Going to Alaska

[wandalee]

Next month, I'll be going to Alaska for a week. We'll be flying into Anchorage, renting a car, then driving around the state for a week. We definitely want to go to Denali. Any other "must do" places? We prefer out-fo-doors stuff over museums, cities, etc.

Thanks!

[mattman91]

You can visit the Boozers

[Jim3k]

It's a big place, so driving around may be too much for only a week. South of Anchorage is Seward and the Kenai Fjords National Park, including Exit Glacier. An option off the Seward Highway is the train-tunnel to Whittier and the ferry to Valdez. From there you could take a day or two into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. This allows you to cross central Alaska on the old Denali Highway and come out at Denali Park. The drive is absolutely stunning, lonely and beautiful in its barrenness over tundra. About 150 miles of dirt road (excellent road, but still dirt).

Homer, at the end of the Kenai Peninsula is a special place, particularly the Homer Spit. Snow-capped mountains rise straight from the water. Very spiritual at the end of the day. Cloudberry jelly is worth buying.

North of Anchorage is Denali and then Fairbanks.

Denali Park is a day's drive from Anchorage and you need at least two days there to do it justice. No private cars allowed beyond the 7(?) milepost, so organized tours are the only decent option.

From Fairbanks you can drive to the Arctic Circle and back in a long day over an amazingly engineered dirt highway which follows the pipeline north (includes crossing the Yukon River, where you could camp, if you wished).

Fairbanks is the home of an outstanding museum at the University of Alaska in nearby North Pole. Also nearby is Ester where they have fashioned a tourist trap from Robert Service's Malamute Saloon. Kind of fun, but do it on your own; don't take the tour.

From Fairbanks you could take a day-long bus trip to Coldfoot where they fly you into an Indian Village in Gates of the Arctic NP and then fly you back to Fairbanks.

You may, however, choose to drop your car in Fairbanks and fly back from there-- a better option than driving all the way back to Anchorage.

Unfortunately, you have short-timed yourself, so I make no recommendations. Plus, you have skipped all of Southeast Alaska -- Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Glacier Bay.

PS. There is a very good museum in Anchorage, too. Also good restaurants.

[ohioguy2]

I have been to Alaska a few times times. Once to Fairbanks in the heart of the winter (-60 F on the day we left) and a couple for extended times in the summer. My wife and I also took the cruise/train trip for a couple of weeks. Our 2nd grand child was born in Fairbanks. A niece works in Homer as a fisher person.

Visit Homer--kayak from the spit. Check out Veldez--if you like fishing, this is a good spot. While in Denali, if time permits take the bus into the park twice. Leave as early as you possibly can. The first day take the bus all the way to the end and back(the long ride bus, not the one that goes part way in and comes back). The 2nd day take the bus part way in, get off and hike. The buses pick up "hitch hikers" so you just need to get back to the road before the buses stop running. Be prepared! Not for rookies, but not impossible either.

If money and time permit fly into the Glacier Bay area. Did I say kayak!! If you are comfortable around the water, there are many places to explore, but some of them take skill.

Tourist stuff--some of it really interesting. Pan for gold outside of Fairbanks. Check out the pipeline in the same area. Eat at Soapy Smith's in Fairbanks--the guy gives history lessons as you eat. Drink an Alaskan Amber. Check out the musk oxen at UAF.

Read a lot of stuff. Ask questions.

I love Alaska.

[ohioguy2]

More stuff. Seward is not my favorite place by a long shot. I would never drive to the Arctic Circle in anything but a heavy duty four wheeler and then it is almost a sure thing a wind shield will be broken and spare tireS will be needed. Flying into one spot and out another is a great idea. You have way too little time. Like us, you will want to return.

[Jim3k]

More stuff. Seward is not my favorite place by a long shot.

But it's the only way to take the boat tour of the Kenai Fjords (all day tour) or see Exit Glacier.

I would never drive to the Arctic Circle in anything but a heavy duty four wheeler and then it is almost a sure thing a wind shield will be broken and spare tireS will be needed.

Heh. We did it in a Ford Taurus. Got very dirty, but no windshield problem. Just gotta dodge the road graders coming at you in your lane at the same 45 mph or more that you are doing. OK, I exaggerate their speed; still they are able to go quite fast for road graders, and the berms they leave are a hazard.

IMO, a four wheeler is not a requirement. Extra tire is a good idea all over the state; don't get a car with a doughnut tire. The rental companies are not supportive, so make sure you've got good tires when you start.

Flying into one spot and out another is a great idea. You have way too little time. Like us, you will want to return.

Yep.

[ohioguy2]

We drove our son's jeep--I still say four wheel drive is a good idea. Our wind shield got "dinged" twice on the way up. Those graders throw up some good sized Alaskan pebbles.

