Helicopter Tours Near Anchorage: Knik or Girdwood?

Knik Glacier helicopter tours: best for a glacier landing

If your reason for booking is “I want to fly over Alaska and actually stand on a glacier”, we’d start with Knik Glacier.

Knik lies northeast of Anchorage in the Chugach Mountains. It runs about twenty-five miles back into the range and is over five miles across at its widest, one of the largest glaciers in southcentral Alaska, and it is the main helicopter-landing glacier for Anchorage visitors. Tours leave from the Knik River valley near Palmer. Alaska Helicopter Tours flies from Alaska Glacier Lodge on East Knik River Road, and Outbound Heli Adventures from its own pad at the end of Lindsey Circle.

The tours range from a straightforward landing to four-hour days built around hiking among the melt pools, paddleboarding or ice climbing. Our Knik Glacier page sets out all six.

What a basic Knik Glacier tour includes

An entry-level Knik tour combines:

• a scenic helicopter flight;
• views over the Knik River valley;
• Chugach Mountain scenery;
• flightseeing over the glacier itself;
• one glacier landing;
• time outside the helicopter, on the ice.

The From Palmer: Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour is a useful benchmark. It is booked as 90 minutes, of which 40 to 45 are flying and about 45 are spent on the glacier with microspikes. The Anchorage: Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour with Landing is booked as one hour: thirty minutes in the air and thirty on the ice.

Those two numbers show something worth knowing before you compare listings: the advertised duration is not the amount of time you spend flying.

Who should choose Knik Glacier?

Knik is a particularly good fit for:

• first-time Alaska visitors;
• anyone who specifically wants a glacier landing;
• couples;
• families;
• photographers;
• visitors spending several days in Anchorage;
• people who want an active glacier day as well as a flight.

It is also one of the easiest areas to book, because you can choose how far to take it.

Simple, upgraded or adventure

Simple: fly and land once. The flagship landing tour ($522, rated 5.0 from 90 guests) or the Palmer flight ($520, 4.9 from 34).

Upgraded: a longer flight with several landings. The Grand Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour with Landings gives two hours and three touchdowns for $762.

Adventure: the helicopter plus an activity. The Knik valley dogsled tour ($816), the paddleboarding tour ($1,470) or the ice-climbing tour ($1,416).

You don’t need the most expensive version to have a memorable flight. For most first-time visitors, one good glacier landing is enough.

How far are Knik Glacier helicopter tours from Anchorage?

This is where booking sites can be confusing. A tour may be sold as an “Anchorage glacier helicopter tour” while the helicopter itself takes off near Palmer.

Alaska Helicopter Tours puts its lodge about 45 minutes north of Anchorage, and with traffic, the route and your starting point it can take closer to an hour. That is an easy day trip. Just don’t plan as though a 10 a.m. helicopter tour means leaving your Anchorage hotel at 9:45: Alaska Helicopter Tours asks you to arrive 30 minutes before departure for check-in and the safety briefing.

Can you get a shuttle from Anchorage to Knik Glacier?

Often, yes. None of the tours on GetYourGuide includes transport from Anchorage, but Alaska Helicopter Tours runs a door-to-door shuttle that you arrange by phone (907-272-7777) after booking.

Before you book, check whether transport is:

• included in the price;
• an optional extra, and what it costs;
• available only at certain departure times;
• available from your particular hotel.

The answer can change which tour is the better deal, especially for two or more people. The cheap helicopter tours guide works through the arithmetic.

Knik Glacier: one landing or several?

Once you start comparing Knik tours, the main decision is whether to pay more for extra landings.

A basic tour gives you the core experience: helicopter, glacier, landing. Longer tours can add:

• a second or third glacier stop;
• an alpine landing on a peak or ridge;
• more flight time;
• more of the Chugach from the air.

Is more always better?

No. If this is your first helicopter ride and your priority is standing on a glacier, we’d book one landing. The cheapest Knik tour already gives you 45 minutes on the ice. Pay for extra landings when the extra places show you something genuinely different, such as the Grand tour’s peak landing looking down the length of the glacier.

