Travel in borough Kenai Peninsula

Let’s be honest: Alaska isn’t exactly a budget destination.

In a land of mind-boggling wilderness, rugged roadside pit stops and some of the world's most impressive big fauna, Alaska’s epic highways offer unlimited possibilities for adventurous drivers.

Thanks to Alaska’s size, limited road system, and often overwhelming array of outdoor activities, mapping out a trip to the 49th state can be challenging. Cruise the Inside Passage or drive the Interior? Day trip out of Anchorage or basecamp in the backcountry? To help you plan the best trip, we asked locals—writers, adventurers, artists, museum curators—for their secret spots and favorite hangouts.

Are you torn between heading to Alaska or Hawaii for your next big trip?

Bison in Yellowstone, grizzlies at Katmai, gators in the Everglades. Without doubt, national parks are among the best places to see America’s iconic animals in the wild.

America’s coastal areas don’t have a monopoly on great beaches . . . or groovy beach towns.

Train travel in the United States may not be as common or practical as in other parts of the world, but that does not mean it’s nonexistent — far from it. There are high-speed trains operating on the coast of Florida; there are Amtrak trains that will take you through some of the nation’s most beautiful national parks; there is a train in Colorado that runs at the bottom of a 1,200-foot-deep gorge and one that goes through California’s most celebrated wine region; and there are trains in Alaska that will take you for the ride of a lifetime through the most spectacular scenery — in glass-ceiling cars, no less!