If you’re visiting Alaska, specifically Denali, then you need to see the mountain, mountain range, glaciers, and wilderness from the air. Denali helicopter and flightseeing tours are a once-in-a-lifetime experience! We went on a Denali flightseeing tour by plane during our Alaska travel with kids and we can definitely say it’s one of the most unforgettable experiences we’ve had!
Yes, we also did a helicopter tour with dogsledding in Knik Glacier (this kind of tour is not available in Denali) and a bus tour of Denali National Park. They’re both awesome tours but what made our Denali flightseeing tour special was seeing the majestic Denali up close and landing on Ruth Glacier. It may be expensive but it’s totally worth it.
Here are some photos we took while on air and when we landed on the glacier:
Breathtaking, right? It’s like landing on a different planet. Now, before you even ask if you should take the glacier landing option, here’s my quick answer: duh, yeah!
Why Visit Denali?
What’s the big deal about Denali anyway? Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, is the highest summit in North America at a staggering 20,310 feet (6,190 meters). The name Denali comes from a Koyukon Athabascan word meaning “The High One.” Even from afar, Denali’s snow-capped peak and its surrounding glaciers are a breathtaking sight. It’s a symbol of Alaska’s natural beauty and a powerful force of nature. And up close? Now that’s a one-of-a-kind experience!
Helicopter vs. Plane
So, if you’re searching for Denali helicopter and flightseeing tours, you might wonder which kind of tour to take. In a gist:
- Do a helicopter tour if you want it a little more exclusive (since not a lot of passengers can fit in a helicopter) and more exhilarating with twists and turns and ups and downs during your flight (our pilot turned the helicopter on its side at one point!).
- Do a small plane flightseeing tour if you’re budget (it’s still expensive but not as expensive as a helicopter tour), you’re in a big group (10 passengers are typical), or want a generally smoother ride.
Choosing the Right Tour
Once you decide what type of tour to take, consider the following factors:
- Duration: Do you prefer a short tour or a more in-depth exploration? Tours range from an hour to five hours.
- Inclusions: Are you interested in seeing Denali and the mountain range or explore Denali National Park? Do you want a glacier landing? Are hotel pick-up and drop-off important? Knowing your priorities helps narrow down your options.
- Point of origin: Some flights start from Anchorage and others from Talkeetna. For us, flying from Talkeetna, which is closer to Denali, makes more sense as you’ll almost immediately see the mountain range and glaciers.
- Budget: Helicopter tours are typically more expensive but offer unmatched proximity. Flightseeing tours provide excellent value for a breathtaking experience.
- Travel with kids: Many tours cater to families with shorter durations and child-friendly considerations. Some offer discounts for kids.
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Best Denali Helicopter Tours
Helicopter Flight with Glacier Landing
Want a helicopter flightseeing tour, see the wildlife and the wilderness of the Denali National Park, and land on a glacier? This tour offers a mix of everything without taking too much of your time.
Pros:
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What I like about this Denali Glacier Landing Helicopter Ride is you get a mix of everything. You get to ride a helicopter, see Denali National Park from above, and land on a glacier. The actual flight is almost an hour so that by itself is worth the money. And 15-20 minutes on a glacier should be enough to soak in the atmosphere.
Now, Yanert Glacier is not part of Denali but is part of the Alaska Range. You won’t see Denali the mountain itself and its neighboring mountains and glaciers. But if that doesn’t matter much to you (a glacier is a glacier, right?), then this would be a great tour for your family.
Tour Features:
- Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Denali National Park and follows a scenic route over the park’s stunning landscapes, with a highlight glacier landing experience. After the landing, return to the starting point via helicopter.
- Group Size: 6 passengers
- Inclusions: Round-trip transportation from select Denali area hotels, helicopter flight, glacier landing experience, glacier overboots, and experienced pilot/guide.
- Operator: TEMSCO Helicopters Inc.
- Cost: $603.14 per person
Heli Hiking Adventure
If you love nature, particularly wildlife, then this tour, which combines helicopter flightseeing with hiking is for you. You won’t see glaciers but you’ll see Denali National Park on air and on foot, offering a different experience.
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Exploring Denali National Park on air and on foot offers a whole new perspective with this thrilling Helicopter and Hike Adventure. This immersive tour offers a unique opportunity to explore the rugged wilderness of Alaska’s most iconic national park, combining the excitement of a helicopter flight with the serenity of a guided hike through pristine landscapes.
If you and your kids are more into wildlife and game for a wilderness adventure and not so much on seeing glaciers up close (or if you’ve already done this kind of tour), this is a great option for you. But personally, I’d rather take the bus tour inside Denali National Park and take a flightseeing tour with glacier landing. Just that’s me.
Tour Features:
- Duration: 5 hours
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Denali National Park and follows a scenic route over the park’s stunning landscapes, with a highlight glacier landing experience. After the landing, return to the starting point via helicopter.
- Group Size: 10 passengers.
- Inclusions: Round-trip transportation from select Denali area hotels, helicopter flight, glacier landing experience, and experienced pilot/guide.
