Flying Over Glaciers: A Helicopter Tour Over Prince William Sound

Tidewater glaciers. A bear. Snow capped mountains. Two moose. Bright blue glacier ponds. Prince William Sound. These were just some of the incredible things we saw out of the window of the helicopter as we soared over Girdwood, Alaska.

I had been in a helicopter and I’d gone ice climbing on a glacier before, so I wasn’t expecting to come away from this experience so in awe. But I did. Throughout the entire ride, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Flying over the glaciers in Girdwood was one of the best adventures we’ve ever had. This ride, along with Bear Camp, were our favorite things we did in Alaska, and let me tell you, we did some pretty epic stuff in Alaska.

OUR TOUR

Go big or go home, right? We booked Alpine Air Alaska’s most spectacular adventure, the Ultimate Summer tour, which included Dog Sledding and Flightseeing from a Helicopter over Prince William Sound. The tour departed from Girdwood, Alaska, which is 45 minutes to an hour from Anchorage, the closest city with a major airport.

Dog sledding camp on an Alaska glacier

The Prince William Sound tour lasts for 90 minutes total, ~60 of which are spent in the air and ~30 of which are spent on a glacier landing.

Instrument panel inside the helicopter — *The instrument panel inside the helicopter.*

OUR EXPERIENCE

We got a call the night before the tour. Alpine Air Alaska wanted to know if we could reschedule from the morning to the afternoon as they had a large group booking in the morning. If we rescheduled our tour, they would take us out on a private helicopter. We were sold.

The next morning, I woke up in a slight panic. It was a grey, cloudy day: not ideal conditions for a helicopter tour. Thankfully, the clouds dissipated by lunch and the sun started to creep out from behind the mountains. I was thanking our lucky stars that we didn’t stick with the morning tour.

We arrived at the office twenty minutes before we were scheduled to depart. After a safety briefing, we made our way out to our helicopter. I had ridden in a helicopter before in Switzerland (we actually jumped out of it - we went skydiving!) so I was expecting a helicopter of a similar size. But this little guy was tiny!

Small helicopter before takeoff in Girdwood, Alaska

We put our headphones on as the helicopter ascended, as the blade overhead was quite loud. Now we could talk to our pilot, Kyle. You won’t meet a better pilot. He was awesome!

Kathryn and Alex wearing headsets inside the helicopter

Almost immediately after taking off, the epic views began. Green valleys. Snow capped mountains. Hidden lakes. It was gorgeous.

Green valley and mountains seen from the helicopter

Snow capped mountains and blue sky over Alaska

It didn’t take long for us to encounter our first glacier: Lake George.

Lake George Glacier from above

Approaching Lake George.

Before I knew it, we had landed on the glacier.

Helicopter landed on Lake George Glacier

It had only been 15 minutes, so at first I had wanted to keep flying, to see what else there was to see. But as soon as I laid eyes on the neon blue pools that dotted the surface of the glacier, I immediately changed my mind. I wanted to check this out.

Bright blue pool on Lake George Glacier

This was awesome.

Blue glacier pool with mountains in the distance

There was something so intriguing about the water. Maybe it’s the fact that the visibility was so perfect, and you could see far down into the pool, or maybe it was the bright blue color. It all felt so inviting and I fought the urge to jump into the freezing cold pools.

Looking into a bright blue glacier pool

Blue water on the glacier surface

As we were admiring the pools, Kyle explained how frequently the glaciers change. Just a couple weeks ago, these giant pools we were staring at didn’t exist at all. I’m sure that they have already disappeared as I sit here writing this article, and we flew just a couple weeks ago!

At this point, Kyle whipped out some Dixie cups and we knelt down to scoop up some glacier water and give it a try. It was incredibly refreshing.

After snapping a few more photos, we headed back to the helicopter. On our way to the next glacier, we were told to keep our eye out for wildlife. I took the mission very seriously, but I don’t really have a talent for wildlife spotting. Thankfully, Kyle did.

Our first encounter was with two moose. It was the only moose we were to see in Alaska. Alex was able to snap a pretty good shot of it.

Moose spotted from the helicopter in Alaska — *Just look at those antlers!*

The next portion of the tour was my absolute favorite. We rounded the corner and laid eyes on a stunning, giant tidewater glacier.

Colony Glacier is the largest and by far most impressive glacier I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Colony Glacier in Alaska from the helicopter

It extends up mountainsides and as far as the eye can see at times.

It’s also very textured and spiky.

Textured ice on Colony Glacier

We spent a lot of time flying, flying, flying and were still over the magnificent Colony Glacier.

Flying above Colony Glacier in Alaska

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, here is where we encountered the black bear. We bumped into quite a few of these guys throughout our time in Alaska. We saw three black bears in Girdwood and Seward and dozens of brown bears in Katmai National Park. They really are everywhere!

Black bear visible as a small dot on the glacier landscape — *That black dot is a bear!*

We also saw a couple of mountain goats not far away.

After seeing Colony Glacier, I had already decided that this is one of the coolest things I had ever done. So, imagine my surprise when I learned it would keep getting better.

Glaciers and mountains around Prince William Sound — *These glaciers are named after prestigious American universities. If memory serves, these are Harvard, Yale, and Columbia glaciers.*

The website advertised glaciers, so even though I couldn’t envision how colossal they’d be, I had a rough idea of what to expect. But, I had booked this tour months in advance, and I had forgotten all about what Prince William Sound actually was. It was a wonderful surprise.