Girdwood helicopter tours: best for a scenic day south

The other main option near Anchorage is Girdwood, a ski town 40 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway, surrounded by the Chugach Mountains.

The drive is part of the attraction. The road between Anchorage and Girdwood follows Turnagain Arm, so a helicopter flight here fits into a wider day of sightseeing. Every Girdwood tour flies with Alpine Air Alaska from its hangar at Girdwood Airport. Our Girdwood page covers the base in more detail.

What helicopter tours are available in Girdwood?

Alpine Air’s Girdwood flights include:

• a 30-minute scenic flight with no landing, the Anchorage Helicopter Flightseeing Tour (30 min), which is sold on Viator (from $459, rated 5.0 from 16 reviews) and directly by Alpine Air, not on GetYourGuide;
• a one-hour glacier landing, the Girdwood: Chugach Mountains Helicopter Flight with Landing (from $629, no reviews on its listing when we checked in October 2026), with 15 to 20 minutes on the ice;
• a 90-minute flight with two landings, the Anchorage: 90-min Flight with 2 Landings ($844), one on glacier ice and one on a ridge or lake, although its rating rests on only four reviews so far;
• a Prince William Sound flight, the Anchorage Prince William Sound Heli Tour with Glacier Landing (90 minutes, from $769 on Viator, 4.95 from 64 reviews);
• glacier dog sledding on Punchbowl Glacier in summer, the Anchorage: Helicopter Glacier Dogsledding Tour ($769).

That range makes Girdwood flexible if you aren’t sure you want to spend most of a day and several hundred dollars on a longer glacier adventure. You can take a short introduction to helicopter flightseeing, or make the flight the main event of the day.

What can you see on a Girdwood helicopter tour?

Routes vary, but the landscape around Girdwood includes:

• the Chugach Mountains;
• hanging glaciers;
• glacier valleys;
• alpine terrain;
• lakes;
• Prince William Sound and its tidewater glaciers, on the longer routes.

Alpine Air’s glacier-landing flights pass over areas such as Lake George Glacier and Whiteout Glacier, and usually land on Colony Glacier or a mountain ridge, depending on conditions. In spring and summer, blue meltwater pools open on the ice.

As with any Alaska helicopter tour, the exact route and landing site depend on the weather on the day.

Can you land on a glacier from Girdwood?

Yes. Girdwood is not only a scenic-flight base; glacier landings are a standard part of what Alpine Air sells there.

So if you’re choosing between Knik and Girdwood, the decision isn’t landing versus no landing. You can land on a glacier from either. The useful comparison is the whole itinerary, and what else you’re doing that day. One difference does show up in the numbers: the Knik landing tours give 30 to 45 minutes on the ice for $520 to $522, while the one-hour Girdwood landing gives 15 to 20 minutes for $629. For the difference in what you land on, see our Knik versus Punchbowl comparison.

Knik Glacier or Girdwood: which is better?

For most Anchorage visitors, this is the decision that matters.

Choose Knik Glacier if:

• the glacier landing itself is your priority;
• you want the widest choice of helicopter tours;
• you want a guided activity on the glacier, such as paddleboarding or ice climbing;
• you want the day to revolve around the helicopter;
• you want the most time on the ice for the money.

Choose Girdwood if:

• you’re already planning to drive south from Anchorage;
• you want to see Turnagain Arm;
• you’re staying in Girdwood;
• you want to combine the flight with Alyeska or another stop south of Anchorage;
• Prince William Sound interests you.

If both look equally good

Choose the one that fits your itinerary. The difference between an excellent Knik glacier landing and an excellent Girdwood glacier landing matters less than avoiding several hours of unnecessary backtracking.

Knik and Girdwood side by side

Is there a helicopter tour directly from Anchorage?

Not for glaciers. Every glacier helicopter tour we have found for Anchorage visitors flies from Palmer or Girdwood. What does leave from the city is fixed-wing flightseeing, with floatplanes and small planes from Lake Hood, next to the international airport.

