A trip to Anchorage, Alaska, isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime journey; it’s accessible enough for a long weekend jaunt, offering an abundance of adventure, along with culinary treats and luxury stays galore.
Founded just over a century ago as little more than a tent settlement and company town to facilitate the completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Fairbanks, Anchorage is thriving today. As the most populous city in Alaska, it’s the state’s modern metropolis, and strikes a delicate balance between serving as a global cargo and commerce hub, and also as the key to the limitless realm of the Great Land.
Five national parks are well within reach from Anchorage, including Denali National Park, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. For National Park devotees, there’s no place you can experience more of nature’s best and most cherished sights than right from Anchortown.
Anchorage is one of one, and the fact that its wild beauty is wrapped up with an innate, all-American grandeur you don’t even need a passport to explore makes it that much better. It’s Alaska’s shining star and the country’s true hidden gem, and it’s almost shocking to first-timers how easy it is to visit.
Anchorage is reachable with direct flights from New York to its Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in under eight hours, with airlines including United and Alaska making the route. That’s a shorter flight than mega-popular vacation hubs such as Rome, for instance, to say nothing of far-flung domestic hot spots such as Hawaii. It’s even quicker from the west coast, of course. Los Angeles to Anchorage comes in at under five and a half hours, with Delta and Alaska among the carriers providing direct service between the cities. That’s a shorter trip than it is between the east and west coasts themselves. Even quicker? Direct flights from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix—all clocking in at under four hours. Plus, it’s only a one-hour time difference from the west coast, and four from the east coast. Shorter travel days than we realized, with no jet lag strings attached? Sign us up.
Sorry to say, but Anchorage isn’t the trip of a lifetime. It will certainly feel like it, with the photos you end up hanging on the wall and the stories you share for years to come. But then you can pack right up and do it again in a few months if you’d like, or even to visit annually. You have to see Anchorage for yourself to believe it, and once you make your first visit, you’ll soon understand why savvy travelers continue returning time and again.
Discover This Incredible Destination
ANCHORAGE IS A YEAR-ROUND DESTINATION
One need only look up at the sky to get a sense of Anchorage’s year-round appeal. In the winter, the grand glow of the northern lights takes center stage. You can expect a viewing anytime from September to April, though the middle of winter, with the longest, darkest nights, affords the best opportunity. There’s a huge array of popular locales and corresponding excursions to help get you there, ensuring the logistics and legwork are covered and you can simply sit back and enjoy.
Then in the summer it’s time for the midnight sun. Whether you stay up until sunrise in order to enjoy a midnight picnic or fishing expedition, or to gaze in wonder and soak up its ethereal appeal, you won’t get tired of the spectacle (the otherworldly display might leave first-timers unable to get tired at all!).
In the warmer months, it’s time to hit the trails for hiking and biking. The area’s ski resorts transform into summer adventuring hubs, and Anchorage also offers 135 miles of bike paths, connecting to sensational routes such as the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail that make for idyllic afternoons.
Did you know that Anchorage has more planes and pilots per capita than anywhere else in the country? That means that no trip to Alaska would be complete without going for a fantastic flight or two. In Anchorage, sightseeing is old hat. Instead, try flightseeing on for size. Take scenic seaplanes or helicopter rides up, above, and around staggering glaciers and fjords, pristine wilderness areas, and endless mountain ranges.
Of course, with its humble roots stretching back to 1915 always linked to the Alaska Railroad, it shouldn’t be a surprise that train travel — whether destination oriented or scenic day trips — remains a tried and true way to get around. From Anchorage, you can ride the rails to Seward, Fairbanks, Denali, Prince William Sound, Talkeetna, and beyond.
COME HUNGRY
Students in the Anchorage School District speak more than 100 languages, indicating how the city is so wonderfully multicultural. The best way to get a true feel for how vast and varied those influences are is to grab a table at one of Anchorage’s many tantalizing restaurants, a boundless and delectable lineup that’s sure to please any palate.
From casual fare to fine dining, Anchorage’s Asian and fusion dining scene is matched by few places on the continent. Mei’s Kitchen, The Rickshaw, Hong Kong Spirit Food, LimeLeaf, and The K Food should keep you satiated for starters.
Don’t overthink it, though. Many travelers to Anchorage are rightfully in search of its bounty from the ocean, with some of the best seafood on the planet. Salmon, king crab, and halibut, oh my! Alaska Chopped & Chowdered and Orso are two excellent choices to consider.
