Best Alaska Helicopter Tours

Helicopter tours in Alaska are popular shore excursions. Though a helicopter trip can be an investment, almost everyone agrees that they’re worth every penny and are a once-in-a-lifetime experience that the whole family can enjoy. In Alaska, scenic helicopter tours allow you to fly over glaciers, mountain lakes, forests, and more.

Read on to find our picks for the best helicopter tours in Alaska:

1. Juneau Icefield Helicopter Tour

Port: Juneau

Points of Interest: Juneau Icefield, Herbert Glacier

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier

Enjoy majestic views as you ride in a helicopter over Juneau Icefield, then land upon Herber Glacier. You’ll take a relaxing stroll along the glacier’s surface with this Juneau helicopter tour.

2. Skagway Glacier Helicopter Tour

Port: Skagway

Points of Interest: May include Chilkat Glacier, Ferebee Glacier, or Meade Glacier (route is weather-dependent)

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier Walk

This Skagway helicopter tour allows you to view the amazing glaciers around Skagway and walk atop a the river of ice.

3. Denali Glacier Landing Expedition via Helicopter

Port: Denali

Points of Interest: Alaska Range, Yanert Icefield

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier

On this Denali helicopter tour, you can take a helicopter ride to an ancient glacier, deep in the Alaska Range. You’ll land on the Yanert Icefield and have the chance to see wildlife including caribou, bears, and Dall sheep.

4. Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour

Port: Juneau

Points of Interest: Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau Icefield, Herbert Glacier

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier

On this tour, you can take a helicopter ride and land on the mighty Mendenhall Glacier. Once you land, your guide will take you a short glacier walk, where you can take photos and look for wildlife.

5. Ketchikan Mountain Lake Tour via Helicopter

Port: Ketchikan

Points of Interest: Tongass National Forest

Highlights: Helicopter, Forest

Explore the Tongass National Forest by air. This helicopter tour allows you to view wildlife, mountain lakes, and a beautiful and dramatic landscape.

6. Juneau Dog Sledding & Glacier Helicopter Tour

Port: Juneau

Points of Interest: Juneau Icefield, Mendenhall Glacier

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier, Dog Sledding

On this trip, you can combine a helicopter ride over the glaciers of Juneau Icefield with a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska dog sledding tour.

7. Skagway Dog Sledding & Glacier Flightseeing Helicopter Tour

Port: Skagway

Points of Interest: Denver Glacier

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier, Dog Sledding

Combine a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter tour with a Skagway dog sledding ride. You can meet professional mushers and their friendly dogs.

8. Ketchikan Herring Cove Tour via Helicopter

Port: Ketchikan

Points of Interest: Herring Cove, Tongass National Forest, Revillagigedo Channel

Highlights: Helicopter, Wildlife

Take a 20 minute helicopter ride above the Tongass National Forest to Herring Cove, where black bears frequently feed on salmon.

9. Denali Glacier Landing Expedition via Helicopter

Port: Denali

Points of Interest: Alaska Range, Denali National Park, Yanert Glacier, Mt. Deborah

Highlights: Helicopter, Glacier

On this Denali helicopter tour, you can take a helicopter ride to an ancient glacier, deep in the Alaska Range. You’ll land on the anciet Yanert Glacier and have the chance to see wildlife including caribou, bears, and Dall sheep.

10. Ketchikan Roundabout Tour Via Helicopter

Port: Ketchikan

Points of Interest: Ketchikan

Highlights: Helicopter

This brief, 10-15 minute scenic helicopter tour allows you an aerial view of Ketchikan and a chance to view amazing Alaskan wildlife.

What to Expect on Your Helicopter Tour

Helicopter tours usually begin with an aerial view of some of Alaska’s most beautiful and majestic glaciers. The perspective on these vast and expansive rivers of ice is both humbling and awe-inspiring. While glaciers look big and beautiful from the ground, you can better comprehend their beauty and size from the sky.

Everyone gets a headset at the beginning of the flight, and the pilot talks through the sights as you fly over them - giving you stories and insights on the picturesque landscape.

Then, in what is many people’s favorite part of the trip, the helicopter lands on a glacier and passengers can step out onto the icy ground for a first-hand experience of what the Ice Age was like. Surrounded by mountains, with thick snow under your feet, you’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime glacier experience.

Travelers get time to walk around and explore the glacier and to ask the pilot questions before boarding the helicopter again and returning to port.

Ready for more tours? Check out the 10 best tours in Alaska or consider tours on land or by train.