If you have decided to explore Alaska, be prepared for its vastness and uninhabited wilderness. Once you have applied for a US visa, plan your itinerary meticulously to extract the most of your Alaska visit. Traveling in Alaska is suitable for those who enjoy physical and adventurous activities.
If you travel to Alaska to enjoy its natural beauty, you will certainly enjoy hiking, paddling, and fishing in the great outdoors. Some of the best things to do in Alaska while visiting the following places are as given below.
Start planning your dream vacation by going through this list of the best things to do in Alaska that I handpicked just for you.
Denali National Park:
The best time to visit the Denali National Park is in summer, and the best way to see Denali is on a full-day excursion. Travel with a driver guide. Spot wildlife like Dall sheep, moose, and caribou, grizzly bears, bald eagles, etc. and explore stunning landmarks like Toklat, Polychrome Pass, and the Eielson Visitors Center. Other activities you should try are a botany walk, visit a historical site, or even pan for gold. You can take an aerial tour of the park. During summer you can hike, explore on a bike, fish, or go camping. In the winter months, indulge in skiing, snowshoeing, and dogsledding.
Seward, & Kenai Fjords National Park:
Seward is a port city in southern Alaska and is a gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. Seward is one of the towns in Alaska with temperate and mild temperatures. This city is also known to host the best Halloween parties in the USA. Visit Kenai Fjords National Park. Exit Glacier is one of this Park’s attractions. It is a gorgeous wall of blue ice and one of the state’s most accessible roadside glaciers. Take a guided ice-hiking or ice-climbing excursion. Go on a wildlife and glacier cruise to spot whales, puffins, sea lions, sea otters, etc.
Inside Passage:
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a water route between the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound. Cruise through the glacier-lined, wildlife-filled, and smooth-sailing waterway of Alaska’s Inside Passage. You can see wildlife like whales, orcas, sea lions, seals, apart from bears, eagles, and water birds here. As you sail, take in the incredible scenery of glaciers, mountains, ocean, and abundance of wildlife. The area is also inhabited by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Indians. On the way visit Ketchikan, where totems are on display at both Totem Bight State Historic Park and the Totem Heritage Center.
Alaska Native Heritage Center:
This is an educational and cultural institution located in Anchorage. The Alaska Native Heritage Center shares the heritage of Alaska’s 11 major cultural groups. This Anchorage museum offers an in-depth look at Alaskan Native life. You can see life-sized traditional native dwellings, crafts, handiwork, dance, listen to stories, meet carvers, and more. Buy traditional handmade gifts at the center. The center is run by teenagers and is more about teaching teens about Alaskan cultures.
University of Alaska Museum of the North:
The University of Alaska Museum of the North is a popular visitor attraction. More than a million historical artifacts and natural history pieces relating to Alaska’s natural, cultural, and artistic heritage are divided into 10 different categories. The permanent collection includes ethnological items made and used by indigenous groups. Here you can see ancient artwork like ivory carvings and contemporary sculptures, etc. Learn about Alaska’s mining history and view the world’s largest collection of polar dinosaurs here.
Dalton Highway:
The Dalton Highway is a 414-mile stretch of gravel and dirt that runs from the town of Livengood up to Prudhoe Bay and through some of Alaska’s most remote wilderness. If you are a hardcore adventure enthusiast, you can ride this highway on a rugged vehicle through the northern forests to the misty Arctic oilfields of Deadhorse. There are just three very small towns along the way. A very lonely road, the Dalton Highway is for those who find such roads attractive.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve:
With its incredible natural landscape, diverse wildlife, and rich human history, Wrangell – St. Elias is the largest National Park in the US. Visitors can find a wide variety of natural features like mountain peaks, glaciers, volcanoes, rivers, and boreal forests. As four mountain ranges converge here, the difference in elevation between Wrangell – St. Elias’ lowest point on the shores of the Gulf of Alaska to its highest point at the peak of Mt. St. Elias is over 18,000 feet. With geothermal activity in the world’s largest active volcanoes in the Wrangell Volcanic Field, the temperature in this region is quite high.
Iditarod National Historic Trail:
The Iditarod Trail is the only winter trail in the National Trails System and is comprised of a 1,000-mile main trail between Seward and Nome. An additional 1,400 miles of connecting trails link communities and historic sites and provide a parallel route. This winter trails evolved to connect Alaskan Native villages, established the dog-team mail and supply route during Alaska’s Gold Rush and now serve as a vital recreation and travel link. Explore Seward’s Iditarod Monument and then go on a mountain bike ride to Johnson Pass Trail to enjoy the waterfall views.
Mendenhall Glacier:
Mendenhall Glacier is one of the many large glaciers that flow from the Juneau Icefield. Here you can take a walk in a glacier. The partially hollow Mendenhall Glacier is a beautiful landscape of turquoise blue ice caves. Inside the glacier, you can hear the ice crackle as the glacier moves. The hike to the glacier is about 3-4 hours. You can kayak to the glacier in summer and in winter, you can walk across the frozen lake.
While in Alaska, buy local fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat to support the Alaskan people. Amidst nature, let the solitude restore your spirit and rejuvenate you.
Many festivals and events take place in Alaska throughout the year that will give you an insight on the local culture and heritage. Golden Days, Alaska Folk Festival, Alaska Festival of Native Arts, and Alaska State Fair are a few of the most popular festivals in the US.