There are a million trails to explore! Here are just a few of our favorites.

Anchorage Trails:

Coastal Trail - Family friendly bike/pedestrian trail along Cook Inlet. Views of the city and the mountains

Campbell Trail - Part of the Anchorage Green Belt. Bike/pedestrian friendly

Glen Alps Trailhead - Access to several trails in the front range including O'Malley Peak, Flattop, Powerline Pass, etc. This parking lot has an impressive overlook of the city and mountains if you're not feeling a hike

Flattop - The sunny side trail tends to be less busy though the access road is a bit rough and parking can be tight (literally).

Rabbit Lake Trail - Long trail, beautiful lake. Same parking sitch as Flattop Sunnyside

Turnagain Arm Trail - Starts at Potter Marsh and traverses along Turnagain Arm. Great views

Girdwood Trails:

Winner Creek Trail - Starts at Alyeska resort and ends at a gorge, Beautiful creeks and a wander through the boreal rainforest. Great blueberry spot too!

Alyeska North Face - Steep but short hike up the north side of Alyeska with views of Glacier Valley and Girdwood. The best part is you can take the tram down for free ;)

Crow Pass - Stunning trail through the alpine to a glacier lake. If you go past the lake to the actual pass you get a great view of Raven Glacier and Eagle River valley.

Portage Pass (through Whittier tunnel (the longest tunnel in North America!), great glacier views! See this website for the tunnel schedule and toll fees. https://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiertunnel/ )

Hatcher Pass

Gold Mint Trail - Long trail through tundra with beautiful mountain views

Reed Lakes - Popular trail to alpine glacier lakes. Please note there is a boulder field crossing (which we find fun!) but isn't for everyone!

Independence Mine - Historic Mine near the top of Hatcher Pass. Worth a visit to see the old mining buildings

Gold Cord Lake - Short hike to an alpine lake near Independence Mine

Our trail list highlights a fraction of the trails nearby. There are incredible trails in Seward, Cooper Landing, Eagle River, along Turnagain Arm and beyond. We do live in bear country and while the chance of an encounter is low, we recommend groups of two or more and bringing a can of bear spray. We have several we can lend you if you need!

There are lots of opportunities to get out on a boat, on the ocean or on a river! A reminder, if booking an excursion with a tour company, we recommend booking sooner than later. Things fill up quickly in the summer. Also, we are listing a few companies to help start your search but there are many! Here are a few ideas:

Ocean Trips - Glacier and Wildlife Viewing (WHALES!!!)

Phillips Cruises/Glacier Tour - Whittier, AK https://phillipscruises.com/

Major Marine Tours - Seward, AK

https://majormarine.com/

Kenai Fjords Tours - Seward, AK

https://www.alaskacollection.com/day-tours/kenai-fjords-tours/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5-uuBhDzARIsAAa21T9u9W4WngmQHYREFVd2b0nkhFZwdpCDYWySlk_tN5fcjp6cdLXVH7caArVPEALw_wcB#openseason=false

Rafting - Whitewater or Scenic

Six Mile Whitewater Rafting - Hope, AK

https://www.novalaska.com/trip/six-mile-creek/

Spencer Glacier Tour/Placer River Float - Portage, AK

https://alaskanrafting.com/

Kenai River Scenic Float - Cooper Landing, AK

https://www.alaskawildland.com/day-trips/

August is a great time to fish for Silver salmon on the Kenai, take a halibut charter out on the ocean, or sport fish for trout in local streams and rivers. To do any of these activities, you must have an Alaska fishing license, which can be purchase online at adfg.alaska.gov.

Halibut Charters:

There are so many options, we encourage you to research your own. Halibut fishing is fun and a great way to get out on the ocean, plus you end up with meat you can ship home! Popular areas to catch a Halibut charter are Whittier, Seward, and Homer.

Salmon and Trout Fishing:

There are also several charters for salmon and guided trout fishing. You can certainly explore on your own but charters are helpful as they can show you the best places to fish and will outfit you with all the gear and lures you need. There are several options for this as well but we recommend a few:

Alaska Drift Away Fishing - Kenai River, AK

https://guidekenairiver.com/

FishHound Expeditions - Willow, AK (more trout than Salmon)

https://www.fishhoundexpeditions.com/fishingdaytrips

A very popular thing to check out when visiting Alaska is Denali National Park. The park is about 4 hours north of Anchorage. You can drive a small distance into the park and transfer to park operated buses to tour the rest. There is a road closure at mile 43 due to a landslide at Pretty Rocks but you can still view a large part of the park. Check out the NPS website for more info. https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/visiting-denali.htm

Another fun option is to take the train up to Denali (you can also take it to Seward!). See https://www.alaskarailroad.com for more information.

If you are just hoping to view the Great One, on clear days it can be seen from Anchorage, but the best close views are from Talkeetna. There are great flight seeing options from Talkeetna as well!

Here are a few of our other favorite activities to explore around Anchorage and elsewhere:

Anchorage Museum -

Beautiful museum with art, Alaska Native history, Pipeline history, and super fun kids Imaginarium Discovery Center

Alaska Native Heritage Museum

Alaska Railroad Depot

The Alaska Zoo

The Alaska Botanical Garden

Sealife Center - Seward

Must see aquarium/museum if you make it to Seward

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center - Portage (Outdoor, fun way to see Alaska Wildlife)

Alyeska Nordic Spa - Girdwood Outdoor

Nordic Spa with hot pools, cold pools, saunas, steam rooms, etc.

The food scene in Alaska is quite good, and there is a ton of variety! The brewery scene has exploded in the last several years as well (along with cideries, distilleries, and meadaries), with many offering food or utilizing delicious food trucks in their parking lots. We are also well known for our drive through coffee huts (highly recommend!). There are way too many options to recommend them all but here are some highlights:

Anchorage:

Fire Island Bakery

Any of the fresh donut places

Snow City Cafe

Bear Tooth Grill and Theater Pub

Mooses Tooth Pizza

F Street Station

Hearth Pizza

South Restaurant

Glacier Brewhouse

49th State Brewing

Whisky and Ramen (Reservations Recommended)

Taco King

Altura

Tommy's Burger Stop

Ronnie Sushi

Pho Lena

Lahn Pad Thai

Bombay

Girdwood :

Jack Sprat Restaurant

Spoonline

High Tower Pub

Double Musky

Chair 5 (Deep dish Pizza)

The Bake Shop

The Grind Coffee

Alpenglow Coffeehouse

Birch and Alder -Indian, AK

Breweries/Distilleries:

King Street Brewing (next to Anchorage Brewing too)

Broken Tooth (served at Bear Tooth/Mooses Tooth)

Midnight Sun Brewing (Great food too!)

Cynosure Brewing

Magnetic North

Anchorage Distillery

Double Shovel Cidery

Hive Mind Meadery

Girdwood Brewing - Girdwood, AK

Cooper Landing Brewery - Cooper Landing, AK