- Operator: TEMSCO Helicopters Inc.
- Cost: $528.95 per person
Best Denali Airplane Flightseeing Tours
Denali Experience
If you have young kids, a short tour is best. And this not only fits the bill in terms of tour duration. You also can get a $50 discount for children 12 years and below from this family-friendly tour operator.
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This Denali Experience Flightseeing Tour promises a bird’s-eye view of some of Alaska’s most iconic natural wonders, offering an unparalleled perspective of the rugged terrain and towering peaks that define this remarkable region. You get close enough to Denali’s summit (6 miles) and you get to see Ruth Amphitheater, the Great Gorge, Tokositna and Ruth Glaciers, the sharp ridges of Mount Huntington, the hanging glaciers clinging to Mount Hunter, and the famous Moose’s Tooth. Glacier landing is optional.
Here’s the flight route (from K2’s website):
The operator, K2 Aviation, is family-run and family-friendly. Children from 3 to 12 years old get $50 off while those 2 years old and younger get a 50% discount (on the other hand, consider taking your kids when they’re already a bit older). But the Denali National Park fee is already priced in. The small plane flies at a lower altitude, so your kids experience less discomfort with changes in pressure. The south side of Denali is also usually calm and less bumpy. Plus, K2 has playground with a miniature cabin, lawn games, a playhouse, and full-sized swings to keep your kids occupied while waiting for the flight.
Tour Features:
- Duration: 1 hour
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Talkeetna and follows a scenic route over the Alaska Range, with highlight views of Denali, before returning to the starting point.
- Group Size: 10 passengers
- Inclusions: Small plane flight, Denali National Park fee, loaner sunglasses, and professional pilot/guide.
- Tour operator: K2 Aviation
- Cost: $335.13 per person
Denali Flyer
There are many landing sites around Denali but this tour lands only on the massive Ruth Glacier, which is closest to Denali’s base and near Ruth Amphitheater, a dramatic U-shaped valley carved by glacial movement.
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This Denali Flyer Tour is K2 Aviation’s most popular tour, and the one we took. This is a great balance between the shorter Denali Experience Tour and longer and more expensive Denali Grand Tour, where you all sides of Denali. Aside from the south side, you’ll also see the stunning views of the 45-mile-long Kahiltna Glacier (the longest in Denali National Park), Little Switzerland, the Kahiltna Base Camp, Mount Foraker, Mount Hunter, Moose’s and Bear’s Tooth, Ruth Glacier, and the Great Gorge. That’s a lot to take in.
The flight route (from K2’s website), as you can see below, is longer:
And of course, you get to land on the magnificent Ruth Glacier, which gives you the feeling of landing on another planet. It’s long and massive, stretching for about 40 miles (64 km) in length and reaching a width of up to 6 miles (10 km) in some areas. Because it’s near Denali’s base, standing on Ruth Glacier allows you to appreciate Denali’s scale and grandeur from a truly unique perspective.
Tour Features:
- Duration: Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Talkeetna and follows a scenic route over the Talkeetna Mountains and Denali, with highlight views of the mountain and surrounding glaciers, plus landing on Ruth Glacier. After the flight, return to the starting point.
- Group Size: 10 passengers
- Inclusions: Small plane flight, Denali National Park fee, loaner sunglasses, and professional pilot/guide.
- Tour operator: K2 Aviation
- Cost: $543.89 per person
Denali Southside Explorer
Let’s face it: all Denali flightseeing tours are expensive. However, if you want the experience but want to keep your cost down, this tour offers great value for money.
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This Denali Southside Tour is Talkeetna Air Taxi’s (TAT) counterpart to K2 Aviation’s Denali Experience Tour. They have practically the same route with optional glacier landing, except TAT has the concession to land on any glacier landing site, depending on weather conditions. This means they may or may not land on Ruth Glacier, which has pros and cons to it.
The flight route (from TAT’s website) is similar to K2’s:
Price-wise, TAT is a better deal as (a) the base price is lower, (b) the 30% discount is better than K2’s $50 discount, and (c) babies are not charged. The add-on for the glacier landing is priced lower. And even if you add the $15 Denali National Park fee, TAT is still cheaper.
Tour Features:
- Duration: 1 hour (w/o glacier landing), 1.5 hours (w/ glacier landing)
- Itinerary: The tour begins with a scenic flight over Talkeetna and its surroundings, with the option to add a glacier landing experience. After the flight, return to the starting point.
- Group Size: 10 passengers
- Inclusions: Round-trip transportation from select Talkeetna hotels and professional pilot/guide.
- Tour operator: Talkeetna Air Taxi
- Cost: $276.20 per person ($397.80 w/ glacier landing)
Denali Mountain Voyager
Longer flight, more sights, an optional glacier landing for a very reasonable price, this tour is really a fantastic deal that’s almost a no-brainer.
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This Denali Mountain Voyager Tour is the equivalent of K2 Aviation’s Denali Flyer Tour but priced lower, making it an irresistible deal. At $475.15 versus K2’s $543.89, it’s a better option. In fact, it’s priced almost the same as K2’s shorter Denali Experience Tour with glacier landing ($472.46). And if you have kids, the savings add up because of the bigger discount.
