The Must See Places in Anchorage
Anchorage is centered around the world’s largest glacier, the Columbia, and Dinalee National Park, anchored by North America’s highest peak, Mount McKinley, and bordered to the south by the Kenai Peninsula, a fishing and outdoor sports mecca, and home to well over half of Alaska’s population.
Alaska is a mysterious land of glaciers. Where the mountains meet the sea, huge blue glaciers stand still. It’s a glacier that holds secrets of hundreds or thousands of years. The glacier is slowly flowing into the ocean at a rate imperceptible to humans. Little by little. The blue glacier on the green sea, shattered and reduced to white flakes of ice, is a stunning contrast to the blue sky.
Lake Hood Airfield
Visit Lake Hood Seaplane Airfield, the world’s largest seaplane airfield.
Connecting downtown Anchorage to the vast Alaskan forests, Lake Hood Seaplane Airfield leads North America and the world in the number of seaplane takeoffs and landings. Seaplanes of all kinds make an average of 233 takeoffs and landings here every day, with more than 800 takeoffs and landings during the summer months. Kids who love to watch airplanes will have a blast here.
Anchorage Museum of history and art
The Anchorage Museum of history and art was opened in 1968 and features 60 paintings by Alaskan artists and 2,500 historical artifacts, which tell the story of Alaska’s transformation and modernization. The Anchorage Museum is composed of an art museum on the first floor and a history museum on the second floor, and there is a park with a large lawn in front of the museum. It’s a short walk from downtown Anchorage and a fairly short bike ride, so it’s worth a stop if you’re in Anchorage. It’s also a great place to learn about the different aspects of Alaska if you’re visiting for the first time before you start traveling.
Resolution Park Captain Cook Monument
British explorer James Cook anchored in Alaska in 1778, and this statue was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his last voyage. This viewpoint overlooks Anchorage Bay. Beluga whales occasionally appear in Anchorage Bay in the spring and fall, and you may be lucky enough to see them from here.
Alaska Wild Berry Products
Home to the world’s largest chocolate fountain, Alaska Wild Berry Products Every summer since 1946, Alaskans have been picking berries from the Rosaceae family. This inspired the creation of Alaska Wild Berry Products, a company that makes them and turns them into jams, jellies, and more. The tradition continues today, and the factory is open for tours. They show you how chocolate, candy, jelly, jams, and more are made, and you can sample them.
Alaska Railroad
Alaska Railroad Anchorage to Seward Round-Trip Same Day Return
This is a very special train trip set against the spectacular backdrop of Alaska.
Board the Alaska Railroad for a romantic train ride to Seward, taking in nature, the ocean, glaciers and more with the Chugach Mountains in the background.
Travel in Southcentral Alaska
Valdez
Valdez is perfect for those who want to experience Alaska’s unique natural beauty. It’s a cozy, peaceful harbor town with clouds hanging over the Chugach Mountains. Often referred to as the Switzerland of Alaska, Valdez is particularly beautiful. The road from Anchorage to Valdez is known for its beauty. Thompson Pass and the Worthington Glacier are awe-inspiring after 30 miles, followed by a series of waterfalls, including Horsetail Falls and Cottonwood Falls, and a series of small and large peaks over 5,000 feet high. The Port of Valdez attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year to see the Columbia’s great glaciers and to fish, and has been called the Switzerland of Alaska for its scenic beauty.
McKinley Flight Sightseeing
Take a four- or five-seat plane from the Takitna airstrip to Mount McKinley. There are hour-long and hour-and-a-half flights, both of which take in some of the best views and mysteries of Denali National Park. On the way back, you’ll fly low to spot wildlife, including moose and bears.
Matanuska Glacier
Matanuska Glacier Winter Tour
Matanuska Glacier is the largest of Alaska’s land glaciers that humans can get up close to. The glacier’s underside is littered with traces of its history. Rocks, fossils, strata, seeds, and plants are still visible.
The glacier is located 100 miles northeast of Anchorage along the Glen Highway. Along the way, the views are spectacular, and the glacier’s underside is a tangible reminder of its history, with rocks, fossils, strata, seeds, plants and more gradually revealed as the ice melts. The glacier originates in the Chugiachee Mountains and is 27 miles long, with an average width of 2 miles. The glacier is very stable compared to other glaciers, as it reached Falmouth City, 50 miles downstream, 18,000 years ago, and has only melted 1,000 feet in the last 400 years.
Exit Glacier
Exit Glacier Ice Hiking Adventure from Seward
This glacier flows off the massive Harding Icefield, located within Kynai Fjords National Park. You can see it very closely as it flows into the land rather than the sea. It’s fascinating to see how plants grow on the rocks that were carved out after the glacier retreated, and how they progress from early development to forest. The train ride up to the glacier is another fascinating way to see Alaska’s glaciers, especially with the spectacular views.
kenai fjords national park
Full-Day Kenai Fjords National Park Northwestern Cruise
The park is a stretch of coastline outside of Seward Harbor. The park is home to rocky islands, fjords, glaciers, whales, sea lions, and waterfowl along a varied coastline. It’s not the calm waters of Prince William Sound, so be prepared for seasickness.
Here, whales sometimes follow cruise ships, and sea lions can be seen attacking the rocky islands where they rest and startling them. The sea lions resting on the rocky islands are also a sight to behold, as they will not jump into the water when a boat approaches up to 20 meters away.
Denali National Park
Denali Peak Sightseeing by Plane
Denali National Park is a national park in the Alaska Range with Mt. McKinley, the highest peak on the North American continent, as its main peak. It covers an area of 24,000 km. The distance from Anchorage is 237 miles (382 km) and 121 miles from Fairbanks. The park is open year-round, but the best time to visit is between May 20 and September 10. The area has been well preserved and the park is home to 37 species of mammals, including Caribou grizzly bears, black bears, moose, and more than 130 species of birds.