Alaska flightseeing uses:

• helicopters;
• fixed-wing aircraft;
• floatplanes.

So don’t assume every “Anchorage glacier flight” is a helicopter tour. Check the aircraft before booking.

Helicopter or small plane from Anchorage?

Choose a helicopter if you want:

• a glacier landing;
• close-up mountain flying;
• shorter, concentrated sightseeing;
• access to small, remote landing sites;
• a guided glacier activity once you land.

Consider a small plane if you want:

• longer-distance flightseeing;
• to cover more ground;
• a Denali-focused flight;
• the classic Alaska bush-plane experience.

If your goal is “I want to stand on a glacier near Anchorage”, we’d look at helicopters first.

What is the cheapest helicopter option near Anchorage?

The lowest-priced helicopter ride is the 30-minute scenic flight from Girdwood, with no landing. It starts at $459 on Viator, and Alpine Air also sells it directly. The cheapest glacier landing is the Palmer flight at $520 on GetYourGuide, and Alaska Helicopter Tours lists its own one-hour Knik Glacier Landing from $479 on its website.

Prices change, so treat these as comparison points, not fixed rates. The real question is whether saving $60 to $130 is worth giving up the landing. For a first Alaska helicopter flight, we’d usually pay for the landing. Our guide to cheap helicopter tours in Alaska covers how to find the best value.

Is a 30-minute helicopter ride enough?

It can be, if your goal is “I’ve always wanted to fly in a helicopter over Alaska.” Thirty minutes over the Chugach is not the same as thirty minutes circling a city. The mountains and glaciers start within minutes of take-off.

But if glaciers are a big part of why you came to Alaska, we’d choose a longer tour that includes a landing. A short flight gives you the view. A landing turns it into a glacier experience.

Best helicopter tour near Anchorage for first-time visitors

For most first-time visitors, our choice would be a Knik or Girdwood helicopter tour with one glacier landing.

You don’t need:

• three landings;
• a private aircraft;
• dog sledding;
• ice climbing;
• a full-day expedition.

Start with the core experience. You get:

1. a helicopter flight;
2. Chugach Mountain scenery;
3. glacier views from above;
4. a real glacier landing;
5. time outside the aircraft.

That’s already one of the bigger days of an Alaska trip. If you’re not tied to the south, the Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour with Landing is the best-reviewed way to do it.

Best helicopter tour near Anchorage for couples

For most couples, a shared glacier landing is the sensible choice. You don’t need a private helicopter unless privacy matters, for example for:

• a proposal;
• an anniversary;
• a honeymoon splurge;
• dedicated photography.

Two tickets on a shared tour don’t make the flight private. Our guide to helicopter tours for two explains what does.

Best option for families

A straightforward glacier landing is also a strong family choice. For children, helicopter plus glacier is usually exciting enough without adding a physically demanding activity.

Dog sledding can be a memorable upgrade if it’s already on your family’s Alaska wish list. On the Girdwood dogsledding tour, outer layers and boots are provided at the hangar. Under FAA guidance the operators let infants under two fly on a parent’s lap, but every child aged two or over needs a seat.

Best option for photographers

For photography, we’d look beyond the simplest one-landing tour. Consider:

• a longer scenic flight;
• a multi-landing tour, such as the Grand Knik tour’s three landings;
• the Prince William Sound route;
• a private photography flight arranged directly with an operator.

Photographers should compare flight time and landing sites, not just the number of landings.

Best option if you’re staying in Girdwood

Book from Girdwood. There’s little reason to drive north past Anchorage toward Palmer just because Knik Glacier comes up more often in search results. Girdwood already gives you:

• helicopter flightseeing;
• glacier landings;
• Chugach scenery;
• longer flights, including Prince William Sound.

Best option if you’re heading toward Seward

Girdwood usually fits far more naturally. If your route runs Anchorage → Girdwood → Seward, taking the helicopter south of Anchorage saves you backtracking.

That doesn’t mean the Girdwood flight itself is better. It means the whole day works better.

