When we signed our assignment in Alaska, we knew we wanted to go to the national parks. We always try to hit up all the national parks that we can. What’s your favorite national park? This is such a controversial conversation, and I’m always so interested to see what everyone thinks! We wanted to visit Denali Mountain, formerly Mount McKinley. It’s the tallest mountain in North America. It’s hard to describe my recent experience of a flightseeing tour over Denali National Park. It’s definitely a once and a lifetime experience, and I highly would recommend it to anyone that’s given a chance. The scenery was incredible, it almost looked “fake”. Denali National Park is a five hour drive from Anchorage. We decided not to travel by car to Denali, and opted to do a flightseeing tour over Denali. I recommend this tour to anyone who’s visiting Alaska. Let’s talk a little bit about my flightseeing tour and also touch on the beautiful town of Talkeetna.
How to get there?
Many of the flightseeing tours go out of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is about 2 hours and 15 minutes away from Anchorage. This makes it a great day trip from Anchorage, with it being so close! Hotels near Denali can get expensive, so this is a great alternative to seeing Denali.
A Little About Talkeetna
Talkeetna is such a cute town! I absolutely loved exploring it. Talkeetna is known for being the gateway to Denali. It also has cute downtown shopping, restaurants, and has other activities in nature. It has a lot of great souvenir stores. Cool as a Blue Moose is a chain Alaska souvenir shop. I found this location a lot better than the other ones. They had a great amount of t-shirts, and other souvenirs. We did a lot of mothers day shopping for Nick’s mom, and sisters. If you are in downtown Talkeetna, definitely check out Denali Brewpub. We have eaten at this location twice, and enjoyed it both times. We had a late lunch here, and split the fish and chips. It’s super fresh, and worth trying! They also have a great homemade salsa. There’s also a great pizza shop on the main street, Mountain High Pizza Pie. Nick and I haven’t checked this place out, but have heard great reviews. The one place I wouldn’t recommend is Shirley’s Homemade Ice Cream. Nick and I stopped here on our last trip to Talkeetna. I found the ice cream very bland, and also SO expensive. A small/mini ice cream was $9.00. It definitely wasn’t worth $9.00 or calories. The Oreo ice cream was vanilla ice cream with very small Oreo crumbles mixed in. Don’t classify this as, “Oreo ice cream”. I honestly would pass, and find somewhere else. Talkeetna is home to a bunch of flight tour companies. This makes it a popular tourist town. Let’s touch on what company we chose and why.
The Company We Used and Why?
There are three companies that offer this type of experience out of Talkeetna.
There are a lot of factors to look into when choosing what company you go with. The most obvious is price, but it’s also what you want to get for the experience. Some of these companies have shorter vs longer tours and some have glacier landings.
We went with K2 aviation for our Denali flightseeing tour. We chose the Denali flier with glacier landing. We highly recommend them for all your Denali flightseeing tours. We felt safe with the plane and company. The tour guide we had was fantastic! ** was very personable and provided such great information about the area.
The Experience Itself
You start the experience of flightseeing in the main office. They have you check in and pay the remaining balance. After that’s paid, they have you step on a scale. As a person that’s terrified of someone else looking at the scale, you can’t see the number at all. I’m honestly not sure if they see the number or simply a green check mark. I have to say this for my friends (like me!) that struggle with a healthy relationship with the scale. Any type of adventure that involves the scale honestly… makes me uneasy. I knew they had a weight restriction of 400 lbs., but didn’t know if it was the honor system. I think I would have preferred to know that this was coming. I know I’m personally working on a healthy relationship with food, the scale, and movement. It’s easier said than done. After you sign in and get weighed, they suggest you use the bathroom at the office. There are no public restrooms on the plane, so definitely plan ahead! Afterwards, you gather outside in the back.
I’ll be honest, I hate small planes. I like to say I’m not claustrophobic… but, I absolutely am. This made me a little nervous regarding the flightseeing tour. It’s not about the plane having issues, it’s just being in such a tight space. I have to say, I was nervous for nothing. Don’t get me wrong, the plane is super small, but didn’t feel that small. They have a safety “huddle” at the beginning before boarding the plane. They discuss what to expect and safety rules. During this time, they offer shoe coverings. We opted not to use these. Check out the list below of what you should bring and wear. They will have you board the flight and they suggest sitting across from your partner. It’s definitely a small plane, but comfortably seats 12, including the pilot. I would suggest the last two seats, as it gives you more leg room. If you are plus size, this helps in regards to this also.
After you’re seated and buckled, they will provide you with a headset/microphone. In regards to the seat belt for my plus size friends. I was able to buckle and have plenty of room to tighten it with no issues. It’s definitely a roomier seat, and seat belt. They also offer seat belt extenders, you just have to ask them for it! Hopefully this gives you some ease in regards to doing this adventure! They also offer these microphones/headset to hear the pilot and to also cover the background noise. It definitely gives you the top gun feeling.
The flight to the glacier and Denali were absolutely breathtaking. The views were incredible. I really enjoyed this part of the trip. They drive back in a different direction, so you see another part of the scenery.
The Glacier Landing
If I can suggest anything, do the glacier landing… It is worth every penny. The glacier landing, and the flight itself, are always weather dependent. We had to reschedule our flight three times… It can get frustrating, and if you are a travel nurse, I wouldn’t wait till the last weekend you are here. Plan ahead for possible cancellations. I would call prior to leaving Anchorage to check the conditions and make sure that they are able to fly that day. The first day we scheduled, we drove all the way to Talkeetna prior to finding out it was canceled. That was definitely a bummer… We smartened up after. Again, I will cover what to wear and what to bring later on, but I am glad that the tour guide suggested I change out of my boat shoes. Luckily, I brought my hiking boots. Check out the glacier landing!
They will land on the glacier if it’s safe. They have a small runway on the glacier. They encourage you to take in the views, but not walk past the wingspan of the plane. Glaciers are not predictable. Let me tell you, Nick fell through a glacier on our snowmobile tour. That was a surprise. I can’t wait to tell you about that experience too!
What to Bring and What to Wear?
First off all my fashion friends, let’s talk about what to wear on this type of adventure. If anyone knows me, they know they will find me in a dress or skirt on a normal day. I am glad I read the website of what to wear, because I definitely would have worn a skirt. The website suggests to layer your clothing during the summer season (May-September). K2 Aviation suggested long pants and to bring a jacket in case. They also suggest boots. This is a big thing. Remember boots. There was a lot of snow up on the glacier, and without boots it would have been miserable. In terms of what to bring, bring a camera, a phone, sunglasses, and a battery power pack. I’m not sure about anyone else, but my phone is always dead or dying.
Flightseeing tour as a plus size person
I kind of touched on doing this flightseeing tour as a plus size person. We talked about the scale at check in, the seats, and the seatbelts. What other questions do you have? I know sometimes we limit ourselves because of the anticipation of what can possibly come up. As a plus size traveler, this adventure is plus size friendly, as long as you make the weight requirement.
I hope I convinced you to visit Alaska and do a flightseeing tour over Denali. I can’t recommend enough, K2 Aviation for all your flightseeing tour needs. You won’t be disappointed in this experience! Stay up to date with all things travel, nursing, and of course Flicks_withNick movie reviews. Give us a follow on Instagram or subscribe to this blog.
TravelingbeebryantRN & Flicks_withNick 
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