Flightseeing provides a great adventure

At 20,320 feet, Mount McKinley is an imposing sight that defines Alaska’s rugged wilderness. But getting up close and personal to the largest mountain in North America is just a quick flight away.

Flightseeing is one of the most popular activities visitors can experience, because of the breathtaking scenery and once-in-a-lifetime feeling of landing on a glacier deep in the Alaska Range.

“It’s something I’ll never forget as long as I live,” said Tacia Clifford, who visited the Mat-Su Valley last summer. “The mountains are so immense, and flying around those peaks really puts everything into perspective. It was the highlight of my entire trip.”

While commercial jets have hubs like Hartsfield in Atlanta, O’Hare in Chicago and LaGuardia in New York, Talkeetna Airport is the hub for some of the most popular flightseeing trips in the country. There are several companies that offer varied tours, from basic flights around the mountain to in-depth flights that include a glacier landing in the Alaska Range. All have impeccable safety records and cater to their visitors.

For a complete list of operators who offer flightseeing, visit the Mat-Su CVB’s website at alaskavisit.com and search for “flightseeing.”

While most of the flightseeing operators depart from Talkeetna, there are also options from Willow and even from Fish Lake, just outside of downtown Talkeetna.

At national tour conventions, operators routinely say that Denali flightseeing trips score high on their client surveys, and flightseeing is an important part of their Alaska tour package offerings.

No matter where you depart from, or which company you choose, chances are you’ll have an experience you’ll never forget.

“Flightseeing is something I can’t recommend to people highly enough,” Clifford said. “It’s an experience that stays with you forever. I know when we come back to Alaska, it’s the first thing I’ll do again. It’s that impressive.”

Casey Ressler (casey@alaskavisit.com) is the marketing and communications manager at the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau.