Alaska is the DESTINATION for Adventure Travelers!
If a trip to Alaska is in your future, but you are not sure where exactly you want to go or the best itinerary for checking off all those bucket list items, then look no further! After navigating a summer in Alaska, where we were fortunate enough to travel slowly through this most amazing adventure and wildlife-filled state, we would love nothing more than to share the ins and outs that we discovered (for better and for worse) along the way!
This blog will serve as an overview chronicling our adventures, wildlife encounters, and the beautiful areas across the state that we slowly explored and wandered through over the most amazing 68 days of our lives! It will also include our personal highlights, the best of(s), and popular bucket list excursions and adventure opportunities for each town along our journey as well as an outline detailing our modes of transportation and chronological and geographical timeline.
Eager for more of the 411…?
Expect future weekly Alaska blog posts which will focus and delve deeper into each town explored and adventure experienced while traveling this most amazing and ginormous state!
If bear viewing and wildlife photography, ice and rock climbing, hiking, glacier trekking, ice caves, rafting, kayaking at the base of calving glaciers, spectacular National Parks, whale and bird watching, fjords, dog sledding, hunting, boating, Northern lights, fishing and/or flightseeing tours over icefields, pristine waters, and mountain spans are your jam, then the Last Frontier has your name all over it!
Still not sure? Here’s a little more of what to expect in Alaska – long summer days, which mean more daylight hours spent adventuring, and (unfortunately) higher prices than the lower 48!
Whatever your favorite form of wild and adventure is, there is no shortage of it in Alaska! Now what are you waiting for? Go get that adventure on!
When we flew into Juneau on June 18th, 2020, we had zero travel plans, reservations, itinerary, or travel end date and very little knowledge about the geography of the state or its places of interest.
https://www.facebook.com/1349764737/videos/pcb.10224263896248960/10224263894488916
With no plans and just a carry-on and backpack in tow, we boarded our flight to Juneau, knowing only that we would love nothing more than to slowly travel and wander through an Alaskan summer without the crowds, RVs, and cruise ships that typically occupy and inhabit the state during its high season. Covid had presented us with a unique opportunity, and we were prepared to take full advantage of it! And just like that, our Alaska adventures began!
Looking back, it would have been wise to have at the very least sketched out a rough itinerary, but we were honestly just too crazed liberating and untethering ourselves by selling off and donating our lifelong possessions and moving out of our Bay Area (CA) family home of the past 19 years. So yeah, unfortunately, that process left us completely devoid of the energy and time necessary to research our very last-minute Alaskan summer extravaganza!
But hey – no regrets as we FINALLY made it to Alaska for what would become the most epic adventure and life-changing summer of our lives!
The first problem that arose from our lack of planning – Covid closures! Hotels, Airbnb’s and even the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry system were either running at reduced capacity or not operating at all! We quickly discovered that to get anywhere from Juneau, we would have to hop back on a plane. This wasn’t a big deal per se, but it also wasn’t the ferry mode of transit with stops at quaint communities dotting the southeast region of Alaska that we had envisioned for ourselves. It was time to pivot and search for that plan b!
That first week in Juneau, we brainstormed a rough travel plan for our next three weeks of travel post-Juneau. That itinerary morphed quite a bit as the reality of Covid closures and shutdowns set in and rendered themselves more visible to us. We decided it was time to enlist the help of a travel agent – Kelly Donnelly, with Keli’s Concierge based out of Juneau. Keli helped us further map out an itinerary for the next few weeks as well as booked us in places like Denali National Park, which typically require reservations over two years in advance. Another HUGE perk of pandemic travel just revealed itself to us!
We fell in love with Juneau and remained weeks longer than anticipated to further explore the Inside Passage! So many of our summer highlights originated from those first 3 weeks in Juneau, but little did we know then exactly how much still lay ahead for us!
We learned a lot through our travels; which towns we liked (and didn’t like!), the most popular activities for each area we visited, and the best and most efficient routes to travel through Alaska.
We feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced a different Alaska; a rare Alaska that was cruise ship free, with a closed Canadian border leaving the Alaskan roads mostly empty and devoid of RVs, and sadly for the Alaska economy, an Alaskan summer with very few tourists.
If you have any interest whatsoever in discovering Alaska, I’m REALLY hoping you will add Alaska to your summer vacay plans and try to experience the Last Frontier without the cruise ships and the crowds that typically plague this beautiful state during non-pandemic times!
Highlights, Best of(s), Wildlife Encounters, and Popular Bucket List Activities Listed by Geographic Location:
Juneau, Alaska
Best Town Vibes for Outdoor Enthusiasts – thanks to the huge variety of outdoor recreational activities to boot! Juneau is also a fun town to explore on foot, with lots of opportunities to take stairs up from one street to the next, many places to stop and pick wild salmon berries, a beautiful local park, and awesome hiking trails leaving right from town. You’ll also find great restaurants (special shout out to Deckhand Dave’s Fish Tacos), tourist shops, coffee shops, and breweries, AND you will see bald eagles EVERYWHERE in Juneau!
Excursions From Juneau: Kayaking, canoeing, cruise to the Tracy Arm (a stunning fjord with a calving glacier, icebergs and wildlife viewing), glacier treks, ice climbing, hiking, helicopter ride over icefield, sea float plane flight to Pack Creek/Admiralty Island for up-close grizzly viewing and photography, whale watching, fishing, Goldbelt tram ride to the top of Mt. Roberts, salmon bakes, dog sledding, bicycle tours, ziplining, gold mining, beach walking… amongst other things!
Wildlife Encounters: Black bears, grizzly bears (while visiting Pack Creek), bald eagles, puffins, sea lions, elephant seals, otters and otter pups, porcupine, marmots, deer, turtles, humpback whales, blue heron, osprey, willow ptarmigan, coyote
Fairbanks, Alaska
Best hot springs (Chena) with onsite farm-to-table restaurant and some cool museums too! If the Northern Lights are on your bucket list and you are visiting mid to late August or later, then your best chance of viewing the Aurora Borealis would be from the interior of Alaska in Fairbanks or anywhere north of Fairbanks.
Excursions From Fairbanks: Kayaking, Arctic Circle day or multi-day trip (polar bear viewing), Northern Lights tour, hot springs day trip, snowmobile excursion, dog sledding, jet skiing, hiking, gold panning, river boat tours, ice fishing, ATV tours…
Wildlife Encounters: Porcupine, ducks crossing the highway, moose, and unfortunately, too many mosquitoes!
Denali National Park and Preserve – Denali Backcountry Lodge
Best chance at viewing and photographing the “Alaska Big 5” on the Denali Backcountry bus tour (grizzly bears, moose, caribou, wolves, and Dall sheep) and best trail-less tundra hiking.
Denali National Park and Preserve – Denali Cabins
Best access to shuttle stops for Denali National Park points of interest with hiking opportunities. Guided rafting trips are big here as well. Prospector Pizza 49th State Brewery is a great place to hit up after a hike with its huge salads, delicious pizza, and a ridiculous selection of beer on tap!
Wildlife Encounters: Wolf (seen from train between Fairbanks and Denali stops), grizzly bears, Dall sheep, black bears, moose, caribou, deer, beavers, falcon, golden eagle, bald eagles, hawks, and unfortunately, too many mosquitoes!
https://www.facebook.com/casey.saierskaplan/videos/10223978850242988
Talkeetna, Alaska
Best hippy vibe café (Conscious Coffee), a nice local brewery with great food and outdoor seating, and a cute (tiny) walkable downtown.
Excursions From Talkeetna: Jet boat and riverboat rides up the river, flightseeing over Mt. McKinley (aka Denali) with a stop on a glacier, kayaking, guided hikes at Denali, rafting, stand-up paddle boarding, dog mushing, ATV rentals, bike rentals, a helicopter ride with guided hikes at Denali, fishing, ziplining…)
Wildlife Encounters: A single wood toad, moose, bald eagles, and a willow ptarmigan
Anchorage, Alaska
Best big city for museums, shows, breweries, restaurants, parks, urban biking, shopping, and access to a ton of excursions, although more travel time for these excursions will likely be the case. We saw tons of moose while hiking in and around Anchorage!
Excursions From Anchorage (some of these may involve much longer travel times than from other towns): Glacier cruises, Kenai Fjords cruise, kayaking, whale watching, bird watching, fishing, jet ski rentals, mountain and street bike rentals, glacier snowmobile tours, glacier walks, iceberg tours, dog sledding, guided hikes, jeeps and ATV tours, rafting, wildlife photography tours and helicopter and flightseeing tours (Katmai National Park/Brooks Falls for grizzly bear viewing, Lake Clark National Park for grizzly bear viewing, and Denali) as well as flights for walrus viewing…
Wildlife Encounters: Moose, coyote, bald eagles
Girdwood, Alaska (Including Day Trips to Whittier and Hope)
Best Day Hike Ever (Crystal Lake/Raven Glacier hike) plus lots of great day trip options to Hope and Whittier, and the MOST EPIC Class V river rafting excursion out of the nearby town of Hope (details below).
Excursions From Girdwood/Whittier/Hope: Most exhilarating and beautiful Class V rafting trip through 3 narrow canyons out of Hope (Nova Outfitter – Six Mile Creek), drive through Whittier tunnel, glacier cruises, glacier walks, tram ride to the top of Alyeska Ski Resort, cruises through the Prince William Sound, jet ski, kayaking, whale watching, hiking, dogsledding, Girdwood hike with hand pulley tram over Winner Creek… Also, note that Girdwood is very close to Anchorage, so you could easily do any of the Anchorage excursions while staying in Girdwood and vice versa.
Wildlife Encounters: Silver fox, black bears, grizzly bear, bald eagles
Seward, Alaska
Best bang for your buck adventure town where the mountains, ice, and ocean meet! If you’ve got a huge adventure bucket list but not a lot of time to travel, this is your best one-stop town (with the exception of bear-viewing photography trips, but you can still drive and take those out of Homer or Anchorage). Great outdoor activities and excursions with a nice selection of restaurants in town. The Kenai Fjords National Park is a MUST DO and SEE while in Seward!
Excursions From Seward: Glacier and wildlife cruises through Kenai Fjords National Park, glacier treks, hiking, kayaking at the base of calving glaciers, fishing, Harding Ice Field, dog sledding, whale watching, bird watching, Kenai Fjords National Park access, water taxis, ice climbing, sailing, day trips to Cooper Landing, helicopter and glacier landing tours, canopy and ziplining tours, gold panning, guided hiking tours, Alaska Sea Life Center… note that grizzly bear photography and flight tours not available from Seward but can be taken out of Homer or Anchorage.
Wildlife Encounters: Black bears, moose, otters, sea lions, elephant seals, humpback whales, orcas, Dall’s porpoises, jellyfish, puffins, bald eagles and so many other amazing birds!
https://www.facebook.com/casey.saierskaplan/videos/10224183310634370
Valdez, Alaska
Best food truck – I loved the Thai and Mexican food trucks right off the Valdez fisherman dock. Valdez is a coastal “working’ town and popular fishing destination with glacier sightseeing trips and other day trips as well. If you happen to be in town for the Friday Night Follies show, I recommend you take this fun and local show in.
There didn’t seem to be a ton of things to do in Valdez, but if you do venture here, be prepared to see adorable rabbits everywhere!
