In Alaska, mountains, glaciers, fjords, and forests dominate the skyline, and people stand few and far between, scattered across small, remote towns, surrounded by nature.
Alaska is a bucket-list destination for nature-loving travelers. It is a huge place filled with huge possibilities. So, naturally, to get the most out of your trip to America's largest state, choosing the best Alaska excursions is key.
Most excursion guides focus on cruise stopovers, but Alaska is so much more than that. For travelers looking to go a little deeper, and see the real heart of Alaska, venturing inland promises nothing but rewards.
Flightseeing in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | Credit: Ultima Thule Lodge
Why Take Excursions in Alaska
Excursions give travelers the chance to see beyond Alaska's boundaries — whether that's a cruise port or a city's downtown. They are the real chance to experience what makes Alaska unique.
For us at Alaska Rail Vacations, exciting excursions are the central point of our itineraries, and what we pride ourselves on the most. We want to give you that total immersion and the sense of place that makes Alaska so alluring, made easy with seamless planning.
And, when transport is as exciting as mountain pass roads, first-class rail, bush planes and floatplanes, and helicopter rides, getting there is almost as exciting as the excursions themselves.
22 Best Alaska Excursions Curated by Travel Experts
Planning the best Alaska excursions for each of our clients is what we love to do at Alaska Rail Vacations. This is a curated list of our favorite excursions, and the ones our guests love most.
But your Alaska vacation should be driven by you. Your personal Travel Designer will work one-on-one with you to craft your ultimate adventure, guided by your interests and shaped by their insider expertise.
You can find many of these excursions across Alaska. Here, we list our favorite place for each, along with a package that features it. If no package is mentioned, our itineraries always allow for flexibility so that you always spend time doing what’s most important to you.
If you’re interested in any of these experiences, talk to your Travel Designer. They will work with you to fit them into your tailored vacation.
Wildlife Viewing Excursions
See Alaska's 'Big 5' — bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and wolves — on wildlife trips deep into the Alaska wilderness.
Bear Viewing at Brooks Falls | Credit: Rust’s Flying Service
1. Brown Bear Viewing Tours | Katmai National Park Bear Viewing
Location: Anchorage | Featured in: Signature Alaska Rail Vacation
Visiting Alaska is not complete without a bear sighting.
The state is home to black bears, brown bears, and grizzly bears — the distinction between the last two being location, with brown bears inhabiting coastal areas and grizzlies living further inland. 2200 brown bears live in Katmai National Park alone. And, having access to the sockeye salmon in Brooks River, they are larger than the average grizzly.
Bear viewing tours put you in the right place at the right time for a wildlife encounter. So, depending on the season, and where the bears are, we fly you out to Redoubt Bay, Katmai National Park, Lake Clark, or Chinitna Bay by floatplane.
The best time to plan a bear viewing tour is in salmon season — late June and through July — as the bears congregate at Brooks Falls and fish for sockeye.
Whale breaching in the Kenai Fjords | Credit: Kenai Fjords Tours
2. Whale Watching Tours
Location: Seward | Featured in: Alaska Discovery Road Trip with Alaska Railroad
Whale watching tours take you onto the ocean to see the marine wildlife that populate Alaska's waters.
You can find these tours along Alaska's coasts, in Juneau and Prince William Sound.
Our favorite spot to recommend them, though, is in the waters around Kenai Fjords National Park.
From Seward, you will voyage across Resurrection Bay and past frankly startling landscapes as you search for wildlife. Frequent sights include humpback whales, orcas, and gray whales. But you may also spot sea lions and otters in the water, puffins on the cliffs, and bald eagles overhead as you go — some of the many extra benefits of a whale watching tour.
From here, you get a unique perspective of the land, as you are low down on the water and rocky cliffs, snowy mountains, and vast glaciers rise around you. But, most importantly, you get a chance to see some of the Earth's largest beings in their natural home.
