A Guide to Taking the Alaska Railroad, From Where to Hop Off to What Routes to Take

04.10.2024 - 13:15 / cntraveler.com

“It’s a Dall sheep!” the train tour guide exclaims as we swoop past a jagged cliffside dotted with fuzzy white creatures impressively balanced on their rocky perch.

It's the second time we've been alerted of this majestic animal's presence along this leg of the Alaska Railroad, which I’ve explored for the past two days while traveling from Anchorage to Seward and Whittier. It's one of several journeys I've taken on this train, but the sight of the sheep never gets old.

I also see—and learn—something new every time I ride along the Alaska Railroad, in large part thanks to the passionate commentary from the local guides on board. Their love for the great land of Alaska is contagious, and the train's windows cinematically frame the vast diversity of natural scenery that the 470 miles of track cuts through—from plunging gorges with snaking rivers flowing below to majestic glaciers and fjords.

But the Alaska Railroad is not just for sightseeing. Dating back more than a century—having first opened in 1923—these tracks connect rural communities all along Southcentral and Interior Alaska that are often not accessible by car. Some of the smaller villages are so isolated, they aren’t considered official “stops.” Instead, they’re known as “flagstops,” meaning a potential passenger can wave a T-shirt on the side of the tracks to signal to an engineer they need to be picked up. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people it carries each year, the train also serves as a freight railway, transporting essential goods like groceries and gas that help keep the 49th State alive during the dark and cold depths of the Alaskan winter.

This summer, I completed an extensive trip via the Alaska Railroad that allowed me to experience all 470 miles of track from Seward to Fairbanks. Here’s everything I've learned about exploring the Last Frontier by train—from the different carriages and routes available to the best places to stop.

The Alaska Railroad operates year-round with five different seasonal routes.

The Alaska Railroad offers five different ticketed routes, the majority of which operate from mid-May to mid-September.

The Coastal Classic departs from Anchorage and snakes along the Turnagain Arm waterway in the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska and through the backcountry of the Kenai Peninsula, a coastal region dotted with waterfalls, glaciers, and wildlife (including bald eagles, if you're lucky). Once the train reaches its final Southern stop of Seward, passengers disembark at Resurrection Bay for a seven-hour layover. Here, you can hop on a boat to explore the wonders of Kenai Fjords National Park, one of the best places in the US to see Orca whales.

The Denali Star route is the Alaska Railroad’s flagship