Excursions From Valdez: Glacier cruises, kayak and wildlife tours, fishing, hiking…
Wildlife Encounters: Rabbits everywhere around town, moose, bald eagles, and a black bear with its cub
McCarthy/Kennicott, Alaska
Best glacier trekking, ice cave exploration, old mining town and flightseeing tours over the spectacular and impressive mountain surround and glaciers. These two towns are nestled and set in our country’s biggest National Park (Wrangell-St. Elias National Park) and they are a most amazing place to visit if you can make it down the unpaved road – and I highly recommend that you do! Stop for a snack at the Golden Spruce Cabins & Espresso in Kenny Lake on your way in and out of McCarthy and while you are there, say hi to Patty for us… one of the loveliest people you will meet while traveling Alaska!
Excursions From McCarthy/Kennicott: Glacier trekking, ice cave exploration, ice climbing, flightseeing tours, rafting, kayaking, guided hikes, guided backpacking and packrafting trips, mining and ghost town tours.
Wildlife Encounters: Black bears, eagles, coyote and a fox
Cooper Landing, Alaska
https://www.facebook.com/1349764737/videos/pcb.10224263896248960/10224263895448940
Best place (if you are lucky!) to randomly see grizzlies frolicking and feasting on salmon in the Kenai river right off the side of the road. You can also hike, fish, camp and river raft here.
Excursions From Cooper Landing: Kenai River fishing, rafting, tubing, hiking…
Wildlife Encounters: At least 10 grizzly bears (one while we were on a hike to the falls and 9 others just below the road fishing and playing in the Kenai River), vole, coyote, salmon jumping up the river and a black bear.
Soldotna, Alaska
Honestly, I found nothing charming to write about Soldotna. It’s mostly a working town but it’s also a very popular river for salmon fishing – some of the biggest salmon in the world are found here in the Kenai River. Day trips to Cooper Landing are also nice. I’d skip Soldotna if I were you – unless you are wanting a very accessible river to fish for huge salmon in!
Excursions From Soldotna: Flightseeing, fishing, beach walks and bear viewing trips.
Wildlife Encounters: Rabbits, salmon
Homer, Alaska
Best charming, artsy, seaside tourist town. Homer is a popular fishing destination plus it has beautiful water taxi rides from the Spit that will take you to some fantastic hiking day trips nearby! The Grace Ridge hike (accessible via water taxi) was one of my favorite hikes in Alaska, and bonus… we were lucky enough to see 10+ orcas while on our water taxi ride to the hike!
Excursions From Homer: Bear viewing flight tours for Katmai National Park/Brooks Falls and Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, fishing, Kachemak Bay tours, tidepools, beach walks, kayaking, guided and non-guided hiking, water taxi service, Seldovia day trips, glacier viewing, helicopter tours…
Wildlife Encounters: Moose, black bears, Sandhill cranes, orcas, humpback whales
*Timeline of our Summer in Alaska:
- After 3 weeks in Juneau, we flew north to Fairbanks, took the Denali Star train to Denali National Park, then on to Talkeetna and finished up our Denali Star Train route in Anchorage.
- From Anchorage we rented a car for the remainder of the summer and set off to explore the Kenai Peninsula with stops in Girdwood, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing and Seward.
- From Seward we had a gap in our schedule and decided to add Valdez and the famous mining town of Kennicott and its neighbor McCarthy to our road trip. These last two towns are both beautifully nestled in the biggest National Park in the USA, Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. In hindsight, these additions would have been better squeezed in after Anchorage BUT before we headed down the Kenai Peninsula. At this point and time of our trip however, we hadn’t actually planned to venture 305 miles east of Anchorage for those stops. The decision to add Valdez and McCarthy to our journey sprang from talks with some locals down in Seward.
- So back up to Anchorage we went to travel east to vist Valdez, Kennicott and McCarthy at which point we backtracked and returned to the Kenai Peninsula for the remainder of our summer. And yes… the extra travel was 100% worth the trip! 😉
- From Anchorage we revisited Girdwood, Whittier, Hope and Cooper Landing before pushing on to Soldotna, Ninilchik and eventually landing in Homer.
- We spent our last 11 blissful days of our epic Covid summer road trip in Homer before heading back to Anchorage to catch a flight down to the lower 48!