Seward has a great place to see puffins at the sea life place. The rest of the place is to forget.

With all the sun light, if you never sleep you may see and experience a small fraction of the high lights of this state in a week. Speaking of sun light, my wife took a sleep mask with her. I took my son and daughter in law to the hospital for the birth of their child at about 2 a.m. on July 3rd. It was very light out--kids actually playing ball at the parks.

[wandalee]

Thanks for all of the advice. We know our time is short, but we'll make more trips there. We found really cheap airfare on USAir and just couldn't pass it up. I definitely didn't want to do a cruise, because I wanted to see the state from the ground.

[wandalee]

You can visit the Boozers

And the Langdons!!

[ohioguy2]

One not to do. Forget North Pole (close to Fairbanks). A tourist trap. My daughter in law taught at North Pole High--go Patriots, but it is still a tourist trap.

[DukieInKansas]

Thanks for all of the advice. We know our time is short, but we'll make more trips there. We found really cheap airfare on USAir and just couldn't pass it up. I definitely didn't want to do a cruise, because I wanted to see the state from the ground.

If you do cruise when you go back, I highly recommend a small ship cruise. You can get to places that the big ships can't. The one we took had naturalists on board to answer questions and daily lectures.

I enjoyed the botanical gardens at the university in Fairbanks. Don't know if it is still there, but we stayed at a B&B that put you up in railroad cars.

[rasputin]

I've never been to Alaska. Reading this thread reminded me that I solicited similar opinions from the DBR community when I was planning a trip to Hawaii some years ago. Those opinions were very helpful. On just about any subject, one can seek and find valuable information from the experience of the community on this Board.

[alteran]

Thanks for all of the advice. We know our time is short, but we'll make more trips there. We found really cheap airfare on USAir and just couldn't pass it up. I definitely didn't want to do a cruise, because I wanted to see the state from the ground.

Since your time is limited you may want to consider sticking primarily with the options on the Kenai pennisula that have been mentioned here. You've got Homer, the Seward day trips to see marine mammals, glaciers, and whatnot, excellent hiking and camping, all easily drivable.

If you've never been there before I think you're going to have a blast, and I do hope you get up there again. I have been blessed to have family in the area, and all I can say is it's an amazing place.

[hurleyfor3]

I spent a week in Alaska and managed to hit Seward, Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs and Denali. And I took the long way up to Fairbanks. It can be done, although it helps to be by yourself. I was in Denali for only one day but I took one of my favorite photographs ever there (have to dig it up later). They run school buses in and out all day along the road.

Chena Hot Springs was worth going out of the way for, and there are several nice shortish hikes in the vicinity. It never gets dark there in June, so it's fun to to start a hike at 10pm and finish at 2am.

Oh, and if you go into any sort of forested area, take mosquito repellent. Cover as much of your body with clothes as you can; wear long pants. Good God, were they bad.

[ohioguy2]

I spent a week in Alaska and managed to hit Seward, Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs and Denali. And I took the long way up to Fairbanks. It can be done, although it helps to be by yourself. I was in Denali for only one day but I took one of my favorite photographs ever there (have to dig it up later). They run school buses in and out all day along the road.

Chena Hot Springs was worth going out of the way for, and there are several nice shortish hikes in the vicinity. It never gets dark there in June, so it's fun to to start a hike at 10pm and finish at 2am.

Oh, and if you go into any sort of forested area, take mosquito repellent. Cover as much of your body with clothes as you can; wear long pants. Good God, were they bad.

A group of six of us went to Chena Hot Springs in February. What a great experience. About -10 F and being in the hot springs looking out at the snow!
Mosquitoes are the unofficial state bird.

[wandalee]

Thanks for all the advice.
We got back from Alaska yesterday morning. What a great trip! We landed in Anchorage, then went south to Seward, went through the train/car tunnel to Whittier, took a ferry to Valdez, drove north to Tok, then skirted over to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory (mainly to knock off 1 of the remaining Canadian provinces/territories from our list), then into Fairbanks, south to Denali, then back to Anchorage, and south to Homer. We put just over 2000 miles on the rental car. The weather was not the best (some rain most days), but it did clear up enough on the morning we were leaving the Denali area to get some great clear views of Mt McKinnley. Animal sightings included bald eagles (lots of them), moose, foxes, coyote, wolves, caribou, grizzlies, black bears, golden eagles, Dall sheep, and sea otters.
Very refreshing noteables: The people were extremely nice and courteous. There was no trash along the highways and no billboards. We found fastfoods restaurants in only 4 cities (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla, and Soldotna). No sightings of the Langdons, Boozers, or Sarah Palin!