What part of alaska should i visit

You probably won't want to stop at just one visit, so come back again to tick every one off your bucket list. The town manages to mingle hiking trails and traffic jams, small art galleries and Big Oil like no other city. Among big chain stores and mini-malls, there are more than miles of city trails meandering in hidden greenbelts and a creek downtown where anglers line up to catch trophy salmon.

A bolt of energy surges through downtown Anchorage on any given weekend evening in the summer. Glacier Bay is the crowning jewel of the cruise-ship industry and a dreamy destination for anybody who has ever paddled a kayak. Seven tidewater glaciers spill out of the mountains and fill the sea with icebergs of all shapes, sizes and shades of blue, making Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve an icy wilderness renowned worldwide.

Apart from its high concentration of tidewater glaciers, Glacier Bay is a dynamic habitat for humpback whales. Other wildlife seen at Glacier Bay includes porpoises, sea otters, brown and black bears, wolves, moose and mountain goats.

The park is an expensive side trip, even by Alaskan standards. The rest are a mixture of tour-group members, who head straight for the lodge, and backpackers, who gravitate toward the free campground. Get more travel inspiration, tips and exclusive offers sent straight to your inbox with our weekly newsletter. The Athabascans christened it the "Great One," and few who have seen this 20,ft bulk of ice and granite would disagree.

Viewed from the Park Rd of its eponymous national park , Denali chews up the skyline, dominating an already stunning landscape of tundra fields and polychromatic ridgelines. The mountain inspires a take-no-prisoners kind of awe, and climbers know that feeling well. Denali attracts over a thousand alpinists every summer.

Far more popular is the surrounding national park, a 6-million-acre wilderness replete with wildlife that's easily accessible on a bus. Glaciers are often discussed with a linguistic flourish — noble ice, majestic mountains or sublime grandeur.

There's a reason onlookers raid dictionaries to describe their unique beauty: places like the Mendenhall Glacier demand weak-kneed prose. Take a hike around this river of ice that tumbles out of the mountains, stand in the gaping mouth of an ice cave or watch the parade of icebergs that the glacier discharges into the Mendenhall River.

It is the town where Americans came to buy Alaska from Russians, an event that is celebrated with much gusto every year. The spectacular surrounding nature is ideal for outdoor exploring. Hike through the spruce and hemlock rainforest to see the American bald eagle, black-tailed deer, or brown bears at the Fortress of the Bear.

Alternatively, you can take a boat trip to see humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions, and thousands of birds. Things to Do in Sitka. It is quite a long drive from Anchorage. It is famous for its great fishing the town is known as the halibut world capital , spectacular nature, and excellent art and culinary scene. Most of the life in Homer revolves around the Spit, the 4. Shops and restaurants line this popular road. The Kenai Mountains to the east and north not only provide magnificent backdrop but also protect the town from the cold, creating an exceptionally mild climate.

Almost any road out of town ends as a hiking or biking trail, taking you into the picturesque wilderness. Go fishing, like everyone else in town, explore the natural landscapes, or take a boat tour to see the rich marine life. Things to Do in Homer.

Fairbanks , Alaska, is one of the best places on Earth to watch this magical spectacle of nature. The town has two things going for it: it is located in the area around North Pole called Auroral Oval, and its continental climate allows for more clear nights than other places on the coast.

In this area, the lights appear more often and are more vivid and mesmerizing than almost anywhere else. The best time to experience it is late at night or early in the morning. Take a dog sled or a horse-drawn sleigh to enjoy northern lights in comfort.

You can also ask your hotel staff to wake you up when the show starts. It is located only 36 miles south of Anchorage and offers year-around recreational opportunities. It is the town to come for great Nordic skiing, dog mushing, snowmobiling, fishing, hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, rafting and so much more. Visit Chugach Powder Guides for snowcat and helicopter skiing or Alyeska Resort for the scenic Aerial Tram to see breathtaking views of the water and hanging glaciers. Things to Do in Girdwood.

It is small city and one of the most important ports in Alaska for both fishing and commercial purposes. It is also an oil terminal for the Trans-Alaska pipeline. For thousands of years, the Chugach and Ahtna native peoples used the area for trading jade, copper, furs, and fishing.

The protection of the nearby Chugach Mountains keeps the port ice-free year round. With tidewater glaciers, waterfalls, majestic mountains, rainforests, and abundant wildlife on land and sea, Valdez is a popular tourist destination for those looking for action.

The town served as a natural starting point for gold seekers during the gold rush, and the dog sled trail that led from Seward to the gold fields in Iditarod is now the location of the famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Visit Kenai Fjords National Park, deep glacial lakes, the Harding Icefield, take a kayak tour, participate in a dog sled race, go fishing for salmon or halibut, or take a small plane tour and see everything there is to see from the air. Things to Do in Seward. Top sights, 4 day road trip map, weather, 24 hour restaurants, 48 hours in, cheapest good restaurants for families with dogs, beaches near me, directions, events, spa resorts, elevation, summer, nice pools, healthy, romantic restaurants, forest, buffet, city, tree, dinner, rentals, tent, flight, upscale, under water, pools: Berlin , Beaverton , Boonsboro , Brookings , Valentine's Day , Lithuania , Vegas wedding venues , AL , WI , Evansville , Jim Thorpe , Airports near Glacier N.