Jo the moose, living at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center | Credit: Jane Thompson for AWCC
3. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Location: Girdwood | Signature Alaska Rail Vacation
For some of Alaska's wildlife, the wild is not the place to be. While some can be re-released, the 200-acre Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center provides a permanent home for animals that require rehabilitation and can't return to the wild.
Along the 1.5-mile loop of the center, you will see coyotes, elk, bison, caribou, bears — both black and brown — wolves, and moose. You can take the circuit on foot, by bike, or in a car, letting visitors see the wildlife however they choose.
Two of our Travel Designers recently returned from Alaska, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was a personal favorite.
“Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was incredible! I loved getting to be so close to the animals, and learning all about them. Each enclosure has placards with teaching and insights. It’s worth the trip if you’re in Anchorage or Girdwood.”
Flightseeing Excursions
This is an upgrade to the typical Alaska land excursions: scenic flights to see Alaska by air.
A helicopter tour through the Alaskan mountains | Credit: TEMSCO Helicopter
4. Alaska Helicopter Tours
Location: Denali | Featured in: Alaska by Train Glaciers, Fjords & Denali
Helicopter tours are jaw-dropping experiences wherever you have the chance to take them. In Alaska, this is only heightened as you soar above truly vast landscapes.
Alaska exists on a scale that cannot be comprehended from land or water. From the air, you can see how the mountains continue beyond the horizon and animals wander remote regions.
And, by helicopter, you can reach locations less travelled — more on that to come.
Whether you're taking a flightseeing tour or a transfer to a luxury lodge, a helicopter ride in Alaska can't be missed.
Flightseeing stop by a remote glacier | Credit: Ultima Thule Lodge
5. Bush Plane Flightseeing Tours
Location: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | Featured in: Ultima Thule Lodge - Alaska Luxury Wilderness Lodge
Bush plane flights are crucial to the endurance of Alaskans. For Alaskan locals, they offer access to remote communities and keep the large state connected.
To visitors, they offer the chance to venture off the beaten track and into the wilds.
These tours can be found in Denali, flying close to the summit of Mount Denali itself, along the coasts, or out to one of many luxury wilderness lodges.
At Ultima Thule Lodge, one of these such places, bush plane flights make up daily life. A stay here means daily flightseeing tours from one remote destination to another. Between remote bear viewing site tours and glacier-side picnics, you are guaranteed an Alaska few tourists ever see.
Left: Helicopter tour glacier landing | Credit: TEMSCO Helicopter
Right: One of our Travel Designers during his own glacier landing | Credit: Alaska Rail Vacations
6. Glacier Landings
Location: Denali | Featured in: Alaska by Train Glaciers, Fjords & Denali
The only way to improve a helicopter tour of Alaska's finest landscapes is to touch down, deep within Alaska's untouched wilderness, on a glacier.
And, once atop your remote private glacier, once-in-a-lifetime experiences are everywhere.
Here you'll find:
- Glacier trekking in a place few have ever set foot
- Dog sledding, over ancient ice
- Paddleboarding in vibrant blue lakes
In Denali, this place is Yanert Glacier, where, between peaks, ancient ice lies far from any road. On this excursion, you will journey by way of a 50-minute helicopter ride to set foot on thousands of years of history.
The Arctic Air plane during a trip to the Arctic Circle | Credit: Northern Alaska Tour Company
7. Arctic Circle Air Adventure
Location: Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska Land Tour with Denali, Glaciers, and the Arctic
Whether in summer, during the light of the midnight sun and the carpet of wild Lupin flowers, or in winter under the Aurora, the Arctic is always alluring.
By small plane, journey far north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to the remote community of Coldfoot. Here, you'll see what it takes to make a life in the Alaskan Arctic.
This tour offers two hours in the air, seeing the stunning sights from above, and three hours on the ground above the Arctic Circle.
Water-based Excursions
Explore Alaska from sea level in intimate alternatives to major cruise lines.
The 26 Glaciers Cruise getting up-close with the ice | Credit: Phillips Cruises
8. Prince William Sound 26 Glaciers Cruise
Location: Whittier | Featured in: Alaska Self-Drive & Alaska Railroad Vacation
This is a long-time favorite of both our team members and our clients.
