Alaska: The Last Frontier

Alaska is a wonderland.

As the 49th United State and one of only two that are non-contiguous (Hawaii being the other), Alaska had been calling our names for a long time. This year we finally took advantage of some long-accumulated Alaska Airlines miles and took our maiden voyage to this wild and wooly land.

Here’s what fascinated us about Alaska:

• Alaska is the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the U.S. It is also the largest state by far, with more square miles than Texas, California, and Montana combined.
• It’s the only state to have coastlines on three different seas: the Arctic and Pacific oceans and the Bering Sea. And it shares a maritime western border with a Russian autonomous region in the Bering Sea.
• Alaska has 3 million lakes, more than 12,000 rivers, and an estimated 100,000 (rapidly disappearing) glaciers. It also has more volcanoes than any other U.S. state. You won’t find this combination, in this quantity, anywhere else in the world.
• Alaska is called the Last Frontier for good reason. Not only is it the largest U.S. state, but it’s also the most sparsely populated. Much of the state is only reachable by plane or boat, and vast swathes are uninhabited and unexplored (at least by non-Native people).
• Alaska has the highest ratio of airplane owners to people in the U.S., with about 11,000 registered flyers.
• We never thought we’d agree with Sarah Palin, but it is possible to spot Russian territory from Alaska. There are some qualifiers, though. You need to be standing on Alaska’s Little Diomede Island, located in the middle of the Bering Strait. It’s usually fogged in there, but on a rare clear day, you can see Big Diomede, a Russian island 2.5 miles away.

We really enjoyed our all-too-brief visit to this colorful and drop-dead gorgeous state. First, we spent a few nights in Anchorage. Then, because we never pass up a good road trip, we rented a car and drove north to Denali National Park, staying in an inn just outside the park boundary. Next, we headed down to the postcard-pretty town of Seward before returning to Anchorage for one night and flying home.

ANCHORAGE: Alaska’s Cultural Soul 

Anchorage is not only Alaska’s largest city but the third largest city (by area) in the U.S. Architecturally, Anchorage isn’t charming – but it has other claims to fame. Located in south-central Alaska on the Cook Inlet, the city is ringed by the spectacular Chugach mountain range. It’s the starting point for the world-famous Iditarod sled dog race, and the gateway to several magnificent wilderness areas.

Culturally, Anchorage is a meeting point for many of Alaska’s indigenous groups and is home to more artists and musicians than any other place in Alaska. Another fun fact: Ted Stevens International Airport is the third busiest cargo airport in the world, thanks to Anchorage’s strategic location for trans-Pacific cargo flights.

The Anchorage Museum

The Anchorage Museum is a must-visit for any first-timer to Alaska. As the state’s largest museum, it has expansive and colorful exhibits  focusing on Alaska’s social, political, cultural, scientific, historic, and artistic heritage. The full diversity of northern Native cultures is on display, including masterworks of Alaska Native art and design from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is a treasure trove of art, with multiple galleries offering varied perceptions of the northern landscape and wilderness, and people.

Alaska, summed up in a single giant collage

Some of the exquisite Native handicrafts on display

Playful polar bears

More beautiful Native handwork

A gorgeous painting of Denali by Sydney Laurence

Tips: The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from May to December. October through April, it’s closed on Monday and open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 12 noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $25 for non-resident adults and $18 for seniors 65 and over.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

If you’re craving some exercise and a bit of nature, check out the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Beginning downtown, this scenic and mostly flat trail runs for about 11 miles along the Anchorage waterfront and ends in Kincaid Park. The trail follows the fault line of the devastating 1964 earthquake that destroyed many Anchorage homes and buildings (an exhibit about halfway down the trail tells the whole story). And if you’re lucky, you might spot moose and even Denali, North America’s tallest mountain, in the distance.

All geared up and ready for our bike adventure!

Downtown Anchorage from the trail

The trail offers bit of peace and quiet.

The trail also fronts a large inland lagoon.

More gorgeous scenery on the trail

Tip: You can rent bikes at Pablo’s Bike Rentals, conveniently located only two blocks from the trail. Pablo, the friendly owner, offers a wealth of information on the trail, the area, and what to look for along the way.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is located about an hour’s drive south of Anchorage near the town of Portage, but it’s well worth a visit. A sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, and research,  the AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides them with spacious enclosures and quality animal care. The AWCC occupies 200 scenic acres against a gorgeous backdrop of the Chugach mountains, with a 1.5-mile loop trail that offers up close views of musk ox, wood bison, moose, brown bears, and many other fantastic critters.

Tips: The AWCC’s operating hours vary according to the time of year; check here for info. General admission is $25 per person.

Anchorage Food and Drink

Judging from the number of craft breweries in Anchorage, Alaska is a beer-drenched state. If you love a good microbrew and great food to go with it, you can’t go wrong with 49th State Brewing Company in downtown Anchorage (49th State also operates two other locations, one at the airport and one near Denali National Park). Also check out the Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria for great pizza and – you guessed it – more microbrews. Our one splurgy meal at Glacier Brewhouse (yup, more microbrews) served up some of the best grilled salmon I’ve ever had.

If you’re looking for a truly local and non-flashy bar scene, check out F Street Station. In operation since 1944, it’s a hangout for aviators young and old. And Club Paris, open since 1957, is oozing with atmosphere.

John chats up a local at F Street Station.

Club Paris gives off an authentically loungy 1950s vibe.

Our Anchorage Lodging

For a variety of reasons, we don’t recommend the AirBnB where we spent our first four nights in Anchorage. For our single night back in the city before flying home, the Hyatt Place was reasonably priced, well-located, and comfortable.

DENALI: Peek-A-Boo With a Famous Mountain

The drive from Anchorage to Denali is loaded with spectacular scenery and normally takes about four hours.  We took our time and made a few stops, including a coffee break in the cute town of Talkeetna.

More gorgeous scenery on the road

The rustic town of Talkeetna

Folks leaving on a rafting adventure, Talkeetna

And yet more gorgeous scenery . . .

Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali NP panorama

Finally! Our fleeting look at Denali, far in the distance.

Denali has varied terrain and sweeping landscapes.

This cutie is an arctic ground squirrel.

The Teklanika River

Denali’s ptarmigans are snow white in the winter and change to speckled brown plumage for the summer. This one was going throug the change. His fluffy feet help him navigate deep snow.

This fiberglass guy in the visitor center was our only moose encounter on the whole trip!

The Sled Dogs of Denali

Mushers (Alaska-speak for sled team drivers) and their intrepid canines have been an important fixture in the Denali National Park and Preserve since the 1920s. This Park Service video gives a great overview of the sled dog program and the role the dogs play in helping rangers maintain and protect Denali’s most remote wilderness areas in the winter.

A huge highlight of our Denali experience was a visit to the sled dog kennels. There, we got to meet and pet a couple of the dogs and watch a demonstration of their sled-pulling prowess. We were impressed by the loving care given to the pooches by the kennel rangers, each of whom is assigned to train and care for specific dogs from puppyhood. As dog lovers ourselves, we were a bit taken aback by the fact that the dogs are chained to their kennels when they’re not out working, but it’s all good. The dogs are chained to ensure each one has his or her own personal space, and to prevent scuffles with other pups. And when the dogs are not working, they’re remarkably laid back. Clearly they’re getting the best-possible care from their handlers.

Lounging. Each dog has his/her own kennel and living space.

A regal girl

Getting some love from his ranger handler

The sledding demo got all of the dogs excited!

Other Denali Tips

• Denali National Park and Preserve is open year-round, but the busses only run in the summer months. This page outlines everything you need to know about the best times to visit the park.
• We were able to dust off and use our National Park Senior passes, which got us free admission. Otherwise, the entrance fee is $15 per person (kids under 15 are free). The park does not accept cash, so plan accordingly.
• Private vehicles are only allowed to travel as far as the Savage River trailhead at Mile 15, but busses are available to carry visitors the rest of the way to Mile 43, the site of the closure (summer 2026 is the current target for reopening the entire road). We took one of the transit busses for an additional $33.50 each, which gave us on-off access to sites beyond Mile 15.
• You can visit the sled dog kennels in the summer months from 9:30-4:30 every day (in winter, the hours are more limited). The sledding demonstrations are only offered in the summer, and a free shuttle is available from the park headquarters to the kennels. Here’s all you need to know about how to visit the kennels.
• The mosquitos in the park can be FIERCE, so pack your bug repellent.

Denali Food and Beverage

Within Denali National Park and Preserve, we had a nice lunch (good chili) at the Morino Grill next to the visitor center. Outside the park, check out McKinley Creekside Cafe and Bakery for great food and decadent desserts (this was attached to our lodging, so we ate there a couple of times). Later, we popped in to the bar at the Grande Denali Lodge, a beautiful luxury hotel on a high ridge, for a glass of wine and spectacular views. We also enjoyed microbrews and snacks at the Healey location of 49th State Brewing Company.

Our Denali Lodging

We enjoyed our cozy accommodations at McKinley Creekside Cabins, conveniently located about 15 minutes south of the national park entrance near the town of Cantwell. (Note: McKinley Creekside Cabins is closed for the winter from mid-September to mid-May.)

SEWARD: Glaciers, Scenery, and Charm 

From Denali, we drove back down through Anchorage and headed another 127 miles south to Seward, a picturesque port on the Kenai Peninsula. The drive was spectacular, skirting the waterfront with some of the most breaktaking scenery we’d encountered on the trip so far. Along the way, we made a stop in Girdwood to take a look at Virgin Creek Falls (beautiful).