Best option if you’re heading toward Denali

Knik and Palmer may fit more naturally, because you’re already heading north from Anchorage.

If Denali flightseeing is also on your itinerary, ask yourself whether you need two expensive flights. If budget matters, choose by priority:

• For glacier access: a Knik glacier helicopter landing.
• For Denali and the Alaska Range: a Talkeetna or Denali flightseeing flight.

What about Prince William Sound?

Prince William Sound adds:

• coastal scenery;
• mountains dropping straight to the water;
• tidewater glaciers;
• a very different view from inland Knik Glacier.

Alpine Air’s 90-minute Prince William Sound tour includes a glacier landing on the way out and an extended return flight over the Sound. If aerial scenery is your main goal and the budget allows, it can be more rewarding than adding more short glacier landings.

What about glacier dog sledding near Anchorage?

Both areas offer helicopter dog sledding in summer. The helicopter takes you up to a snowfield where dog teams can run even when the valleys below are green: the Knik valley tour gives a full hour with the team, and Alpine Air’s Punchbowl Glacier camp runs from May 15 to August 31.

It’s an excellent combination if dog sledding is already on your list, but it costs far more than a basic landing: $769 to $816, against $520 to $522. Our glacier dogsledding page compares the camps.

Do helicopter tours near Anchorage run in winter?

Yes, some do. Alaska Helicopter Tours flies its Knik glacier tours year-round, and Alpine Air flies its flightseeing and glacier-landing tours year-round except on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Winter changes the experience; it doesn’t simply shut it down.

In winter you can expect:

• more snow-covered terrain;
• frozen glacier surfaces;
• short daylight;
• winter-only glacier trips, such as ice-cave exploration on the ice-climbing tour;
• ice formations you won’t see in July.

Check the exact tour, because “year-round” for an operator doesn’t mean every product runs. The dog sledding is summer only.

When is the best time to take a helicopter tour near Anchorage?

For most visitors the answer is during the Anchorage part of your Alaska trip, not one supposedly perfect month.

Summer gives you:

• very long daylight;
• the widest choice of tours, including dog sledding;
• meltwater pools on the ice;
• an easy fit with a typical Alaska itinerary.

Winter gives you:

• snow-covered landscapes;
• frozen glacier scenery;
• fewer visitors;
• winter-only glacier trips.

Weather can delay or cancel flights in any season. The best-time guide goes month by month.

Morning or afternoon?

No time of day guarantees a better flight, so think about logistics. A morning departure leaves more of the day free if the schedule shifts; Alaska Helicopter Tours says the choice is your preference, and afternoons tend to be a little warmer. An afternoon departure may fit better if you’re driving to Girdwood and combining several stops along Turnagain Arm.

Don’t book your helicopter tour on your last day

If the flight matters to you, this is our most important piece of itinerary advice. Helicopter tours depend on the weather, and a cancellation on your last day leaves no time to reschedule.

If you’re spending three days in Anchorage, fly on day one or day two, not on day three with a noon flight and a 5 p.m. airport run.

Do you need a rental car?

Not necessarily. Both Alaska Helicopter Tours and Alpine Air run shuttles from Anchorage; Alpine Air’s costs $75 per person round trip from any Anchorage hotel, B&B or the airport.

A car gives you more freedom to turn the flight into a bigger day out.

With a car to Girdwood, you can combine the flight with:

• Turnagain Arm;
• Girdwood itself;
• Alyeska;
• other Seward Highway stops.

With a car toward Palmer and Knik, you have more freedom to explore:

• Palmer;
• the Knik River area;
• the Mat-Su Valley.

Which helicopter tour should you choose if you only have one day?

Choose Knik if the helicopter and the glacier are the main attraction of the day.

Choose Girdwood if you want the helicopter to be one part of a bigger scenic day.

How much time should you allow?

Don’t look only at the helicopter tour’s duration. Allow time for:

• the drive or shuttle;
• check-in;
• the safety briefing;
• the tour itself;
• a possible weather delay;
• the journey back.