This excursion shows Alaska's glaciers beyond the famous Glacier Bay National Park, a common stop along Alaska cruises, and one voyaged on our partner brand Alaska By Design's small ship cruises.
Instead, you'll voyage through Prince William Sound. Aboard a small catamaran, you can navigate narrow fjords and get closer to glaciers — 26 across your trip — than you would aboard a major cruise line.
Each boat holds between 150 and 350 passengers. And, from sea level, you are utterly immersed in the surrounding mountains and glaciers. You can really feel the weight of the landscape around you as you travel. This is a much more intimate cruise.
Over your five hours aboard the catamaran, you're treated to hot meals, wildlife sightings, and glacier, after glacier, after glacier.
A jet boat trip with Mount Denali in the background | Credit: Mahay’s Jet Boat Adventure
9. Chulitna Gorge Jet Boat Adventure
Location: Girdwood | Talk to your Travel Designer to include this excursion
Dashing along the Chulitna River Gorge by boat, you get a feel for the way the Alaskan landscape is connected. The braided river's wide channels weave through the forest, and snow-capped mountains loom on the horizon. On clear days, Mount Denali can easily be seen against the eastern Alaska Range.
Again, this is Alaska's grand scale in action. The views alone are enough to make you feel small, zipping along endless rivers in a small jet boat.
Once deep into the wilderness, you will dock for a nature walk into the bush with an expert naturalist. There, you'll see an encampment of the Dena’ina — some of the first Alaska Native Athabaskan peoples to inhabit these lands.
The authentic sternwheeler riverboat | Credit: Riverboat Discovery
10. Sternwheeler Riverboat Discovery Cruise
Location: Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska National Parks Self Drive Explorer
This day cruise is perfect for a more gentle introduction to Alaska's waterways, and a look into Alaska's culture. Over three hours, the Sternwheeler Riverboat Discovery Cruise voyages the Chena River between cultural sites.
Along the journey, you'll visit the home and kennels of a four-time Iditarod dog sled champion, an Alaska Native living museum, and watch a bush pilot demonstration alongside the boat. And, all the while, you get to enjoy the vintage sternwheeler steamboat — one of the last in Alaska.
Fishing in the Alaska backcountry | Credit: Rust’s Flying Service
11. Guided Fly-in Salmon Fishing
Location: Anchorage | Talk to your Travel Designer to include this excursion
Alaska is a coveted destination for seasoned anglers and casual fishing enthusiasts alike. Both saltwater and freshwater fishing excursions can be found across the state.
Whether on a boat in the North Pacific or casting off in waders, you're sure to catch an impressive bounty. But, to us, being transported by seaplane to the backcountry Lake Creek, fishing alongside an expert guide, lets you get a true sense of the abundance found in Alaska.
A cascade of salmon swims these waters, with trout numbers not far behind. In June, you'll catch kings; in July, reds, pinks, and chums; and in August, cohos fill the river. And, as it is accessible only by air, you'll have more exclusive access to these waters.
Please note: you must purchase a fishing license prior to this excursion.
Hiking Excursions
To feel the Alaskan terrain underfoot and get in touch with the land, set out across it on foot.
The view down over Exit Glacier | Credit: Ella Deane / Unsplash
12. Exit Glacier Guided Hike
Location: Seward | Featured in: Alaska Discovery Road Trip with Alaska Railroad
Discover the Kenai Fjords National Park step by step on a guided hike. Here, descending out of the Harding Icefield, you'll find Exit Glacier.
Alongside an expert naturalist, learn how Exit Glacier — an ancient natural organism, still living and moving — has shaped Resurrection Valley, and how glaciers have shaped Alaska. Along the Lower Trail, you'll have the chance to see a raw, natural Alaska, and potentially some of the wildlife that inhabits it. The trail features relatively easy terrain, letting this hike focus on the views.