For lunch, we ventured through the Whittier Tunnel to explore the tiny town of Whittier deep in Prince William Sound. Although the town is pretty unremarkable, the tunnel is another story. This privately owned, one-lane tunnel alternates direction every half hour, with cars and trains sharing space. And at 2.5 miles, it’s the longest highway tunnel in North America. Traversing it was quite an experience!

Motorists drive right on top of the railroad in the Whittier Tunnel. The cars have to wait on either side if a train needs to go through.

A couple of rustic businesses in Whittier

Located on the shore of scenic Resurrection Bay, Seward is named for William Henry Seward, the secretary of state under President Lincoln who engineered the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for two cents an acre (such a bargain!). Seward is the  gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, where glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield into coastal fjords; as such, it’s a big stopover for cruise ships. Spectacular scenery aside, Seward is a working port town that offers Alaska’s only deep-water, ice-free port with rail, highway and air transportation to Alaska’s interior and major urban population centers.

Looking across Resurrection Bay to the Kenai Peninsula

A murder was committed in the Van Gilder Hotel in the 1930s, and today it’s said to be haunted.

Looking back toward Seward from the Swiftwater Cafe

Seward’s historic train depot

St. Edward’s Episcopal, Seward’s oldest church, was built in 1906.

The pretty waterfront trail

Exit Glacier

If you’re still unconvinced about the impact of climate change, you need to visit Exit Glacier. Located about a 15-minute drive out of Seward off Herman Leirer Road, Exit Glacier is a vivid example of how much the glaciers of the world have retreated in the past century. Well before you reach the parking lot, you’ll see signposts along the road marking the spots where the glacier’s edge once extended; the oldest is 1815.  It’s a beautiful – and sobering – way to spend a morning.

Tips: Exit Glacier is within Kenai Fjords National Park and is the only part of the park accessible by road. The park service operates a visitor center from Memorial Day to Labor Day (it was closed when we were there). Easy paved trails give visitors access to several views of the glacier and the scenic valley it created. Another half-mile trail takes hikers up near the toe of the rapidly retreating glacier.

The Alaska SeaLife Center

If you only have time for one thing in Seward, make it the Alaska SeaLife Center. The ASLC is the only facility in Alaska (and perhaps the world) that houses a public aquarium together with marine research, education, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.  And it’s proof that something positive came out of the devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989; the center’s research and rehabilitation components have been funded entirely from the Exxon Valdez settlement. We really enjoyed our morning’s visit to the ASLC and recommend it highly to visitors of all ages.

An exhibit on the Alaska fishing industry

This is Pilot, an enormous sea lion. He loves to mug for the camera.

A King Eider duck

Horned puffins

This ASLC naturalist was holding an online class with some elementary students

Tips: The ASLC is open daily from March to September, with more limited operations in the winter months. Tickets are available online for a discount.

Seward Food and Drink

We enjoyed excellent seafood at Ray’s Waterfront and the Highliner. On a whim, we stopped in at the Resurrection Roadhouse at Windsong Lodge (on the road to Exit Glacier) and had a great dinner. The Swiftwater Cafe offers basic eats in a picturesque waterfront setting. For coffee and yummy bakery treats, a visit to the Resurrect Art Coffee House is a must. Housed in an old church, the cafe is a hive of art, community, and local culture.

Our Lodging in Seward 

We stayed at the Gateway Hotel, a nondescript but perfectly adequate hotel conveniently located near the waterfront and cruise ship terminal.

Other Tips

• Let’s get this out of the way: Alaska is EXPENSIVE. Expect to pay north of $150 for even the most basic accommodations, and a lot more for basic food in restaurants ($7-$8 for a cappuccino, for instance). It was a big sticker shock for us, as accustomed as we are to the low cost of living in Colombia.
• The weather is a big factor in any planning for a trip to Alaska. The peak tourist season is pretty short – from May to September – and as such, lodgings book up far in advance. It’s possible to see and do a lot in the winter months, but expect many attractions, restaurants, and hotels to be closed for the season.
• In Anchorage, Uber was a very reliable and easy means of getting around until we rented our car.
• Since we live in Colombia, we don’t have a U.S. cellular plan. But, as it has for many other countries, the Airalo e-sim service worked flawlessly for us in Alaska. If you’ve never used Airalo, here’s a link for 15% off your first Airalo eSIM.  Existing Airalo users: Click here for a 10% discount on your next eSIM purchase.

***

Our 10 days in Alaska were jam-packed, and we could have easily spent twice as long exploring Anchorage, Seward and Denali. But the area we visited is only a tiny slice in the south-central part of the state. We know we’ll be back to explore more of this incredible state someday – and maybe we’ll even spot a moose or two!

Have you visited Alaska? What were your highlights?

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