4 Alaska itineraries that are made for spectacular summer adventures

28.05.2024 - 15:05 / lonelyplanet.com

In a state where the journey is as often as absorbing as the destination, the temptation to draw up a challenging, action-packed Alaska itinerary is more than compelling. Routes here take in everything from Panhandle forests to frigid Arctic tundra.

However, with a road network only slightly larger than that of Rhode Island, there’s a limit to how far you can get with a car. Fortunately, many of the state’s more remote corners are accessible by plane, train, or ferry.

Remember, Alaska is two-and-a-half times the size of Texas. If it were a country, it would be the world’s 17th largest. Even a two-week sojourn only offers a small taste of this great unsullied wilderness, but what a taste it is!   

Try these four busy itineraries that take you to Alaska's most dramatic sights and experiences.

This land-based itinerary takes advantage of the beautifully maintained Alaska Railroad. Start out in Fairbanks, the railroad's northernmost terminus, where you can spend a day exploring the museums and a night appreciating the remarkable phenomenon of a sun that barely sets.

Hop on the train to Denali National Park, and enjoy a good day hike on the Triple Lakes Trail. The next morning, take the extraordinary eight-hour ride to Anchorage. Along this stretch, the tracks leave the road and probe into asphalt-free wilderness, paralleling rivers instead of the highway, with the icy mass of 20,310ft Denali in view if you're lucky.

Spend two nights and one full day in Anchorage, taking advantage of its surprisingly sophisticated shopping and dining scene. Check out the world-class Anchorage Museum, or rev up for a salmon bake with a bike ride along the Coastal Trail. Then hop aboard for another spectacular journey to Seward.

Again, the train deviates from the road and takes you 10 miles into the Chugach Mountains. Seward is the southern terminus of the railroad, ending at gorgeous Resurrection Bay. Be sure to take a tour of Kenai Fjords National Park to spot sea lions, sea otters and whales before you leave.

One of the fastest-growing activities in Alaska is bear watching, and the state has no shortage of bears, nor tourists wanting to see one – preferably catching and devouring a salmon. Make it to at least one of the following destinations and you’re likely to spot one.

One of the most famous bear-viewing sites is our start point: Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park & Preserve. Here you can snap the ultimate Alaskan photo: a dozen grizzlies perched on the edge of a waterfall, snapping salmon out of the air as they leap upstream. There are so many bears here in July, in fact, that the moment you step out of your floatplane at Brooks Camp, you'll be ushered into the national parks office for a mandatory bear orientation (likely