Alaska not only covers an incredibly large amount of land — typical travelers don’t have any understanding of how big it is — but, not surprisingly, is one of the most popular perennial destinations for group cruises and tours. Yet the vast majority of the 49th state’s awe-inspiring scenery is accessible neither by highway nor water, but only from the air.
For example, for all intents and purposes, if you want to visit more than half of the 16 units administered there by our National Park Service, you’ll have no choice other than to travel by air. As a consequence, those who fail to include a flightseeing tour or two along with their cruise or tour of the “Great Land” are unquestionably missing out on a substantial portion of the total visitor experience available, as well as some of Alaska’s most amazing sights.
As a veteran of more than a dozen Alaskan air excursions aboard helicopters, floatplanes and bush planes, I’m confident that a flightseeing trip will become one of the most cherished memories of your Alaskan vacation. No, such adventures are not inexpensive; yet neither is a trip to Alaska in the first place, so you’ll already have a significant investment you’ll want to maximize by taking advantage of optional sightseeing opportunities that can make the difference between a good trip and one you’ll recall fondly for the rest of your life. Following are a few ideas to whet your appetite.
During Inside Passage cruises, flightseeing is available in a number of ports. Floatplane tours to Misty Fjords National and bear-viewing trips are available from a number of operators. In Juneau, Temsco Helicopters offers flights that feature Mendenhall Glacier and Pilot’s Choice glacier trips; the company also offers a Glacier Discovery tour in Skagway, as well as trips from Petersburg to Patterson Glacier and to the Stikine Icefields and LeConte Glacier. Also in Juneau, Era Helicopters provides flights that feature the Taku Glacier; the Juneau Icefields, a particular favorite of mine; and glacier dogsledding.
Don’t be discouraged if the specific vessel on which you are cruising is “sold out” of a particular flightseeing adventure. It is sold out only of its allotment of space, and every provider holds back a number of seats for its direct customers; so just find the company’s booth on or near the cruise pier as soon as your ship arrives.
Should you be taking a land tour that brings you to the Denali National Park area, you’ll have an opportunity, weather permitting, to see the highest peak in North America — towering 20,320-foot Denali — from the air. Numerous operators offer spectacular flights from the park area itself, as well as from Fairbanks, Talkeetna, even Anchorage.
Operating from Anchorage’s bustling Lake Hood seaplane facility, the highly respected Rust’s Flying Service offers a wide variety of popular floatplane trips to Denali, Knik Glacier and Prince William Sound’s numerous glaciers, as well as fishing trips, dogsledding and kayaking adventures. However, Rust’s is probably best known for splendid bear-viewing adventures to Redoubt Bay Lodge throughout the summer, Katmai National Park in July and Lake Clark National Park in August and September.
If your tastes, like mine, run to exploring the most exotic locales, the National Park Service maintains lists, available online, of approved air operators for chartering an aircraft to get you to all the remote parks, national monuments and preserves. Last summer, I particularly enjoyed seeing Aniakchak National Monument, a park that fewer people visit each year than climb Mount Everest, aboard a Katmai Air seaplane from King Salmon. Then, equally awesome, was flying through beautiful weather with the fascinating commentary of Mallen Air’s genial owner, Mike Allen, on a small but “historic” Cessna bush plane — the airframe was built in 1953, and the engine and wings dated from the early 1960s — from Fairbanks to magnificent Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. If you can, don’t miss out on enjoying a similar experience.
