake Clark National Park. Trail Ridge accommodates for the busiest of schedules, with flights ranging from one hour to a full day.
Trygg Air offers day trips for walrus viewing from Anchorage as well as King Salmon, in Southwest Alaska. Fly to King Salmon commercially from Anchorage, and then meet Trygg Air for a 90-minute scenic journey along the west side of the Alaska Peninsula to Cape Seniavin to view these 4,000 pound animals that haul out on the beach. Trygg can also fly you out to two other iconic places: Brooks Falls, to see grizzly bears swatting at salmon; and the ...more
Enjoy a bird’s eye view of Alaska’s scenic highlights on a flightseeing tour with Rust’s Flying Service, where every passenger gets a window seat. Tour options include a short 30-minute Anchorage Flightseeing Safari, a flight to Denali, Denali plus a glacier landing, and more. Tours begin at Anchorage’s Lake Hood, the world’s busiest seaplane airport.
For outstanding viewing and incredible access to remote places, there’s nothing like flightseeing by helicopter. Join Alaska Helicopter Tours – a locally-owned, highly-respected helicopter tour and charter company – for excursions that reveal hidden sites just minutes from Anchorage. Spot wildlife from the air, stand on a glacier or land on a remote airstrip.
Take a tour of Denali or to a nearby glacier with experienced pilots who are well-versed in all things Alaska — from the terrain to the history and wildlife — and who love to entertain guests
There are few things more spectacular than lifting off in a helicopter and soaring over Alaska’s glacier-filled terrain or out across its shimmering waters. Suitable for all ages. Get a taste for helicopter flightseeing on a 30-minute trip into the 20-Mile river valley and the heart of glacier country.
Denali National Park View All
Denali • Land on a glacier • Summit tours
A lot of people swear to it: the best way to see Alaska is from an airplane, and there may indeed be no better way to get close to the face of Denali. This one-of-a-kind flightseeing operator makes it easy to see up close to the Great One without spending a great deal of time.
This is the only flightseeing company with an airstrip in Kantishna, inside Denali National Park. Because you depart so much closer to the mountain than other tours, in a one-hour flight, you’ll get 40 minutes circling the mountain. You may also combine a one-way park road bus tour with a Denali flightseeing tour for an incredible overview of the park.
Fly Denali is the only company north of the Alaska Range with a permit to land on glaciers inside Denali National Park. The result is a world-class flight-seeing trip, with landings on Denali’s glaciers.
Go flightseeing over Denali National Park in a very unique way: via helicopter. Lift off on a 50-minute flight —landing the helicopter on a glacier, putting on special boots, and going for a walk on the frozen landscape to get an up-close look at it. Or, visit Bus 142, made famous by adventurer Christopher McCandless. Flightseeing in a helicopter is much different from in a plane — learn all the benefits of this great way of checking out the ...more
Denali Air flights see the majestic mountain a whopping 90% of the time, thanks to the company’s experienced pilots and its location just outside the park. And, everyone is guaranteed a window seat. Listen to your pilot narrate while you enjoy the views.
Talkeetna View All
Denali (Mt. McKinley) • Land on a glacier
Locally known as “The Glacier Landing Company,” TAT has been flying climbers and sightseers to the Alaska Range and Denali since 1947. Talkeetna Air Taxi features a custom-designed fleet of planes, a dedicated customer service team, and a variety of tours for every budget.
While you may never join the ranks of climbers who have summited Denali, an up-close view of North America’s tallest peak can still be yours. K2 Aviation offers once-in-a-lifetime flightseeing tours among and above the Alaska Range. Add a glacier landing to get a sense of how immense these peaks really are.
Juneau View All
Glacier dog sled tours • Fly to a secluded lodge • Glacier landings
Northstar Trekking operates out of Juneau and caters to all styles of exploration. The curious glacier observer can simply fly to the glacier and snap photographs from flat or rolling terrain. You can also choose to hike on the glacier itself. If you’re very adventurous, you can even learn how to climb on the ice walls. No matter which option you choose, NorthStar Trekking will guide you all the way, making sure you get the most out of this ...more
Go with Wings Airways and you’ll take off from Juneau in a 10-passenger DeHavilland Otter floatplane and get a lush view of the city as well as the surrounding mountains and ice fields. Opt for a 40-minute flight seeing tour, or book the “Flight and Feast Tour,” which takes you to dine at a 1920’s lodge.
A tour aboard a TEMSCO helicopter offers beautiful views of Alaska’s Capital City, and up-close exploration of Mendenhall, one of the state’s most accessible glaciers. Look out on alpine lakes, moraines, and crevasses before you land and check out the Juneau Icefield for yourself.
Delta Junction View All
Fly over the Alaska Range
Experience the thrill of flightseeing in areas that most tours can’t reach. Go with Golden Eagle Outfitters and enjoy fully customized flightseeing tours from Kotzebue or Delta Junction — or take advantage of their air-taxi drop-off and pickup service to access some of the most beautiful and remote parts of Alaska.
Kotzebue View All
Fly into the most remote parks in Alaska
Experience the thrill of flightseeing in areas that most tours can’t reach. Go with Golden Eagle Outfitters and enjoy fully customized flightseeing tours from Kotzebue or Delta Junction — or take advantage of their air-taxi drop-off and pickup service to access some of the most beautiful and remote parts of Alaska.
Skagway View All
Chilkat Glacier • Towering mountain peaks
Taking a TEMSCO helicopter tour shows off the Gold Rush lands around Skagway in a new light, revealing gorgeous, glacier-filled valleys, tumbling waterfalls and peak after icy peak at the north end of the Juneau Icefield. Then land on a remote glacier for an exciting guided journey on ice that was formed thousands of years ago!
Tok View All
Glacier landings • Wrangell St. Elias National Park • Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
Alaska’s eastern interior promises high adventure in an area relatively few visitors explore. Fly with Tok Air Service into this jaw-dropping wonderland to visit National Parks and Wildlife Refuges: Wrangell-St. Elias, Tetlin, and Yukon-Charley Rivers. Land on a remote glacier, see dramatic mountains up close, and watch for grizzlies, sheep, moose and caribou.
Ketchikan View All
Visit Misty Fjords National Monument
Get a thrilling, bird’s‑eye view of Alaska’s snow-capped peaks, mountain lakes, waterfalls, and more on an unforgettable helicopter flightseeing tour from Ketchikan.
Fly through dramatically beautiful landscapes in a DeHavilland floatplane for an iconic Alaskan experience. In this 2‑hour adventure, you’ll visit Misty Fjords National Monument, where glaciers carved out the land 17,000 years ago. See an untouched world of deep fjords, lush green forest and sparkling lakes. Experience a water landing and venture out onto the floats to take in the beauty – and peacefulness – of remote Alaska.
Seward View All
Glacier landings • Fjords • Glacier dog sledding
Start with a dramatic flightseeing trip in either a helicopter or ski plane and then get out onto an ancient river of ice for a thrilling glacier exploration either hiking or climbing.
Go flightseeing in a helicopter out of scenic Seward and enjoy unforgettable views of the Kenai Mountain Range, Resurrection Bay, and gorgeous glaciers. Choose from a 30-minute, 45-minute, or 1‑hour long tour. And, add a glacier landing to any of them!
The port city of Seward is a classic stop on any Alaska itinerary, thanks to its proximity to Chugach National Forest and Kenai Fjords National Park. But it’s also one of the more diverse places to fly. This tour operator offers stunning birds-eye views of the area’s alpine meadows, glaciers and fjords, as well as the chance to touch down, explore the terrain and even meet sled dogs.