Alaska trip - recommendations?

cthomer5000 · 04-01-2016, 09:38 PM

A friend and I are taking a 7 day trip in mid-May. Flying into and out of Anchorage. We will have a rental car the whole time.

The only firm plans right now are to definitely drive up to Denali National park at some point.

Anyone have any experience with trips to Alaska (specifically the Anchorage area) and have any suggestions for either "must see" or "ehh, don't bother" stuff?

I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

SnowMan · 04-02-2016, 09:27 AM

I lived in Anchorage for 15 years, so here's some stuff off the top of my head:

May might be a little early for the touristy type stuff, but take a look at going to Whittier/Portage and then on to Seward. There's lots of stuff to do along the way to Seward, and it's some of the best scenery you'll ever see. Stop along the way at one of the overlooks and watch the tide go in or out. I guarantee you've never seen a tide that creates a wave in front of it as it comes in. You can go to Exit Glacier just out of Seward, and literally hike up to it and put your hands on it. It's a pretty awe-inspiring experience when you're right up next to it.

If you're going to Denali, definitely stop in Talkeetna. It's a neat little town, and kind of the last bit of civilization before the park.

In Anchorage, you have to hike up to flat top (just ask a local how to get there, it's super popular). The views from up there are stunning when the weather is good. Go to the Peanut Farm for a meal. Spend some time downtown shopping and checking out the different restaurants, there's some great ones. Obviously, try out the seafood; it's some of the best. Drive over to the Lake Hood airport (it's right next to the main airport) and marvel at all of the private planes. It's quite a sight.

Julio Riddols · 04-02-2016, 03:06 PM

I concur with SnowMan. Lived up there for a year in Wasilla, saw just about all the stuff mentioned. One of my favorite things to do in Alaska was to simply breathe. The air just seemed to invigorate me.

Flasch186 · 04-02-2016, 03:20 PM

Go Halibut Fishing and Salmon Fishing.

Castlerock · 04-02-2016, 10:48 PM

You almost cannot go wrong. 7 days is not a lot of time so you will have to make choices. From Anchorage, you can head south down the Kenai Peninsula. We went all the way to Homer and went halibut fishing. You are almost guaranteed to catch lots of halibut. Our charter had 5 guys and we had something like 700 pounds of fish. Largest was about 175 lbs. Salmon is also an option but those are not a sure thing like the halibut. May is (I think) too early for Salmon season on the rivers. I was there in June and hit opening day on the Kenai. Other rivers may be different. Denali is a must. We got a campsite at Teklanika River campground inside the park (mile 29). It was fantastic but you have to reserve WAY in advance. Cars are not allowed in the park so you must ride the buses. 99% of the people never get off of the bus. Get a reservation on the FIRST bus of every day. You can see wildlife at any time, but early morning is the best. Sleep when you get home. And... GET OFF THE BUS at any place that looks cool. When you are done, make your way back to the road and flag down the next bus. I watched 3 bear cubs hunting caribou. Sat on a knoll on the tundra as a (different) herd of caribou walked up to me. I had a camera in my bag but never even THOUGHT to take a photo as I was just in the moment. The bus driver reported that a bus headed in the opposite direction just saw a wolf. Well, I have never seen a wolf in the wild so I told the driver to stop and I got off. Found a good vantage point and just waited. Never did see him but I did see his tracks and I'll bet he saw me. Did not have the time to do any back-country camping but I wish I did. Bring a camera with a long zoom.

My parents rode the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali and they loved it.

albionmoonlight · 04-04-2016, 07:58 AM

On a seven-day trip, it is not worth it to take the time to drive up to Fairbanks. Stay in Denali and south of there.

Definitely Denali. Kenai is also pretty amazing.

Buccaneer · 04-04-2016, 07:54 PM

I'll add another vote for Kenai (not a day trip, though). The drive down to Homer plus Homer itself has some amazing scenery looking across the inlet.