Hiking through the Denali National Park backcountry | Credit: Denali Backcountry Lodge
13. Denali National Park and Preserve Backcountry Guided Hikes
Location: Denali | Featured in: Denali Backcountry Lodge Explorer
Alaska's backcountry — areas far beyond where roads go — is alluring in its remoteness. These are places untouched by human life, and some of the best chances to explore nature at its best. But the backcountry is difficult to access for most — for cruise ship passengers, seeing the backcountry is out of reach.
Excursions from Denali Backcountry Lodge have the benefit of starting deep in the backcountry and only going deeper. After being flown into the helicopter-access-only lodge, daily guided hikes lead guests safely into the bush. Here, on-site guides show you an Alaska few others ever see.
Photo taken of a moose with Anchorage in the background | Credit: Alaska Photo Treks
14. Sunset Photo Safari Tour
Location: Anchorage | Featured in: Alaska by Train Glaciers, Fjords & Denali
In the northern summer, sunsets are an extended affair. Golden hour stretches to several hours, perfect to capture Alaska at its most beautiful.
On this 4-hour tour, you'll make the most of the long sunset while journeying up the Cook Inlet. You'll walk into the wilderness surrounding Anchorage and have the chance to shoot wildlife, landscapes, cityscapes, and, of course, the sunset all under professional guidance.
Unique Transport Excursions
Cruise ships are far from the only way to get around Alaska. Beyond shore excursions, Alaska's wilderness begs to be explored along every avenue — whether by rail, tram, or 4x4.
The Alaska Railroad train | Credit: Alaska Railroad
15. Alaska Railroad
Location: Anchorage OR Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska Favorites by Rail
Though not the typical day excursion, a train tour with Alaska Railroad is a unique way to see Alaska's landscapes.
The 12-hour journey from Anchorage to Fairbanks aboard Alaska Railroad is frankly beautiful. Travelling through glacier-carved valleys, past remote towns, and alongside a backcountry river, the views are like no other.
This is not to mention the old-world charm of classic rail exploration. With a white-tablecloth-lined dining car and a stunning domed-glass seating car, your trip invites you to a time just passed. On the Denali Star train, you will relax into GoldStar Service when booking with Alaska Rail Vacations.
If you're after a shorter day trip, hour-long rides run between Anchorage and either Whittier or Seward. The Glacier Discovery and Coastal Classic trains double as both scenic trips and convenient travel.
For more information on Alaska Railroad tours, see our detailed post: All Your Questions about Alaska Railroad, Answered.
The Alyeska Tram ascending Mount Alyeska | Credit: Alyeska Aerial Tram / Ken Graham Photography
16. Alyeska Aerial Tram
Location: Girdwood | Talk to your Travel Designer to include this excursion
Seeing Alaska from its peaks is one of the best ways to get a true sense of the scale on which the state operates. But, understandably, walking from base to summit isn't as desirable.
Instead, float over the treeline on a seven-minute ride to the summit of Mount Alyeska. There, you'll find a charming wood-cabin-inspired tram station, a viewing deck — looking all the way across to the Turnagain Arm and the mountains beyond — both fine-dining and a casual bar, and all manner of scenic hikes.
The fleet of 4x4s on a Denali Highway tour | Credit: Denali Jeep
17. Denali Highway 4x4 Tour
Location: Denali | Featured in: Best of Alaska, Trains, Wildlife & Denali
The Denali Highway, though a highway by name, is an unpaved road and a sign that you have left the beaten track. Most travelers on Alaska road trips journey along the neighboring Parks Highway — which is paved — leaving Denali Highway as the place for adventure.
With the safety of a guide leading the helm, radio communication, and the freedom of your own 4x4 Jeep Wrangler, take a rugged road trip along over 100 miles of the eastern Alaska Range. And, as you go, spot the animals that shelter in these quiet landscapes, and see views that few other travellers experience.
Winter Excursions
Snow-covered mountains and dancing Northern Lights define the Alaskan winter. This is another side of Alaska entirely.
