Whether you need a film permit in Alaska depends on who manages the land. Since 2025, small crews often need no permit on federal land, while Alaska State Parks and the Alaska Railroad require one for any commercial shoot.

June to September is peak season, with green landscapes, up to 19 hours of daylight in Anchorage and the easiest access. For snow with workable daylight, February to April is the best window.

You can fly a drone for paid work across much of Alaska with an FAA-certified pilot, but not in national parks, and only with FAA authorization near Anchorage's airports. Where drones aren't allowed, use a crewed aircraft: our Cub Cam or a helicopter, flown within FAA and park rules.

Access matters most: a location off the road system adds aircraft or boat time, weight limits and weather standby. After that come season, gear freight, permits and insurance, crew travel and weather days.

These are the ten places we film most, from glaciers about an hour from Anchorage to the fly-in coast of Katmai. Each one has its own land manager and permit, and several are reached only by boat, plane or snowmachine.

Quite a lot: with local crew, gear, vehicles and aircraft already in Alaska, 24 hours is realistic for many shoots. What sets the limit is permits, aircraft and peak-season lodging, not crew.

A foreign crew filming in Alaska needs the right US visa (media crews can't work on ESTA or a tourist visa), usually an ATA carnet for the professional gear it brings, and a plan for moving that gear around the state. Renting gear locally takes most of the customs work off the list.

A winter shoot in Alaska works when every department plans for short days, deep cold and harder access. Winter shoots are possible from November, but we like to start winter work in February, when the days are longer.

Plan aurora shoots between late August and mid-April, when Alaska's nights are dark enough, and schedule crew for the hours around midnight. Fairbanks and the Interior see aurora most often. Southcentral gets it on more active nights, with mountains and glaciers in the foreground.

No. Alaska repealed its film production tax credit in 2015. HB 113, which would have created a new 25% transferable credit, died when the Legislature adjourned on May 20, 2026.

Some of the best-known Alaska stories on screen were filmed in Iceland, Massachusetts, New Zealand, British Columbia and Washington State. The reasons on record are tax credits, production infrastructure and cost, not the look.