From shopping for Indigenous-made goods to forest bathing in a key ecosystem, here are the top things to do in the 49th state.
Published January 5, 2024
8 min read
Alaska’s more than 663,000 square miles of land and 66,000 miles of shoreline offer an almost embarrassing abundance of idyllic landscapes and bucket list experiences. From spotting whales and bears to discovering Indigenous-made art, here are the best ways to delve into the northernmost state in the U.S.
Go off-grid in a rustic cabin
Somewhere between tent camping and glamping sits one of Alaska’s lesser known ways to overnight in the great outdoors—public use cabins, available on Recreation.gov. A good option is Priest Rock, located on a slough on the shores of Lake Clark, a stop for migratory birds. From Anchorage, take a charter flight to Port Alsworth, where guide services provide the last leg by boat. (You can also rent kayaks to take along.)
“The cabin is so calming [with] beautiful views of Lake Clark and up into Currant Creek Valley,” says Beth Hill, co-owner of Tulchina Adventures, a Port Alsworth-based guide service. She adds that early morning and late evening are when “bear, lynx, and otters tend to be more active.”
Catch the northern lights
Summer may be peak season for traveling to Alaska, but September through March is when aurora borealis typically swirls across clear, dark skies. Photographing them is a science all its own. Tour companies like Fairbanks Aurora Tours lead photo-focused trips just outside the Interior city. Take a deep dive into the science behind auroras at the Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks, which runs the Aurora Forecast website. For detailed forecasts, visit the NOAA site or keep tabs with the My Aurora Forecast app.
In Fairbanks, locals head to Creamer’s Field for aurora viewing. South of Fairbanks near Denali National Park, the town of Healy has good viewing chances. Year-round lodgings are limited near the park but EarthSong Lodge in Healy remains open and, for an extra thrill, offers dog sledding tours.
(Here’s how to photograph northern lights.)
Explore the intertidal zone
Alaska offers plenty of intertidal zones for exploring a wealth of marine life. Purple and red sea stars cling to rocks as sandpipers hunt for insect larvae and clams along the water’s edge. In tide pools, look for the patterned plated shells of chitons (a group of oval mollusks) and anemones whose elegant tentacles stretch to catch prey. Don a wetsuit and dive with Snorkel Alaska to spot sea cucumbers and swim through a bull kelp forest in the cold, clear waters off Mountain Point, five miles outside Ketchikan.
Shop Indigenous-made for a good cause
Bracelets engraved with the flowing designs of a Tlingit silversmith. A basket handwoven from local grasses. Beaver mittens decorated with colorful beads depicting salmonberries. With so many cultures, the variety of art created around the state seems endless. You can find beautifully treasures at the Craft Shop at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. The artists receive the bulk of the profits from sales—a rarity—with the balance used to support patient services and scholarships.
See bears without the crowds
Thanks to daily permit and guide service limits, there’s no waiting for space on the viewing deck at Anan Wildlife Observatory Site, a U.S. Forest Service site 30 miles southeast of Wrangell in the Tongass National Forest. Black and brown bears fish here for one of the largest runs of humpback salmon (a.k.a. “humpys” or “pinks”) in the region. After arriving via small boat or floatplane, take a half-mile hike through an old-growth forest to the viewing platform. It’s not unusual to see bears along the way. Sign on for a guided tour out of Wrangell with Alaska Charters and Adventures or Alaska Waters.
(These are the 10 best U.S. national parks to see wildlife.)
Dine on global cuisine in Anchorage
Trying local dishes like muktuk (small pieces of whale blubber and skin) or akutaq (a mix of fats, sugar, berries, and/or region-specific meat) requires an invitation to a private home, since the ingredients in many Indigenous foods cannot be legally sold or served in restaurants. But Alaska is global, especially in Anchorage’s Mountain View neighborhood, which has one of the most diverse census tracts in the country. Try doro tibs, a spicy Ethiopian chicken dish, at Queen of Sheba, crispy Filipino lumpia at AJ’s Ohana, or buttery egg tarts at Hong Kong Spirit Food.
Stroll one of America’s moodiest beaches
With three volcanoes—Augustine, Iliamna, and Redoubt—70 miles across the bay, Homer’s Bishops Beach has one of the best views in Alaska. Don a sweater and rubber boots to stroll this atmospheric shoreline, where wind and thick clouds can swirl in quickly, kicking up whitecaps on the water. Look for eagles swooping down to catch a meal and flocks of western sandpipers zipping along the waterline.
After, warm up with coffee and a sweet treat at Two Sisters Bakery before walking a few blocks over to Bunnell Street Arts Center, known for its innovative programming and shows.
Go beyond forest bathing in a key ecosystem
Thick with spruce trees, bogs, and spongy tundra, boreal forests stretch across more than 60 percent of Alaska. At Running Reindeer Ranch in Fairbanks, naturalist Jane Atkinson leads walks in the forest with her herd of reindeer. Along the way, she offers deep insight into this key ecosystem, from the soil to the treetops. Visitors also learn about the forest through the reindeers’ perspective, as they interact with the environment.
(You’ve heard of forest bathing. Now try forest therapy.)
Drive to Alaska’s easternmost town—through Canada
Located in Southeast, or the Panhandle, Hyder is a signature Alaskan geographical oddity—it’s both the state’s easternmost and southernmost town. Get there by driving through Canada, a spectacular journey that includes a swath of Glacier Highway, where the ice sheets seem to tumble from mountains on either side of the road. In Hyder, you can watch bears fish the local waters, then head to The Bus for your own seafood meal, including some of the tastiest fried halibut and chips in the state.
Get up close to glaciers
It’s hard to understand how massive tidewater glaciers are until you’re facing one from the deck of a boat. Watching these massive frozen cliffs calve ice into the sea can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Due to climate change, Alaska’s famed glaciers are retreating at an accelerated rate. See them with responsible local operators, like Major Marine Tours out of Seward and Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises in Valdez. Both are known for providing excellent nature narration and committing to the local community and the environment.
Anchorage-based writer Jenna Schnuer covers travel, culture, science, and more. Find her on Instagram.