The WORST episodes of Aerial America
Every episode of Aerial America ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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 - Great Cities
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/22/2019
Explore the awe-inspiring skyscrapers and dazzling public spaces of America’s great cities and meet the people who keep them running day and night. From Boston, New York, and Miami in the east to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, and L.A. in the west, and from Chicago in the north to Dallas-Fort Worth in the south, this is a cross-country metropolitan tour from breathtaking heights.
#2 - Washington D.C.
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/26/2015
Washington, DC, does not boast towering buildings, but its skyline still inspires awe through its history, purpose, and what happens inside its walls. Explore the Nation's Capital from above as we swoop over its monuments, memorials, historic neighborhoods, and beckoning waters. We celebrate a city of stately American symbols and turbulent history, including scandals, protests, assassinations, and battles that rocked it to its core. But through it all, D.C. has survived and thrived, proving itself a city worthy of the nation it represents.
#3 - Mississippi
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/4/2012
In Mississippi, culture and history run as deep as its mighty river. Soar over landmarks where Civil Rights movements were waged, Civil War battles were lost and the Blues were born. The Magnolia State is also a land of seductive landscapes and endless creativity, giving us literary geniuses such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, plus musical legends Muddy Waters and Elvis. Take flight on this journey over a land of hospitality, beauty and complexity.
#4 - Oklahoma
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/18/2012
Oklahoma is home to great tallgrass prairies, where herds of buffalo roam free and oil jacks gush black gold. Where the Trail of Tears ended and a mass exodus began 100 years later, prompted by a wave of dust. This flight over the Sooner State whisks you over the home of famous "Okies" Will Rogers, Brad Pitt, and Geronimo. Where native cultures have flourished for thousands of years and where countless hopeful settlers arrived for a shot at the American Dream.
#5 - Amazing Destinations
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/14/2013
From its Great Lakes to its Grand Canyon, its Rocky Mountain peaks to its Key West reefs, America is a land of amazing destinations. This adventure over the nation's most remarkable landscapes and landmarks captures her breathtaking beauty, while demonstrating how its sense of wonder has inspired countless artists, thinkers, and revolutionaries. Join us on this cross-country tour over iconic and unknown sights, and discover a side of America you've never seen before.
#6 - Ohio
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/28/2013
It's where the Wright brothers' visions of flight fully took off and where a young Neil Armstrong first dreamed of the Moon. Take flight over the Buckeye State and witness centuries of American history etched in its soil. From the Ohio River, where Revolutionary War veterans started life anew, to Marietta, where runaway slaves sought shelter, this aerial tour celebrates the state's spirit: built on freedom, sports, and rock and roll.
#7 - Made in the U.S.A.
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/11/2013
"Made in the USA" isn't just a label. It's a testament to American ingenuity and the pioneers and risk takers who have given us everything from jumbo jets to microchips, and ketchup to cornflakes. This cross-country journey celebrates the nation's crowning industrial achievements and the people behind them. Soar above Starbucks headquarters, Motown Records, Talladega Superspeedway, and more, exploring stories of inspiration, innovation, and invention.
#8 - Beyond Hollywood
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 8/25/2013
Virtually anywhere you go in America, Hollywood has already been there, telling a story and sharing it with the world. Join us on a coast-to-coast tour of countless locations made famous by Hollywood's greatest films. From the Manhattan skyline that Woody Allen romanticized to the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Rocky Balboa climbed, we bring you America as it's been captured and immortalized in film.
#9 - Best Small Towns
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/13/2014
Smithsonian Magazine and Smithsonian Channel team up to take one of our signature series to even greater heights! Join us on a cross-country tour over our nation's most fascinating small towns, from Medora, North Dakota, where Teddy Roosevelt once sought solace, to Carmel, California, where Dirty Harry became mayor. This soaring journey shows the road less traveled is often the one best traveled, as only Aerial America can.
#10 - Alaska's Fire and Ice
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/6/2014
It's twice the size of Texas, features 16 of the 20 tallest mountains in the nation and is home to the biggest earthquake of the 20th century. Everything about Alaska is larger, tougher, and more extreme than any other state. This breathtaking two-part journey soars over its one-half million square miles of winter wonderland and shows why countless adventurers have come to the 49th State over the centuries in search of gold, silver, mountain-peak views, dog-sledding glory, and more.
#11 - Alaska's Call of the Wild
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/6/2014
For centuries, thousands of adventurers have answered Alaska's "call of the wild," seeking thrills and fortunes in a state rife with postcard-perfect beauty... and lethal dangers. Take flight across ancient glaciers, rugged mountain ranges, primeval forests, and pristine waterways. Then discover how the state's unique charm has attracted bold visitors, from Russian fur traders to a young survivalist on a one-way trip "into the wild" to the thousands of dog sledders facing off in the "Last Great Race on Earth!"
#12 - Wilderness
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 9/10/2014
Some are vital sanctuaries for endangered species. Some can only be reached by plane. All are magnificent. These are the untamed pockets of the U.S. protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964. Take a cross-country flight over icy landscapes in Alaska's Denali, vast wetlands in Florida's Everglades, and over 100 million acres of badlands, deserts, and mountains where nature rules. Then learn how the nation's wildest places are tied to America's native history, its pioneering spirit, its extraordinary leaders, and its untouched beauty.