Castlerock · 04-04-2016, 11:25 PM

Bring bugspray. Lots. Of. Bugspray.
I have never seen so many mosquitoes as in Talkeetna.

claphamsa · 04-14-2016, 07:03 PM

Sorry for the delay. Super hectic few...months...at work. This ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I like talking about Alaska

Most of these things are outside and I only put my favorite hikes on here, but there are plenty more that are also good and there are a few other recommendations for indoors if it's rainy (it almost never rains hard), but a storm jacket and extra layer/change of pants and socks go a long way in the summer—if you dress to stay warm and dry, even rainy days are fun outside. No one uses an umbrella.

Anchorage things to do:
Play a round of disc golf at Kincaid Park (or go for a walk or single track mountain bike or road bike on the Coastal Trail there, it's a great park). Earthquake park near there is also really cool.
Hike Flattop. It's the most popular trail in Alaska, and well worth it.
Alternatively, from the same parking lot there are lots of other good hikes (Wolverine is LONG, but pretty easy and really cool. There's also the O'malley Peak which is the biggest in the Anchorage area—over 5000 ft—but no special equipment needed, just don't go on a very windy day).
Downtown Anchorage
The Oomingmak store has cool native made musk ox fur products. Very expensive, but cool to look
The Sevigny Gallery has great modern AK artists and sells lots of affordable prints, jewelry and stuff
Don't eat the reindeer sausage, it's 90% pork...
There are lots of other galleries around
Humpy's is my favorite bar downtown with about 15 AK beers on tap and another 15 northwest beers
Darwin's Cafe is also cool
Eat at Snowcity
Walk through the Captain Cook Hotel—it's got a lot of cool art in the lobby
Chilkoot Charlie's is an...experience. BUT, it has tons of Alaskana on the walls (like newspaper front pages from statehood). And it is a locally owned bar...
Middle Way Cafe is good—cool AK art there too
Other good Breweries (all southside)
King Street
Anchorage - new facility
Midnight Sun - Great food and great views on their roof deck
Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth - Especially for a rainy day, go catch a B run movie with great beer and pizza
Go to the Alaska Zoo (it's a rescue zoo, so all the animals are cared for and released if they can be or housed if not. There are lots of Alaskan animals you otherwise might not see).
The Botanical Gardens is really cool too
South of Anchorage
Check out Potter's Marsh area
From the trailhead there's an easy hike with some great lookouts. Especially good for sunset, which in May is around 10:30 pm, but I'd go an hour or so before. Bring bear spray.
The marsh itself has a boardwalk which is cool for bird watching
There's an old train engine off the road right there too that has some cool historical info
Hike Bird Ridge—super hard, but one of the best views in the state
A good bit farther south is Skyline Trail in the Chugach National forest. That one is probably a full day, but it's my favorite hike in the area.
Portage Glacier has receded too far to be visible, but if you hike to Byron Glacier from the same parking lot, it's a 10 min walk and you can walk on it. I wouldn't bother with Exit Glacier in Seward unless you have a full day to hike up Harding Ice Field.
Across the highway from Portage is the Big Game Wildlife Center which is pretty cool
Homer is a far drive, but it's my favorite AK town
Seward is a 2 hour drive from Anchorage along a scenic byway the whole time and it's pretty fun too. The Sealife center is a bit expensive, but I think it's well worth the price. Also a rescue/research center
In Girdwood, the Winner Creek Trail is beautiful and the Alyeska lodge is cool too just to walk around a bit (my sister is getting married there next summer).
North of Anchorage
Palmer is a neat small town, not a ton going on, but might be worth driving through there on the way up to Denali along the Old Glenn Highway to avoid the Wasilla ugliness and traffic. The muskox farm there is cool, the reindeer farm is Kitschy. Arkose Brewing company is good and Raven Cafe down the street has some great food.
Birchwood range is cool if you want to go shooting. I'd double check they rent guns though
Not much else on the way up to Denali (the Parks Highway is really modern). If you went the other way along the Denali Highway from Paxson (ghost "town") off the Richardson highway you'd see a bunch of cool old Alaskan towns and much better scenery, but it takes an extra day and you'd probably want to camp. Denali State area is much more open and awesome than the town Denali, unless you have a permit to go into the park.
The Alaska App and Alaska.Org have great recommendations too, I used to work for them

claphamsa · 04-14-2016, 07:03 PM

that was a paste from a freind

04-02-2016, 03:06 PM	#3
Julio Riddols College Prospect Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bryson Shitty, NC	I concur with SnowMan. Lived up there for a year in Wasilla, saw just about all the stuff mentioned. One of my favorite things to do in Alaska was to simply breathe. The air just seemed to invigorate me. __________________ Recklessly enthused, stubbornly amused. FUCK EA Last edited by Julio Riddols : 04-02-2016 at 03:06 PM.