Like so many others, Haines was built on a trade route of Chilkat Indians, also used by gold seekers going north into Canada. This spectacularly beautiful little town is surrounded by 20 million acres of wilderness protected areas, with magnificent Takinsha Mountains towering above town and the famous Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve on the outskirts.

The most dominant feature of the city is Fort William H. Seward, which is today home to galleries, shops and homes. The town is famous for its large number of artists and totem carvers, as well as the curious Hammer Museum, containing a collection of 1, hammers. Things to Do in Haines. Places to eat near me, free points of interest, lakes near me, waterfalls, weekend getaways near me, 3-day foodie places to visit in September, October, November, December, RV, prettiest places, lodging, campground, hangout, where is, spas, holiday, museum, hiking near me, canoeing, hotels close to me, sushi, hikes, scenic spots: DC , Phoenix , Santa Monica , Catalina Island , Florence , Dennis , Family in Houston , Austin , Day trips from Chicago , Coldwater Tracy Arm Fjord is more than 30 miles long, and one-fifth of it is covered in ice.

During the summer, the fjord has floating ice that ranges from small pieces to a three-story building size. The most common access is by boat through Stephens Passage to Holkham Bay and from the bay to the fjord. Many tourist boats visit the fjord and North Sawyer and South Sawyer, the two glaciers at its end. The base of the glaciers is a place where the visitors can see local wildlife such as brown and black bears, wolves, deer, harbor seals, and many birds.

It is the largest national forest in the United States. Most of it consists of a temperate rain forest rich in wildlife and rare flora. The area is very diverse and ranges from Alexander Archipelago islands and numerous fjords and glaciers to the Coast Mountains. It is home to 75, people, and the largest city in the area is Juneau. Tongass National Forest represents the true wild Alaska, and it offers the unique opportunity to see bears, eagles, and salmon, and to take a sled-dog ride across a glacier, hike through boardwalk trails, and to fish in the ocean or in the wild streams.

Weekend getaways, top 10 things to do, places to visit near me, East, West, North, South, cheap family vacation activities for birthday, hot tub, whirlpool, public transport by train, local bus, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, relaxing parks, coffee near me: South Padre Island , Lexington , Erwin , Floyd , Essex , Biloxi , Erie , Restaurants in Lancaster , Restaurants in Lake Tahoe , Empire , Eastham , Escanaba It was carved from rock and deep forests in only eight months.

As you drive through Alaska Highway, you will see some of the most magnificent national parks in both Canada and the United States. The farther north and west you go, the more spectacular the mountains will become.

Along the road, you will encounter bears, moose, wild sheep, and bison. At some points, the glacier is more than meters thick, and it covers square miles. It stretches for 32 miles through the Chugach Mountains and ends in Columbia Bay. This majestic glacier has been drastically retreating since and is losing 13 million tons of ice every day. In fact, some calving chunks are so enormous that they endanger the tourist boats that come to watch the spectacle.

At its face, the glacier is up to feet tall. Romantic weekend getaways near me, spring break, places to live, what to do near me, coffee, breakfast restaurants, when you are bored, sea vacation, relaxing overnight trips, no-contact delivery, pickup, rainy day trips, cabin camping, best small beach towns to retire: Orange County Beaches , Fairbanks , Aberdeen , Providence , Lake George , Leesburg , Niagara Falls , Ann Arbor , Sausalito , Morrison , Athens GA It covers an area of , acres.

Its main feature is the Harding Icefield, which is accessible by foot along the Harding Icefield Trail. About 40 glaciers flow out of the Harding Icefield, and rich marine and terrestrial wildlife live in the park. You can see moose and bears when hiking to the Exit Glacier or whales from the boat, as there are many boat tours from Seward. You can also rent a kayak and explore on your own.

You are reading "21 Best Places to Visit in Alaska" Back to Top or Getting married, lunch near me, romantic things to do, places around me Weekend trips, what is a great day trip destination, couples getaway, romantic hotels, unique places to stay, East, North, West, South, cheap getaways, staycation, must visit islands, botanical gardens, hamburgers, bbq, snowboarding, skiing, trailer parks near me, hot springs, quick trip: Largest Cities IN USA , Rhode Island Beaches , Hotels in London , Edwards , South Haven , Louisiana with Kids , Ashland It is the biggest Alaskan glacier accessible by car - you can see it from Glenn Highway after a short two-hour drive from Anchorage.

It is 26 miles long and 4 miles wide at the point where it ends. It is called a valley glacier; it flows like a river pushed by its own weight through the valley. The best way to see the glacier up close is from private Matanuska Glacier Park.

Elias National Park makes another great tour. One of the top experiences is a Bear Viewing Tour , where you can view bears in large numbers for hours at a time. After all, even if you covered a million acres a day, it would still take more than a year to see all of Alaska.

There is something uniquely Alaskan about our rivers. One of these rivers may seem huge—and yet, there are 30, more of them across Alaska, and each one has been flowing for thousands of years. The views are inspiring—such as that rosy band of Alpenglow you might see around the mountains. A lot of people even say that the sun re-awakens them to the magic of life. You can explore the tundra on a hike , by getting off bus in Denali , or just pulling off the highway.

It may not be rare to spot whales during their annual, thousands-of-miles journey to Alaska. They're so graceful, too, that it seems effortless and magical.