Flightseeing

Any air-taxi company (check the Anchorage Yellow Pages) can arrange for a flightseeing trip over Anchorage and environs. The fee is determined by the length of time you are airborne and the size of the plane. Tours of about an hour and a half generally cost around $200 per person. Three-hour flights over Mt. McKinley, including a landing on a remote backcountry lake, run about $250 per person.

Ellison Air does floatplane air tours from Lake Spenard, including a $50.00 per person 30-minute ride (four-person minimum), and mountain- and bear-viewing trips. At Lake Hood, Rust's Flying Service flies ski-planes over Mt. McKinley that include a landing on Ruth Glacier—a spectacular alpine amphitheater high on the mountain. They offer flightseeing tours all over Southcentral Alaska, fly-in float trips, and fly-in fishing trips for the day or for overnight stays at remote cabins.

Contacts

Regal Air (907/243-8535. www.regal-air.com). Rust's Flying Service (907/243-1595 or 800/544-2299. www.flyrusts.com). Ellison Air (907/243-1959. www.ellisonair.com).

Wildlife Viewing

Kenai Fjords Tours has day packages to Kenai Fjords National Park April through November.

Contacts

Kenai Fjords Tours (509 W. 4th Ave., Downtown. 907/276-6249 or 800/468-8068. www.kenaifjords.com).