The BEST episodes of Aerial America
Every episode of Aerial America ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Aerial America!
Take off on a thrilling flight across America. This epic series offers rare glimpses of our nation's most treasured landmarks, all seen from breathtaking heights. From busy cityscapes to quiet landscapes, we capture the history and the pageantry of our amazing country, which is as diverse as the people who occupy it.
#1 - Oregon
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/17/2011
Individualistic, eccentric and freethinking: a mix that's intrinsically "Made in Oregon." These traits belong not just to the people of this diverse state, but also to the landscape itself. From Crater Lake to the High Cascades to the perilous Pacific coastline, this state is full of natural beauty. From Lewis and Clark's search for "land's end" to the thousands of emigrants who arrived via the Oregon Trail, the state has always attracted the adventurous type.
#2 - Michigan
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/22/2012
Michigan is a Midwestern powerhouse, where one man's assembly lines brought the automobile to America and another man's "Hit Factory" brought the Motown sound to the world. Named after the Native American term for "big lake," Michigan is defined not only by the Great Lakes that shape it, but how its residents shaped America. Discover its diverse history and its visionaries who built empires, started unions, and helped win a World War.
#3 - Arizona
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/2/2012
The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world, but it's just one of many breathtaking marvels you'll find in Arizona. Explore the Copper State's remarkable history and its awe-inspiring landscapes, spectacular sunsets and infamous gunfights. From Tombstone to tent jails, from the Valley of the Sun to lost cities of gold, this aerial tour celebrates and studies a colorful state filled with equally colorful characters.
#4 - Missouri
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/31/2015
Destination "Missouruh" for our crew - and you can help by telling us what we should film there. While the Show-Me State is home to the tallest man-made monument in the US, don't ask us to fly through the Gateway Arch - we just can't get the permits. But there are plenty of other sights: from the Liberty Memorial, to the unique architectural features of the Christ Church Cathedral, all the way to the historic Arrow Rock State Park: tell us what tops your list!
#5 - Hawaii
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/17/2010
Join us on a non-stop journey by air over our nation's most exotic and breathtaking state. From lush green cliffs to black-sand beaches, from ancient ruins to modern city life, this aerial tour reveals the grandeur of the Aloha State. From Molokai to Maui, discover the stunning landscapes and astonishing stories of Hawaii's eight major islands without ever touching the ground.
#6 - Virginia
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/24/2010
It's been called the New World and the Old Dominion. It is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, and the legend of Pocahontas. It's the site of Williamsburg, perhaps the most ambitious history lesson in America. Virginia proudly celebrates its past without losing its sense of fun. Join us as we travel across a diverse and rugged landscape into the realm of pirates, the source of myths and the heart of American democracy.
#7 - Pennsylvania
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/11/2012
This thrilling ride over the Keystone State takes you over large cities and across small towns, where tradition thrives, Nittany Lions roar, and freedom rings. It's where the first football game was played and the bloodiest Civil War battle was fought. Where American Independence began and America's westward expansion commenced. Whether you prefer cheese steak or chocolate, Andy Warhol or Rocky Balboa, this aerial tour of Pennsylvania has something for everyone!
#8 - Montana
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/21/2013
Big skies, big adventure, and big spirits: this is Montana. It's where fertile plains collide with the Rocky Mountains and the country's fastest land mammals run the grasslands known as the American Serengeti. It's also where Lewis and Clark faced towering stone obstacles and Custer faced an even more daunting foe. This aerial journey showcases the Treasure State's mountains and milestones, its legends and landmarks, all from spectacular heights.
#9 - Texas
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/23/2014
To capture Texas, you need to go big, and this aerial exploration spans thousands of square miles to reveal the great sites of the Lone Star State. Witness its lush forests, forbidding deserts, and shimmering modern cities. High-altitude views of landmarks reveal a rich, complex past where bloody battles for independence began and where the era of American idealism ended one dark November day. From humble beginnings to boastful proclamations, see why "everything's bigger in Texas."
#10 - Utah
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/16/2014
From the unearthly pinnacles of Arches National Park to the blinding white terrain of the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah has an alien beauty that you must see to believe. It has a history uniquely its own, from the tragedy of the Donner Party to the arrival of Brigham Young, an American leader who built Mormonism into one of the most successful religions in the world. This journey over the Beehive State celebrates a land that offers endless surprises and possibilities.
#11 - Indiana
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/17/2015
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" and prepare to be whisked away over Indiana's famous racetrack and the Golden Dome, vast cornfields and large quarries, and bustling metropolises and a city of ruins. Here in the Hoosier State, Abraham Lincoln became a man, basketball became an obsession, and the nation nearly doubled in one of the biggest land grabs in U.S. history. This aerial tour captures the beauty, spirit, and stories of Indiana as seen from above.
#12 - The Dakotas
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/23/2014
Take in the soaring views above a state that inspired a future president, launched the country's first millionaire, and kept a dark, rich secret under its expansive prairies for centuries. This lofty journey over North Dakota highlights the Roughrider State's grand beauty, which healed a grieving Teddy Roosevelt and transformed him into a defender of America's wild land. Explore the state's booms and busts, from fur trade explosions to frontier battles to the thousands of oil wells that dot the land and house flaming vents that are visible from space.