The Northern Lights seen from the Fairbanks Area | Credit: Chena Hot Springs
18. Northern Lights Tour
Location: Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska Northern Lights Train | Winter Delights
There are many benefits to taking an Alaska Northern Lights tour in Fairbanks — prime position under the Aurora Oval and access to remote viewing locations to start. But the biggest benefit, undoubtedly, is the chance to see the Aurora Borealis dancing over snowy mountain ranges.
Glacier-top dog sledding tour | Credit: Alaska Helicopter Tours
19. Dog Sledding Tour
Location: Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska Northern Lights Train | Aurora, Ice Fishing and Dog Sledding
Calling this a winter excursion might be a little misleading, as dog sledding tours are available year-round, either on a glacier landing (in Girdwood) or as the sled dogs pull a wheeled cart.
However, for the classic experience, we recommend a winter trip, experiencing dog sledding by night, under the hopeful glimmer of the Northern Lights.
Snowshoeing to the Castner Ice Cave | Credit: The Lodge at Black Rapids
20. Snowshoeing Excursions
Location: The Lodge at Black Rapids | Featured in: Alaska Aurora Train | Lodge at Black Rapids
Leisurely wandering through snowy landscapes signifies a great winter in Alaska. While staying at lodges like the Lodge at Black Rapids, you'll have access to a wealth of winter gear, including snowshoes. With these, you can explore the terrain even when it’s covered in snow, seeing how it changes in the quiet of winter. It’s a hushed experience, where the usual noise of life fades beneath the fresh snowfall, and one that offers a peek into the more intimate side of Alaska.
Chena Hot Springs on a winter's day | Credit: Chena Hot Springs
21. Chena Hot Springs Tour
Location: Fairbanks | Featured in: Alaska Aurora Train | Northern Lights Adventure
Chena Hot Springs is open throughout the year, but our favorite time to visit is in winter. This is when the healing outdoor baths stay open as the sky darkens and the Northern Lights brighyen the night. Not only is this a unique Alaska excursion, but also a unique way to see the Northern Lights, keeping warm in outdoor baths, just far enough from Fairbanks to escape light pollution, and for the lights to put on a show.
Once-in-a-Lifetime Excursion
To experience Alaska at its most raw, most natural, and most private, venture far from the beaten track in style.
Tutka Bay Lodge on a summer's day | Credit: Tutka Bay Lodge
22. Remote Luxury Wilderness Lodge
Location: Homer | Featured in: Alaska’s Lodges, Glaciers & Denali
Accessed by boat, bush plane, or helicopter tour, the best Alaska lodges are scattered across the state's hidden areas, just waiting to be found.
Each one is unique in its offerings and remarkable in its atmosphere.
At Tutka Bay Lodge, you will find old-growth forests, stone beaches, and hidden bays, and have them all to yourself. Spend your days hiking and kayaking through the wilds and join expert-led wildlife-viewing tours. Or, simply reconnect with nature with morning yoga, forest bathing, and true and unhindered immersion in the wilds.
Remote and entirely off-grid, the lodge serves foraged, garden-grown, and locally-fished ingredients, and elevates them to fine-dining. At Alaska's wilderness lodges, being off the beaten path doesn’t have to mean compromising on luxury.
Best Alaska Destinations for Excursions
The wilderness surrounding Anchorage | Credit: Destination Anchorage / Matt Hage
Anchorage
Anchorage is the perfect home base for day trips and excursions, offering ease of access to the surrounding landscapes. From here, you can easily travel south down the Kenai Peninsula to see Alaska's best coastal offerings, or north by road or rail to explore the Interior region, where you'll find Mount Denali and more.
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Flightseeing and small-plane excursions from remote lodges like Ultima Thule Lodge open up the 13.2 million acres of protected parkland that make up Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Though there are a few roads leading through the park, most rental car companies don't allow you to drive on the unpaved roads. But, even then, accessing backcountry wonders like the 1000 square mile Malaspina Glacier or the largest non-polar ice field in the world, Bagley Ice Field, is best done from the air.