04-02-2016, 03:20 PM	#4
Flasch186 Coordinator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Jacksonville, FL	Go Halibut Fishing and Salmon Fishing. __________________ Jacksonville-florida-homes-for-sale Putting a New Spin on Real Estate! ----------------------------------------------------------- Commissioner of the USFL USFL

04-14-2016, 07:03 PM	#9
claphamsa Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: non white trash MD	Sorry for the delay. Super hectic few...months...at work. This ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I like talking about Alaska Most of these things are outside and I only put my favorite hikes on here, but there are plenty more that are also good and there are a few other recommendations for indoors if it's rainy (it almost never rains hard), but a storm jacket and extra layer/change of pants and socks go a long way in the summer—if you dress to stay warm and dry, even rainy days are fun outside. No one uses an umbrella. Anchorage things to do: Play a round of disc golf at Kincaid Park (or go for a walk or single track mountain bike or road bike on the Coastal Trail there, it's a great park). Earthquake park near there is also really cool. Hike Flattop. It's the most popular trail in Alaska, and well worth it. Alternatively, from the same parking lot there are lots of other good hikes (Wolverine is LONG, but pretty easy and really cool. There's also the O'malley Peak which is the biggest in the Anchorage area—over 5000 ft—but no special equipment needed, just don't go on a very windy day). Downtown Anchorage The Oomingmak store has cool native made musk ox fur products. Very expensive, but cool to look The Sevigny Gallery has great modern AK artists and sells lots of affordable prints, jewelry and stuff Don't eat the reindeer sausage, it's 90% pork... There are lots of other galleries around Humpy's is my favorite bar downtown with about 15 AK beers on tap and another 15 northwest beers Darwin's Cafe is also cool Eat at Snowcity Walk through the Captain Cook Hotel—it's got a lot of cool art in the lobby Chilkoot Charlie's is an...experience. BUT, it has tons of Alaskana on the walls (like newspaper front pages from statehood). And it is a locally owned bar... Middle Way Cafe is good—cool AK art there too Other good Breweries (all southside) King Street Anchorage - new facility Midnight Sun - Great food and great views on their roof deck Moose's Tooth/Bear Tooth - Especially for a rainy day, go catch a B run movie with great beer and pizza Go to the Alaska Zoo (it's a rescue zoo, so all the animals are cared for and released if they can be or housed if not. There are lots of Alaskan animals you otherwise might not see). The Botanical Gardens is really cool too South of Anchorage Check out Potter's Marsh area From the trailhead there's an easy hike with some great lookouts. Especially good for sunset, which in May is around 10:30 pm, but I'd go an hour or so before. Bring bear spray. The marsh itself has a boardwalk which is cool for bird watching There's an old train engine off the road right there too that has some cool historical info Hike Bird Ridge—super hard, but one of the best views in the state A good bit farther south is Skyline Trail in the Chugach National forest. That one is probably a full day, but it's my favorite hike in the area. Portage Glacier has receded too far to be visible, but if you hike to Byron Glacier from the same parking lot, it's a 10 min walk and you can walk on it. I wouldn't bother with Exit Glacier in Seward unless you have a full day to hike up Harding Ice Field. Across the highway from Portage is the Big Game Wildlife Center which is pretty cool Homer is a far drive, but it's my favorite AK town Seward is a 2 hour drive from Anchorage along a scenic byway the whole time and it's pretty fun too. The Sealife center is a bit expensive, but I think it's well worth the price. Also a rescue/research center In Girdwood, the Winner Creek Trail is beautiful and the Alyeska lodge is cool too just to walk around a bit (my sister is getting married there next summer). North of Anchorage Palmer is a neat small town, not a ton going on, but might be worth driving through there on the way up to Denali along the Old Glenn Highway to avoid the Wasilla ugliness and traffic. The muskox farm there is cool, the reindeer farm is Kitschy. Arkose Brewing company is good and Raven Cafe down the street has some great food. Birchwood range is cool if you want to go shooting. I'd double check they rent guns though Not much else on the way up to Denali (the Parks Highway is really modern). If you went the other way along the Denali Highway from Paxson (ghost "town") off the Richardson highway you'd see a bunch of cool old Alaskan towns and much better scenery, but it takes an extra day and you'd probably want to camp. Denali State area is much more open and awesome than the town Denali, unless you have a permit to go into the park. The Alaska App and Alaska.Org have great recommendations too, I used to work for them __________________ Dominating Warewolf for 0 games! GIT R DUN!!!

