Alaska Travel Tips: 8 Ways to Avoid the Crowds
GettyDo as the locals do in Anchorage.
Bike the city’s 200 miles of trails (not just the 11-mile Tony Knowles Coastal Trail), go inner-city salmon fishing on Ship Creek, and take a walk through lovely Kincaid Park to the only beach in town. “Anchorage residents love this place in the evening,” says local and author of Alaska on the Go, Erin Kirkland. "We also like to head east to the Chugach Mountains and Arctic Valley, a mecca for local hikers and a great place to pick berries in late July and early August.”
GettyMake the journey to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
We'll admit, Wrangell-St. Elias isn’t as easy to get to as Denali National Park (which you should visit, BTW). But as the biggest national park in the country at 13.2 million acres, it's well worth the bumpy drive or spectacular bush-plane flight. Book a stay at Ma Johnson’s museum-hotel in McCarthy, where the Discovery Channel’s Edge of Alaska is filmed. Then, explore the spellbinding park, Kennecott ghost mine, and massive glaciers and peaks, including the 16,140-foot Mount Blackburn, first summited by a woman (Dora Keen).
GettySplurge on a guided wildlife experience.
Take your chances of seeing wildlife up a notch with experts who know all the right places to bring you safely up close to Alaska’s vast ecosystems. Try Rust’s Flying Service for brown and black bear tours, the Northern Alaska Tour Company for polar bear expeditions, and Running Reindeer Ranch for forest walks with reindeers.
Photo by JR Ancheta/Courtesy University of Alaska Museum of the NorthPlan a cultural immersion.
Alaska’s strong culture is as much a part of an authentic visit as the state’s natural wonders. Make a beeline to hubs like Fairbanks, with its museum-quality Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center (see the Iditarod photo exhibit) and beautiful University of Alaska Museum of the North. On sunlit summer nights, there’s also live music in the Georgeson Botanical Garden, where peonies the size of your head bloom from June to September.
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GettyTake a road trip.
Alaska’s highway and ferry system has seen the biggest jump in tourism numbers, up 10 percent from last year. In fact, road trippers now account for five percent of summer visitors. With three million lakes, 100,000 glaciers, 17 of the country’s tallest peaks, and 34 thousand miles of coastline, there’s really no better way to experience the largest state in the nation than on the open road.
GettyGet to know the dogs.
Dog mushing is the official state sport and the most famous sled race in the world happens here, but there’s more to the long-running story of dogs in Alaska than first meets the eye. Learn about the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on a kennel tour (like the one at Chena Hot Springs), meet the national park sled dog puppies at Denali, and hang with the off-leash, friendly dogs of McCarthy.
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GettyStay up with the midnight sun.
Many locals swear that they need less sleep in summer, sometimes referring to winter as one long night and summer as one long day. So, embrace these strange, glorious days of tilted midnight sun. For full effect, head further north into the Arctic Circle (try the Northern Alaska Tour Company), flight-see over the Yukon River, and drive back down the wild Dalton Highway, ice-cream colored skies illuminating the way from start to finish.
Sip a craft brew.
Craft breweries are popping up across the state, spurring a local suds trend that includes the new-in-2017 Girdwood Brewing Company near Alyeska Resort and Juneau’s Barnaby Brewing Company, where brews are infused with locally foraged spruce tips and salmonberries.