ACTIVITIES AND THINGS TO DO IN ALASKA

Alaska offers a wealth of things to do, from riding the rails or the Alaska Marine Highway, exploring the national parks, to skiing across glaciers, or watching bears and other wildlife.

Photo: ©Alaska Division of Community and Business Development

Bagging the Parks

A growing number of travelers affectionately known as “park baggers” have made it their goal to visit and spend time in every one of the 380-plus national parks in the country. Not surprisingly, Alaska is often one of the park bagger’s ultimate destinations. more

Birding

Visitors to Alaska with a weakness for birding will be wowed not just by Prince William Sound but by the entire state. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that 468 species of birds have been identified in the state, and the department’s new Wings Over Alaska program encourages birders to seek out as many of them as possible. more

Cycling

Bicycling in Alaska is both an adventure, considering the physical effort of climbing mountain passes and gliding along scenic highways, and an unforgettable and exhilarating experience. more

Digging

Digging at Alaska archaeology sites in Kodiak and Afognak, and the Amaknak Bridge site in Unalaska incorporate visitors into the excavation as a way to help them learn more about Alaska’s history and culture, and earn money for the dig.. more

Dog Mushing

Whoever conceived of training dogs to pull a sled must surely have done it out of necessity. Historical photographs can be found in museums and galleries throughout Alaska, showing images of early Alaskans using their teams to check traplines, visit other villages and travel safely in winter. more

Driving

Diving the highway in Alaska, including The Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek in British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska, the Richardson Highway from Valdez to Fairbanks, and the very northern Dalton Highway. more

Fishing

The good thing about Alaska is that no matter where you land, adventure fishing is only moments away. Whether in the state’s largest city or exploring farther off the beaten track, an angler can sample some of Alaska’s wildest spots and be back in town for dinner.
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Flightseeing

Perhaps the grandest way to capture a glacial moment in Southeast is to fly over these massive mountains of ice and, perhaps, land for a better look. Helicopter flight tours are available from Juneau, Skagway, Petersburg and Haines, among other towns. more

Four Wheeling

If you’re interested in getting into Alaska’s back country, consider touring the back roads by Jeep. Though Jeep tours are a relatively new opportunity in Alaska, four-wheel, off-road safaris are becoming quite popular. more

Golfing

Traditional golfers will find well-maintained courses in incredibly scenic surroundings across the state. more

Heli-Skiing

The idea of plunging out of a helicopter onto an almost vertical slope of snow-swaddled mountain can make the head swim. It’s the kind of thing that you might associate with the extreme skiers of action videos. Yet in Alaska, heli-skiing is becoming a sport for the average — well, let’s face it, the “above-average” skier. more

Hiking

One of the best things about hiking in Alaska is that high adventure can be had only minutes from civilization. A hike up Anchorage’s wildly popular Flattop Mountain is a strenuous experience with hand over hand climbing at points. more

Museuming

Although Anchorage boasts two of the largest museum and culture centers, there are some equally as impressive places to see elsewhere in Alaska. more

Northern Lights

This Far North phenomenon turns an average winter, fall or spring night into a wide screen extravaganza like nothing else. When you see the lights for the first time, there is often no words, no description that can match their magnificence. more

Photo Safaring

Raucous shorebirds, animated brown bears, calving glaciers and shimmering northern lights — these images capture the heart of Alaska. It is no wonder that world-class professionals, photography buffs and even those who have a point-and-shoot camera with lots of film to burn are lured to the Last Frontier. more

Rail Riding

Alaska is one of the few places in the country with a working railroad that hauls both passengers and freight daily. Only a third of Alaska is accessible by car; the train offers options that go beyond what a highway traveler might see. more

Skiing

In Alaska, the question is not: “To ski or not to ski?” Rather it is: “Where do I ski, what style, and how often?” In Alaska, skiing is a way of life. It is a rare Alaska child who has never been on skis, and adults of all ages, sizes and levels of physical fitness get out there and swish. Never has a sport been so much a part of a community as skiing is in Alaska. more

Snow Biking

Take bicycling, for instance. Common sense would have it that these two-wheeled recreational machines are put away into storage sheds or garages come winter. Not so in Alaska, where man and bike have stuck together for as long as a century. more

SnowMachining

It’s easy to enjoy Alaska by snowmachine. A growing number of tour operators offer treks into the backcountry, both guided and unguided, for snowmachine riders of all abilities. Here’sasampling from across the state: more

Wildlife Watching

Everyone thinks that coming to Alaska is a chance to fulfill lifelong fantasies about wildlife and the great outdoors. Well, everyone's absolutely right! Alaska has an unparalleled abundance of wild and woolly critters, and plenty of finned and feathered ones as well. more

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