#13 - Iowa
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/24/2015
It's appropriate that we'll be traversing the Hawkeye State from the air - and you can help us decide which of its great landmarks demand a bird's-eye view. Will the George M. Verity, one of the last surviving US steam-powered towboats, or the Sergeant Floyd monument make your list? It's sure to be an epic photo-essay over Iowa that will warm you to its charms. And when was the last time the words "warm" and "Iowa" were used in the same sentence?
#14 - Illinois
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/7/2015
It's given us American icons as notorious as Al Capone and as heroic as Abraham Lincoln. It's where endless rows of corn blanket the fields and towering buildings touch the sky. The state of Illinois is full of awe-inspiring sights and captivating drama, and this aerial excursion explores it all. From the Great Fire of Chicago to the Great Migration that brought Muddy Waters and the blues up north, we visit the places and people that tell Illinois' powerful story.
#15 - On the Water
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/24/2016
Water is a resource, a recreation, and a requirement for life itself. It is also a sight to behold, whether it's the product of millions of years of geological evolution or a remarkable feat of modern engineering. This aerial excursion whisks you above America's massive lakes, powerful rivers, mind-boggling glaciers, and shape-shifting wetlands as well as its man-made dams and canals. See how our interaction with water has shaped our nation's landscape and its history, and how its importance continues to ripple from coast to coast.
#16 - Natural Wonders
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/8/2016
Massive forces have transformed our nation over billions of years, sculpting and shaping it into the breathtaking landscape we know today. All around us, natural wonders abound, from South Dakota's badlands to Yellowstone's boiling cauldrons to West Virginia's stunning spine of quartzite. See them all from towering heights on this cross-country voyage over America's most astonishing natural sights, formed inch-by-inch over a period of time.
#17 - Boston 24
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/8/2019
A breathtaking aerial tour over Boston explores its revolutionary acts, art, infrastructure, and ideals.
#18 - Yellowstone
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/7/2019
When you soar above Yellowstone, it's easy to see why it became the world's first national park in 1872. It's a place of staggering beauty and fragile creatures, of stunning granite peaks that pierce the sky and colorful springs that may hold secrets about the origins of life. This aerial voyage takes you over high elevation lakes, snaking canyons, sputtering hot geysers, and snow-covered landscapes. Explore Yellowstone's history of Native Americans, European explorers, and 10 million years of tectonic upheaval.
#19 - New York City 24
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/4/2017
There's nothing like a day in the life of New York City, and there's no better way to appreciate it than from above. Join us as we span the five boroughs, capturing the city's man-made and natural wonders and revealing the surprising ways its citizens live, work, and play. From crane operators working 1,000 feet over Manhattan to beachgoers frolicking at Coney Island to the pulsing lights of Times Square, this aerial tour captures the excitement of a city that is always on the go.
#20 - Southern California
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 7/10/2016
Southern California: land of movie moguls and big celebrities, Spanish missionaries and military heroes. It's a region full of character, from the people it has attracted over the centuries to the natural wonders that make up the Golden State's lower half. Join us as we soar above towering mountains of sand, race across a valley that's also the hottest place on Earth, and discover volcanic craters that are nothing short of otherworldly as we celebrate the sites, stories and spirit of this land of extremes.
#21 - The Wild West
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/3/2016
The American West has fascinated people for generations and it's no wonder. It's a region of tall tales and larger-than-life characters, intermingling cultures and powerful industries, and stunning landscapes best enjoyed from breathtaking heights. Aerial America: The Wild West whisks you across the western frontier, from the St. Louis Arch to the Pacific shores to the Alaskan wilderness. Watch as we capture its many visual wonders and celebrate the men, women, and children who made their way across our nation and into the pages of history.
#22 - New England
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/26/2016
The rich history of American independence rings out from just about every corner of New England, from the Massachusetts harbors where early rebellions triggered a revolution to the rocky peaks where freedom soars today. From the air, there's no end to the wonders of this northeastern region. Take a sky-high journey with us as we capture the pristine lakes on Maine's northern border, the rocky shores of Connecticut's stunning coast, the fall colors that blanket the mountains of Vermont, and beyond.
#23 - Trailblazers
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/19/2016
Presidents and pilots. Athletes and authors. Engineers and entertainers. America has seen over two centuries of trailblazers, pioneering men and women who have altered our culture, our landscapes, and our lives. Take a coast-to-coast tour over the locales where these leaders made history. From Mount Vernon to Silicon Valley, from Lambeau Field to Walden Pond and landmarks in between, we celebrate the places and the people who blazed a trail and took our nation in a new direction.
#24 - The South
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/12/2016
What is it that makes America's southern states "the South"? Is it the legacy of eclectic music, from hip-hop to blues to country? Is it the rich history that survived notorious pirates, epic battles, and human rights movements? Or is it the stunning Gulf Shores, cotton fields, and towering rocky peaks? Whatever it is, it's easy to understand why Southerners feel such a deep connection to their land. Join us on this soaring tour over a region rich with history, culture, and a rare American lure that can only be found in the South.
#25 - Man-Made Marvels
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/5/2016
The vast beauty of America isn't evident only in its spacious skies, dramatic shores, and sweeping plains. It's also in its skyline towers, stunning monuments, and gravity-defying bridges. Join us on a soaring, swooping voyage across our nation's biggest, boldest, and most dazzling man-made projects. From The Statue of Liberty to Seattle's Space Needle and everything in between, these majestic structures stand as symbols of our creativity, give us glimpses of our changing ideas, and provide building blocks for our future.