Things to Do in Alaska

Encompassing 254,080 acres (102,823 hectares), the Chena River Recreation Area is located about 30 minutes east of Fairbanks, with the Chena River being the central focus of the park. As the name implies, the park is full of opportunities for outdoor recreation and is popular with hikers, backpackers, climbers, anglers, kayakers, skiers, snowmobilers, canoers, wildlife photographers and adventure enthusiasts.

The area is abundant with wildlife, home to black bears, brown bears, beavers, red fox, caribou, wolves, hoary marmots, pika, rock ptarmigan and, most predominantly, moose, which you’ll see many of around the lakes. In the Chena River, catch-and-release fishing for Arctic grayling is possible, but grayling and rainbow trout caught in the park’s stocked ponds -- located at mileposts 30, 42.8, 45.5 and 47.9 on the Chena Hot Springs Road -- may be kept.

While during warmer months visitors enjoy activities like hiking, climbing, ATVing, picnicking, canoeing and kayaking, winter activities may include dog sledding, skiing and snowmobiling. And no trip to the Chena River Recreation Area would be complete without a soak in the Chena Hot Springs, which is especially relaxing in the cold winter months. Nearby you can tour the Aurora Ice Museum, filled with ice sculptures, an ice bar and ornate chandeliers made of ice that change colors every six seconds to resemble the Northern Lights.

Following the Chilkoot Trail is to take a journey into the past, to the time before the gold-rush era of prospectors when the Tlingit people used the route to trade coastal products for pelts and plants with the people of the interior. The trail is a significant historic site, and has been described as ‘the world’s longest outdoor museum.’

The 33-mile (53km) trail is for walkers only, who take three to five days to follow the often difficult route that in gold-rush days was the most direct path from the port at Skagway to the gold fields of the Yukon. The route was shorter than White Pass but more deadly.

Prospectors taking the Chilkoot route were advised to carry a ton of gear and rations, enough to ensure self-sufficiency for one year. Alternative transportation systems devised to help carry their infamous ton of gear included aerial tramways, pack animals and Tlingit porters.

Hiking the Chilkoot Trail is such a popular recreational activity that permit numbers are limited during the peak season months of June to early September.



Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

What remains of the most powerful recorded earthquake in U.S. and North American history is best viewed from the beautiful Earthquake Park. The 1964 Anchorage earthquake lasted roughly four minutes, registered a 9.4 on the Richter scale, and slid a whole section of south-central Alaska into Cook Inlet. Now the trail into the park offers guests unparalleled views of the Coastal Trail, Anchorage, Cook Inlet and Mt McKinley (otherwise known as Denali), and is a preferred resting spot for a day in the wilderness or an afternoon picnic. A well-loved day hike and quick escape from Anchorage, the Earthquake Park is not to be missed.

Bald eagles have a safe home at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Created in 1982, the huge park protects the world’s largest collection of bald eagles and their habitat.

Natural salmon runs are also protected in the preserve, where the Chilkat, Kleheni, and Tsirku Rivers meet.

For the best views of the eagles, head to the Haines Highway by the river flats surrounding the Chilkat River. To ensure the eagles aren’t spooked by your presence, stay off the river flats themselves and keep to the area near the highway.

From October to February, the eagles are attracted to the wetlands by the spawning salmon. During these months around 3,000 bald eagles have been known to stay at the preserve; the number of year-round inhabitants is between 200 and 400.

As well as eagle viewing, a visit to the preserve might take you river rafting on the Chilkat River to spot beavers, brown bears, moose and waterbirds.

Just beyond the edge of Anchorage and nestled in the foothills of the Alaskan Rockies lies the third largest state park in America. Chugach State Park boasts half a million acres (202,400 hectares) of hiking, skiing, camping, snowmobiling, rafting, climbing and wildlife viewing right at Anchorage’s doorstep, and which the locals enjoy year-round.

Home to alpine wildflowers, moose calves, pristine streams, howling wolves and glacial-fed rivers, the Chugach State Park is a favorite reminder to all living in Anchorage that wilderness via front-country trails or backcountry bushwhacking is ready and waiting, should you choose to explore it.

In pioneering days every red-blooded gold-rush town had a red-light district, and during Ketchikan’s frontier past it was Creek Street.

This historic bordello hub was built over Ketchikan Creek, hence the neighborhood’s name. In Ketchikan’s gold-mining heyday, more than two dozen houses of ill repute lined the boardwalk.

Prostitution wasn’t outlawed here until 1954, and was legal as long as business wasn’t transacted on dry land. This explains why Creek Street isn’t a street at all, but an elevated boardwalk built on wooden pilings.

Things are a lot more tame these days, and the red-trimmed Dolly’s House museum is Creek Street’s most colorful remnant. The boardwalk stretches over the creek, and gaily painted wooden buildings line the waterfront here.