You’ll need something to wash it down, too. Look no further than a standout such as Whisky & Ramen. There are hundreds of whiskies available by the glass, including one of the country’s deepest lineups of hard-to-find Japanese whisky. Highly touted craft cocktails are available as well. If there’s a better way to warm up the body and the soul, we’ve yet to hear it. For those who prefer a pint to a wee dram, Forty Ninth State Brewing is your best bet.
ALYESKA RESORT IS BECKONING
Alyeska Resort is a luxury retreat that’s the first of its kind. It combines an immersive Nordic spa with the unbeatable environs of the Chugach Mountains. It’s a fantastic ski resort and mountain, a luxury hotel, and a world-class relaxation center rolled into one. With more than 300 rooms, the resort is an expansive destination unto itself, with its most exclusive stays offered as part of its Black Diamond Club.
Alyeska Resort isn’t only a basecamp towards adventure, though; the adventure is offered right at the resort, too. Consider the stunning Aerial Scenic Tram, which ascends to the peak of Mt. Alyeska at 2,300 feet with stunning views along the way, including no fewer than seven named glaciers, and an observation deck at the top. Then there are the Veilbreaker Skybridges, hair-raising walking suspension bridges at a soaring 2,500 feet. As for the ski mountain, there are 1,610 skiable acres of terrain, 76 trails, seven lifts, and let’s just say there’s more than enough powder to go around. How does 55 feet of annual snowfall sound to you?
Now it’s time for the Alyeska Nordic Spa. It’s a hydrotherapy wonderland, including outdoor wooden hot tubs, cold plunge pools, and barrel saunas. Not to mention Banya sauna rooms, a Finnish sauna, hot pools, and an exfoliation cabin, oh, and relaxation areas, rainforest steam rooms, and the Halotherapy Signature Sauna, with a fully mapped out, recommended cycle of experiences to maximize the positive effects. Don’t worry, the spa offers soothing massage therapies and treatments as well.
There are other stylish stays to consider as well, including those wherein a trip to Anchorage allows you to extend farther afield into Alaska’s great wilderness. For instance, the sensational Sheldon Chalet is reachable from Anchorage via a 75-minute helicopter ride. Next thing you know, you’re staying at one of the most extravagant lodges on the planet, and one which happens to be in an almost unfathomable, glacier-top locale. The chopper happens to be the sole means of accessing the Chalet, for that matter.
THE ALASKA HIGHLIGHT REEL IS HERE, TOO
The fantastic food and the epic spas might leave you craving more, but anyone heading to Alaska probably has a classic hit list of must-see and must-do experiences as well. Fear not, Anchorage has you covered.
The mountains are seemingly at your fingertips, and gigantic glaciers abound. Dog sledding? It’s the state sport! Whether you take a cart for a spin or visit a kennel for some quality time with those adorably rambunctious, howling puppies, you’ll enjoy an unforgettable day.
Are bears, whales, and moose up your alley? Whether you visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center or head to Katmai, Lake Clark, or Chinitna Bay, you’ll be able to take in these powerful, awe-inspiring creatures. Humpbacks and gray whales are one thing, but how about Belugas and Orcas for good measure? And as for moose, well, suffice it to say that nobody ever realizes how massive these Bullwinkles are until they’re seen in person.
ARRIVE VIA CRUISE… OR NOT
A number of high-end cruise lines stop at Anchorage (although it’s worth noting that ships actually dock at Seward or Whittier, with travelers transferring by land from there), including Seabourn, Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, and Holland America Line. When Explora Journeys launches its Alaska summer sailing season in 2027, the luxe operator will do so, as well.
But there’s no need to arrive via cruise ship, or to consider Anchorage a mere add-on to a longer trip. As mentioned, it’s well connected via short, direct flights to the continental U.S., and has more than enough to keep you and the whole family entertained as a standalone destination.
A trip to Anchorage doesn’t need to be reserved — or ahem, put on ice — until some far-off date decades from now. It’s not a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Or doesn’t need to be, anyway. It has the thrills that will last you a lifetime, but from a locale you can return to as often as you’d like, with more to do and see, taste and try, and uncover and explore, each and every time.
Anchorage is an incredible destination that’s closer than you think, and makes for a dreamy long weekend that will leave your friends and family raving with jealousy that they didn’t think of the idea first. Make your inaugural visit a memorable one, and then come back again soon to see how the destination shines from summer to winter and throughout the year.
Featured image courtesy: Ralph Kristopher; in Partnership with Visit Anchorage Alaska