04-14-2016, 07:03 PM	#10
claphamsa Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: non white trash MD	that was a paste from a freind __________________ Dominating Warewolf for 0 games! GIT R DUN!!!

04-02-2016, 09:27 AM	#2
SnowMan High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Georgia via Alaska via Washington	I lived in Anchorage for 15 years, so here's some stuff off the top of my head: May might be a little early for the touristy type stuff, but take a look at going to Whittier/Portage and then on to Seward. There's lots of stuff to do along the way to Seward, and it's some of the best scenery you'll ever see. Stop along the way at one of the overlooks and watch the tide go in or out. I guarantee you've never seen a tide that creates a wave in front of it as it comes in. You can go to Exit Glacier just out of Seward, and literally hike up to it and put your hands on it. It's a pretty awe-inspiring experience when you're right up next to it. If you're going to Denali, definitely stop in Talkeetna. It's a neat little town, and kind of the last bit of civilization before the park. In Anchorage, you have to hike up to flat top (just ask a local how to get there, it's super popular). The views from up there are stunning when the weather is good. Go to the Peanut Farm for a meal. Spend some time downtown shopping and checking out the different restaurants, there's some great ones. Obviously, try out the seafood; it's some of the best. Drive over to the Lake Hood airport (it's right next to the main airport) and marvel at all of the private planes. It's quite a sight.

04-02-2016, 10:48 PM	#5
Castlerock High School Varsity Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Boston, Ma	You almost cannot go wrong. 7 days is not a lot of time so you will have to make choices. From Anchorage, you can head south down the Kenai Peninsula. We went all the way to Homer and went halibut fishing. You are almost guaranteed to catch lots of halibut. Our charter had 5 guys and we had something like 700 pounds of fish. Largest was about 175 lbs. Salmon is also an option but those are not a sure thing like the halibut. May is (I think) too early for Salmon season on the rivers. I was there in June and hit opening day on the Kenai. Other rivers may be different. Denali is a must. We got a campsite at Teklanika River campground inside the park (mile 29). It was fantastic but you have to reserve WAY in advance. Cars are not allowed in the park so you must ride the buses. 99% of the people never get off of the bus. Get a reservation on the FIRST bus of every day. You can see wildlife at any time, but early morning is the best. Sleep when you get home. And... GET OFF THE BUS at any place that looks cool. When you are done, make your way back to the road and flag down the next bus. I watched 3 bear cubs hunting caribou. Sat on a knoll on the tundra as a (different) herd of caribou walked up to me. I had a camera in my bag but never even THOUGHT to take a photo as I was just in the moment. The bus driver reported that a bus headed in the opposite direction just saw a wolf. Well, I have never seen a wolf in the wild so I told the driver to stop and I got off. Found a good vantage point and just waited. Never did see him but I did see his tracks and I'll bet he saw me. Did not have the time to do any back-country camping but I wish I did. Bring a camera with a long zoom. My parents rode the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali and they loved it.

04-04-2016, 07:58 AM	#6
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	On a seven-day trip, it is not worth it to take the time to drive up to Fairbanks. Stay in Denali and south of there. Definitely Denali. Kenai is also pretty amazing.

04-04-2016, 07:54 PM	#7
Buccaneer Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Colorado	I'll add another vote for Kenai (not a day trip, though). The drive down to Homer plus Homer itself has some amazing scenery looking across the inlet.

04-04-2016, 11:25 PM	#8
Castlerock High School Varsity Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Boston, Ma	Bring bugspray. Lots. Of. Bugspray. I have never seen so many mosquitoes as in Talkeetna.

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