A one-hour helicopter tour can easily take three to five hours of your day once transport and check-in are included.

What should you check before booking?

Our booking checklist goes through each of these in detail.

Knik or Girdwood: our recommendation

If someone asked us, “I’m staying in Anchorage and just want the best first helicopter experience. Where should I go?”, we’d lean slightly toward Knik Glacier, for one reason: the glacier is clearly the centre of the experience, and you get more time on it for less money.

But if you’re already planning a day toward Girdwood, Alyeska or the Seward Highway, we wouldn’t drive north just for Knik. A Girdwood glacier landing fits that day well and gives you the same core combination: Chugach scenery, a helicopter and a glacier landing.

The best choice isn’t necessarily the tour with the most famous glacier name. It’s the one that gives you the experience you want without making the rest of your Alaska itinerary worse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there helicopter tours near Anchorage?

Yes. Helicopter tours operate both north and south of Anchorage: around Palmer and Knik Glacier, about 45 minutes to an hour north, and from Girdwood, about 45 minutes south.

Do helicopter tours leave from downtown Anchorage?

Not the glacier tours. Floatplane and small-plane flightseeing leaves from Lake Hood in the city, but the glacier helicopter tours sold for Anchorage visitors fly from Palmer or Girdwood.

How far are Knik Glacier helicopter tours from Anchorage?

About 45 minutes to an hour by road, depending on where you start, the traffic and which base you’re flying from. Alaska Helicopter Tours asks you to arrive 30 minutes before departure.

How far is Girdwood from Anchorage for a helicopter tour?

Girdwood is 40 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway, about a 45-minute drive in normal conditions. Alpine Air flies from the hangar at Girdwood Airport.

Can you land on a glacier near Anchorage?

Yes. Both the Knik tours and the Girdwood tours include glacier landings. The Knik landing tours give 30 to 45 minutes on the ice; the one-hour Girdwood landing flight gives 15 to 20.

What is the best glacier helicopter tour near Anchorage?

For most first-time visitors, a one-landing Knik or Girdwood glacier tour. The Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour with Landing is the best-reviewed on this site, rated 5.0 from 90 guests.

Which is better, Knik Glacier or Girdwood?

Knik is the better choice if the glacier landing is your main goal: there are more tours, more time on the ice and lower prices. Girdwood is more convenient if you’re also exploring Turnagain Arm and Alyeska, or travelling south toward Seward.

How much are helicopter tours near Anchorage?

A 30-minute scenic flight from Girdwood starts at $459 on Viator. Glacier-landing tours start at $520 on GetYourGuide, and Alaska Helicopter Tours lists its own Knik Glacier Landing from $479. Activity tours run from $769 to $1,470.

Are there cheap helicopter rides near Anchorage?

The least expensive option is the 30-minute scenic flight from Girdwood, with no landing. Our guide to cheap helicopter tours explains when it’s the better buy and when a landing is worth the extra.

Are Anchorage glacier helicopter tours available year-round?

Some are. Alaska Helicopter Tours flies its Knik glacier tours year-round, and Alpine Air flies its flightseeing and glacier-landing tours year-round except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dog sledding is summer only.

Can I take a shuttle from Anchorage to a helicopter tour?

Yes. Alpine Air runs a shuttle to Girdwood for $75 per person round trip, and Alaska Helicopter Tours arranges door-to-door transfers by phone. Neither is included in the GetYourGuide price.

Is Knik Glacier better than a scenic flight over Anchorage?

They serve different goals. If you want to stand on a glacier, choose a tour with a glacier landing; a scenic flight shows you the ice but keeps you in the aircraft.

Can children take helicopter tours near Anchorage?

Many standard sightseeing and glacier-landing tours accept children. Following FAA guidance, infants under two can fly on a parent’s lap, and children aged two or over need their own seat.

Should I book a helicopter tour at the beginning or end of my Anchorage stay?

Near the beginning or middle, if you can. A weather cancellation early in your stay can be rescheduled; one on your last day can’t.