The road under Mount Denali | Credit: Joris Beugels / Unsplash
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve is where to see mountains — including Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America — forests, and miles of untouched backcountry. It's easier to access than Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and offers similarly grand vistas across over 6 million acres.
Denali National Park and Preserve is best seen on flightseeing tours in a bush plane or helicopter, where we recommend flying to land on a remote glacier. Or, to see it from the ground, wildlife tours and guided hiking tours offer intimate views into the region's biosphere, all set against the backdrop of towering mountain views.
Ice in the Kenai Fjords | Credit: McKayla Crump / Unsplash
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is the best place in Alaska for whale watching and marine wildlife tours, saltwater fishing, and sea kayaking.
The region is made up of mountains, valleys, glaciers, and fjords. Between them, small rural towns like Seward, Whittier, and Homer all offer access to glacial cruises and a look into life in The Last Frontier.
Fairbanks
Fairbanks is Alaska's gateway to Arctic adventures and Northern Lights tours. This far north, the sun never sets in summer, and barely rises in winter, making it ideal to make the most of these seasonal shifts.
We recommend traveling to Fairbanks in late winter — February or March — for the most active auroras. Or, in the warmer months, taking a flightseeing tour to the Arctic, making the most of extended daylight hours and the midnight sun.
Alaska Rail Vacations team members enjoying their 2025 trip to Alaska | Credit: Alaska Rail Vacations
Booking an Alaska Trip with Alaska Rail Vacations
We want you to experience Alaska your way, at your own pace. Our tours are designed for adventure. Each features built-in flexibility and exciting, customizable excursions along the way.
Alaska Rail Vacations is a tour operator helping you see beyond Alaska's shore excursions. If you're arriving by cruise, our https://alaskarail.com/alaska-post-cruise-land-tours/ help you make the most of your extended time in Alaska. These land-based journeys offer a slower pace, fewer crowds, and access to places most cruise passengers miss. We can arrange transfers from Alaska cruise ports to the beginning — or end — of the journey for a seamless continuation of your adventure.
Or, if the sole purpose of your trip is to see beyond Alaska's shore, we have everything from train tours to road trips to remote Alaska wilderness lodges. This is our introduction to Alaska's wild heart.
And if you want a cruise, we’d be happy to help with that too. Our partner brand, Alaska By Design, offers a curated selection of small ship cruises, letting you experience an Alaska cruise without sacrificing a sense of exclusivity.
Begin Planning Today
Reach out to a Travel Designer to begin planning today. Your personal Travel Designer will work with you to find the package that's right, and tailor it to perfection. And if you're looking for something entirely unique, we can do that too.
Subscribe to our newsletter for more travel inspiration, featured tours, and deals.
FAQs
What are the best Alaska excursions?
The best Alaska excursions are helicopter tours that include a glacier landing. They give you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to stand on a remote and ancient icefield. Close runners-up would be bear viewing tours, glacier sled dog tours, whale watching trips, and a day-long glacier cruise on Prince William Sound.
What is the best month to go to Alaska?
The best month to visit Alaska depends on the kinds of excursions and experiences you want while you're there.
The best time for summer activities in Alaska is in June and July. This is when you'll get the best combination of good weather and prime wildlife viewing.
For winter trips, visiting Alaska during the aurora season — late August to late April — with the best months being February and March for the most active Northern Lights and the perfect balance between daylight, temperature, and snow.
Are shore excursions worth it in Alaska?
We recommend taking longer trips to Alaska rather than just shore excursions. With a few extra days, you can get much further into the state and enjoy more freedom to go at your own pace.
If you're arriving via cruise ship and looking to explore further, our pre- and post-cruise land tours will introduce you to Alaska's quiet side.
Why should I work with an Alaska tour company?
Alaska tour operators, like Alaska Rail Vacations, know the state inside and out. Our insider expertise allows us to arrange everything you need for a successful tour through Alaska's stunning scenery. And, by letting us take care of the details, you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy your journey.