The route is the same, including The Southside Seven Glaciers (Kahiltna, Ruth, Tokositna, Eldridge, Kanikula, Buckskin, and Coffee) along with Denali’s massive sister peaks, Mt. Hunter and Mt. Foraker. The glacier landing may or may not be on Ruth Glacier though. But then again, you have more chances of your glacier landing pushing through since TAT has the flexibility of selecting other landing sites.
Here’s the route (from TAT’s website), similar to K2’s Denali Flyer tour:
Tour Features:
- Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes (w/o glacier landing) or 1 hour and 45 minutes (w/ glacier landing)
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Talkeetna and follows a scenic route over the Talkeetna Mountains, with the option to add a glacier landing experience. After the flight, return to the starting point.
- Group Size: 10 passengers
- Inclusions: Round-trip transportation from select Talkeetna hotels and professional pilot/guide.
- Tour operator: Talkeetna Air Taxi
- Cost: $353.60 per person ($475.15 w/ glacier landing)
Grand Denali
Want to see a 360-degree view of Denali? This is the ultimate tour for you as it covers more of the Alaska Range, including the north side to see the arctic alpine tundra of Denali National Park’s remote interior.
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This immersive Grand Denali Tour promises an unparalleled aerial exploration of Alaska’s iconic Denali and surrounding landscapes, offering breathtaking views and the opportunity for an up-close encounter with a pristine glacier. You get the south side, east and west, and the north side to see the arctic alpine tundra of Denali National Park’s remote interior. You’ll also see The Wickersham Wall of Denal, the greatest continual vertical relief in the world.
Check out the route (from TAT’s website):
And, for comparison, here’s the counterpart tour (from K2’s website):
K2 also has a similar tour called the Denali Grand Tour but is priced higher ($609.78 with glacier landing) versus $591.17 for TAT. Although with the $15 Denali National Park fee, they’re pretty much even. Both have great reputations and have excellent reviews, so really, you can’t go wrong either way. TAT’s advantage comes in when you have kids along, since you get a slightly bigger discount.
Tour Features:
- Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes (w/o glacier landing) or 2 hours (w/ glacier landing)
- Itinerary: The tour departs from Talkeetna and follows a scenic route over the Denali National Park, with highlight views of the mountain and surrounding glaciers. The option for a glacier landing adds approximately 30 minutes to the tour duration. After the flight, return to the starting point.
- Group Size: 10 passengers
- Inclusions: Round-trip transportation from select Talkeetna hotels, professional pilot/guide, and unparalleled aerial views.
- Tour operator: Talkeetna Air Taxi
- Cost: $414.37 per person ($591.17 with glacier landing)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Denali flightseeing worth it?
Definitely! Flying around Denali, North America’s tallest peak (taller than Everest) offers a unique aerial perspective. You’ll also see glaciers, mountains, and the vast Alaskan wilderness. And the helicopter or small plane ride is thrilling!
Is a glacier landing worth it?
Stepping onto a glacier is a rare, exciting, almost other-worldly experience. You’ll see the immense scale and power of a glacier firsthand, and the enormity of Denali from a different perspective. And kids will just love it!
Which is better: K2 Aviation or Talkeetna Air Taxi?
There are other operators but K2 Aviation and Talkeetna Air Taxi (TAT) are the best known and have the most customer reviews. They’re both excellent and reputable tour operators with vast experience and high safety records. The pilot-guides for both are praised for their skills and knowledge. You can’t go wrong either way. TAT has a slight advantage in pricing, but it boils down on availability on the date and time you want.
What do you need to wear and bring?
Bring a light jacket and wear long pants (jeans are fine but snow pants are good if your kids want to roll around the snow). Wear closed toe shoes (operators will lend you over boots for glacier landings). Bring appropriate winter attire during colder seasons. And of course, bring your camera phone or DSLR camera. But don’t bring a bag or backpack.
Where is it better to fly from?
There are no flightseeing tours from Denali National Park itself, so you need to choose between Talkeetna and Anchorage. Talkeetna is a small and charming town south of Denali National Park, offering slightly shorter flight times to reach Denali compared to Anchorage.
Are flightseeing tours for kids?
Yes, kids of all ages are allowed to go on flightseeing tours. However, babies and children under two years old may not fully appreciate (or even remember!) the flight or handle the ear discomfort. If you have toddlers, tweens, or teens, then they will definitely enjoy the experience, especially if you include glacier landing.
Where is the best seat?
For small planes, every seat is a window seat. With helicopters, some could be seated in the middle. Either way, you can take the co-pilot seat if it’s available.
When is the best time for a flightseeing tour?
The summer months are the best time as there are generally clear skies, warm temperatures, and long daylight hours, offering the highest chance for unobstructed views of Denali and minimizing flight cancellations due to bad weather. While not guaranteed, some suggest aiming for mid-afternoon flights when clouds might be less likely to obscure the mountain.