It was like heaven.

Let me just say that there was no way I could capture the beauty of this place. But I gave it my best efforts with my iPhone camera.

I could see snow capped mountains, glaciers, and the Gulf of Alaska all at the same time. What a stunning place.

To make matters even more exciting, Kyle told us just how lucky we were to be seeing this. He said only 3 in 10 guests get good enough weather conditions to make it to Prince William Sound, and we couldn’t have had a more perfect day weather-wise. The sun was shining, the clouds were nowhere to be found, and the visibility was fantastic.

Prince William Sound and mountains seen through the helicopter window

We circled around the Prince William Sound and headed back to Colony. That gave us the perfect opportunity to snap more photos.

Glacier scenery around Prince William Sound

Colony Glacier and mountains from the helicopter — *It cannot get better than this, am I right?*

We made our way to our final glacier of the day: Punchbowl. This glacier was extra special because some furry friends were waiting for us there. Our helicopter tour was over, but thankfully we wouldn’t have to wait long for the next adventure.

A NOTE ON THE WEATHER

Girdwood sits within the northernmost temperate rainforest in the world. Therefore, as you might guess, rain is incredibly common. Cloudy conditions are also very common.

Since helicopter tours are highly weather-dependent, I recommend building some flexibility into your itinerary in case your flight needs to be rescheduled. You won’t want to miss this.

Another note: as I mentioned, only 30% of Prince William Sound tours make it to Prince William Sound. The tour might still operate, but reroute to a different area. In my opinion, it’s not worth stressing about. There is so much incredible scenery to see in the area. In fact, my favorite thing I saw during the flight was Colony Glacier.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Without a doubt. Yes, this is a luxury experience and yes, it’s expensive. But in our opinion, it was so worth it. Flying over ginormous glaciers is not an experience I’ll soon forget. There was not a minute I was bored throughout the entire flight. If you’re in the Girdwood or Anchorage area, it’s a must do.

FAQS

Alpine Air offers both helicopter rides and dog sledding. Which do you recommend?

I did both and loved both experiences, so I recommend both! But, if I had to choose one, I’d say the helicopter tour. My jaw was on the floor the entire flight, plus the experience lasts a little longer. On the dog sledding tour, you only sled for a short time, and spend the rest of the time hanging out with the puppies and learning about the dogs.

Are you guaranteed a window seat on the flightseeing tour?

Alpine Air Alaska’s website says that they only fly Robinson R44 aircrafts with 3 passengers, all of whom are guaranteed a window seat.

What time of day is best for helicopter tours?

In our experience, most mornings in the Girdwood area (Anchorage, Girdwood, Seward, etc.) are cloudy. Often, it would clear up by mid-afternoon. We did the 3pm helicopter tour and had ideal conditions despite a very grey morning. I would recommend going in the afternoon for that reason.

How bumpy is the flight?

I found it to be moderately bumpy a couple times when we got a gust of wind, but smooth overall.

What camera gear did you use to capture these photos and videos?

Alex brought a Sony a6700 with a Tamron 18-300mm lens and used them to capture all the photos. The videos we captured on iPhones.

Where did we stay?

We stayed in Anchorage the night before. The night after we stayed at Ski Inn Girdwood. The room we booked was very small and it was a little hot without AC but not a bad place to stay overall.

Can you do this as a day trip from Anchorage?

Yes, the drive to and from Anchorage is between 45 minutes to an hour, making it very doable as a day trip.

Can you do this as a day trip from Seward?

Yes, the drive to and from Seward is an hour and a half, making it very doable as a day trip.

Can you walk on the glacier without crampons?

Yes. I was surprised about this, as my only other experience on a glacier was in Norway and we wore crampons, but it was pretty easy to walk on the ice on Lake George Glacier and it wasn’t slippery. You do need to wear closed-toed shoes such as sneakers or hiking boots, though.

What should I wear?

Wear closed-toed shoes such as hiking boots or sneakers. Bring layers - a light jacket or fleece and ideally something windproof. If possible, avoid wearing white or other light colors, as they can reflect in the window and create annoying reflections in photos.

What should I bring?

I would recommend bringing sunglasses, a camera, and a water bottle. Pack light! The helicopter is small.

Can you do this ride if you have a fear of flying or a fear of heights?

You can, but it is admittedly a little bumpy at times as it’s such a small aircraft. There are just a few moments where a gust of wind creates a little turbulence, but I found it to be very manageable. I felt safe the entire time, but it might not be the experience for you if you are very nervous about heights or flying in helicopters.

What is the bathroom situation?

There are porta-potty style toilets outside the Alpine Air Alaska office to use before and after your tour. There is also a porta-potty on Punchbowl Glacier if you are doing the combined dog sledding and flightseeing experience.

Was this review sponsored?

Nope! I paid for this experience in full and didn’t tell them I had a blog until after the tour.

How much does the helicopter ride cost?

The Prince William Sound helicopter tour costs $635. You get 10% off if you book Dog Sledding for the same day. There are also other, shorter (and less expensive) helicopter tours: the Glacier Landing Tour for $535 and the 30 Minute Flightseeing Tour for $375.