#13 - Florida
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/12/2012
Explore the grassy waters, sandy shores, and intriguing history of Florida. From big orange groves to Little Havana, from launching rockets to hanging chads, the Sunshine State offers spectacular views and seminal moments that are uniquely its own. Soar over the metropolis of Miami and the spring break mecca: Panama City. This is a first-class Floridian vacation, and you have a window seat!
#14 - Colorado
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/12/2012
Get ready for a Rocky Mountain adventure over the state that boasts some of the highest peaks, tallest sand dunes and largest single-site brewery in America. Every year Colorado attracts music lovers, ski buffs, and sports fans drawn to its Red Rocks, Aspen slopes and the Broncos' Mile High Stadium. But it is also a state with a history, marked by war, a gold rush and legendary bank robberies. Through it all, Colorado remains a feast for the eyes.
#15 - Massachusetts
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/31/2011
Henry David Thoreau said of its shores: "A man may stand here and put all of America behind him." In many ways, Massachusetts is America. The state is home to revolutionaries, a haven for artists, and the birthplace of education and higher learning. From the journeys of pilgrims to the ride of Paul Revere, from the witch trials of Salem to the Curse of the Bambino, we invite you on a flight spanning hundreds of years and just as many spectacular sights.
#16 - Connecticut
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/31/2010
From sleeping giants to Captain Kidd's buried treasure, Connecticut isn't as quaint as you think. Join us on an aerial journey across a state rich in Native American legends, colonial history, and good old New England charm. This is where Mark Twain created some of fiction's greatest characters and where Benedict Arnold committed America's greatest act of treason. Savor the state's coastal blue waters and mountains ablaze with autumn colors, from a bird's-eye view.
#17 - Tennessee
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/7/2010
Travel from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Olde Opry, from Elvis Presley's Graceland Mansion to a legendary whiskey distillery, Tennessee tells the story of America's expansion west and all the celebration and sadness that came with it. Join us as we soar high above the Volunteer State, journeying over the majestic Appalachian Mountains and the mighty Mississippi River, to see its natural beauty - rugged, inviting and infused with the spirit of a nation.
#18 - South Carolina
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/24/2011
The true spirit and rich history of the South are encapsulated in this first-class journey across the Palmetto State. From Fort Sumter, where the first shots of The War Between the States rang out, to Sullivan Island, the Ellis Island of Slaves, to the cypress swamp where freedom fighter Francis Marion helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War. Take flight on a journey that showcases American history, pristine beaches, colorful cities, and wild spaces.
#19 - New York
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/11/2011
Take a memorable flight over a remarkable state, one rich with the stories of a nation that began long before European explorers discovered its mighty rivers. Explore New York's amazing beauty, from the roaring Niagara Falls to its stunning peaks and valleys, to a city full of abundant architectural heritage and infamous residents. Aerial New York tells the stories of expansive natural wonders, the city that never sleeps and the day we will never forget.
#20 - California
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/10/2010
The Pacific Coast Highway of California offers spectacular views while traveling along the edge of American culture. Buckle up for a non-stop flight over the mansion William Randolph Hearst built, the town Clint Eastwood governed and the farmland where Marilyn Monroe once held the title of Miss Artichoke. We soar over beaches and wine country, across Big Sur redwoods, under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the heart and soul of this magnificent state.
#21 - Dallas-Fort Worth 24
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/15/2019
Fly over the fourth largest metropolis in the nation to discover how a simple trading post on the banks of Trinity River became the start of this great city in 1839. Discover the struggles, battles and lives lost in the battle for Texas to become independent from Mexico and how the United States government protected its new American settlers, living on the edge of the frontier, with an Army outpost named Fort-Worth.
#22 - New Jersey
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/10/2015
New Jersey is one of America's 13 original states, and one of its most fascinating. It's where the nation's first industrial city was built, where some of Hollywood's biggest studios began, and where a brilliant inventor devised a way to light the world. We trace the Garden State's most dramatic historic moments, from Washington's fateful Delaware crossing to Hindenburg's fiery crash to Superstorm Sandy's furious attack. We also celebrate Jersey's quiet misty valleys, fields of plenty, miles of sunlit shores, and plucky, innovative spirit.
#23 - Wyoming
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/30/2014
Soar over Wyoming and explore the fertile landscapes that first lured men like Jim Bridger out West in search of furs and game. Then visit the Cowboy State's famous towns and landmarks, from Jackson Hole to the Teton Mountains, and from the Sheridan Rodeo to the Continental Divide. Delve into its controversial past, including a shocking hate crime, a notorious mining operation, and a 19th-Century fight for women's rights that continues to inspire today.
#24 - Kentucky
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/9/2014
Kentucky: home of young Abe Lincoln, old family feuds, and the most exciting two minutes in sports. This overhead exploration reveals the fertile stories of America's 15th state, from Daniel Boone's wilderness trail to the Country Music Highway, and from the legends of the Kentucky Derby to the secrets behind its beloved bourbon. With its rich history and breathtaking beauty, the Bluegrass State is a stunning, hard-won paradise, best viewed from high above.
#25 - Idaho
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/2/2014
Soar over a state with much more to offer than just potatoes! This state contains millions of acres of untamed land, great ancient spines of stone, and the deepest canyon in America. Idaho's past is as rich as its volcanic soil and this tour over the Gem State reveals unique visual treasures. From Hemingway's haven to Hell's Canyon, and from the world's first atomic city to the birth of the potato boom, discover the beauty and history of Idaho.