Anchorage, Alaska

I remember when my fiance mentioned he wanted to go to Alaska for our next trip since he got the Alaska Airlines card which gives you a companion fare; meaning that for one ticket you can get an additional "free" ticket to accompany you on that trip. I quote free because taxes are not included and there is also an annual fee of $75 for the card itself; however, it really does pay itself off because tickets were around $600 when we purchased and we got a free checked bag...each!

Alaska immensely exceeded my expectations. I consider myself a nature junkie, Alaskaa's nature is on another level. There are so many different tectonic plates constantly moving slowly each day in Alaska which produced all these beautiful different ridges. Although that does make Alaska more earthquake prone; however that should not stop you from visiting this magical place. We hiked almost every other day and we barely scratched the surface of how many hiking opportunities were in the area, not to mention glaciers too.

We started off in Anchorage, where we flew in and spent most of our days during our trip in Alaska. The summer days are long and the sun sets around midnight for about four hours only, so with the plentiful daylight there is a lot you can squeeze in a day such as a day trip to the largest and very remote national park, Wrangell St. Elias from Anchorage, and trust me that 3.5 hour one way is all worth it with one of the most picturesque highway views. If you can stop by the Matanusaka Glacier on the way, it is the largest glacier accessible via a car in the United States.

Matanuska Glacier

Wrangell St. Elias is United State's largest national park and most remote/back country. Driving through their gravel roads through the park are tough and not advised unless you have a jackstand and extra tire (also assuming you can change it yourself too). The views were great from the Visitor Center and it was very informative.

Wrangell St.Elias National Park, View of Mt.Drom, a volcano that was active hundreds and thousands of years ago.

Hiking was plentiful in the Chugach State Park, one of the largest state parks in United States, where trailheads such as O'Malley Peak,Flattop Mountain, and Wolverine Peak which offer amazing views of Anchorage and beyond. On a clear day you can even see Denali from one of these peaks. They are also very close, just under 20 minute drive, which is such a privilege; we drive 2 hours from Washington D.C. just to get to hike at Shenandoah National Park. So having these peaks literally in the front yard of Anchorage is a blessing. You just needed to pay $5 at the trail head and they had kiosks that took credit cards which was very modern! The hikes were definitely harder on my knees since there were not many switchbacks which make things easier on your knees instead of going straight up the mountain.

There is definitely also more loose gravel and more snow on these peaks even during spring and early summer so we made sure to have some microspikes. We used the trail app called AllTrails that had GPS recordings of all the trails in Chugach State Park. Most were around 8 miles and classified as Hard. These peaks definitely were harder than the trails I was used to hiking in Virginia and Maryland but the views were spectacular, we were definitely in the clouds with elevation gains of just less than 4,000 ft. So these hikes are hard but doable with trekking poles and microspikes if you are going when snow is still present. Again check out these views!

On top of Little O'Malley Peak

Top of Wolverine Peak

After a long day of hiking we either went to Glacier Brewhouse noted in the map below or went to the New Sagaya Market and picked up some fresh seafood such as sockeye salmon or halibut and cooked it ourselves. Protip: Definitely cook as much as you can because the seafood is so fresh, 95% of the wild salmon is caught right here in Alaska, also food is expensive in Alaska and some of the places dried our fish like Humph's Alehouse (do not go there; and if you must go for the beer not the food).

The beer was really good in Alaska, we loved all the breweries especially Silver Gulch Brewery (the northernmost brewery of United States). It sounds like it is not fine dining but it was one of the best food we had in Alaska other than Glacier Brewhouse and Karsten's Public House near Denali National Park.

Some non hiking things we did were see a broadway play, Monty Python Spamalot at the Anchorage Center of Performing Arts and go to the Anchorage Museum of Alaska. They were both walking distance from each other in the downtown area which is also walking distance from Glacier Brewhouse. Protip: It is expensive to park in downtown but there are some areas that you can park for less than $10.00 the hour, I would park right next to the Northface store on the intersection of 5th and C st, that was the cheapest parking in downtown we could find.

The museum was great, it had art, history, and informative information about the current state of Alaska.

On the way to Seward, a fishing town that also holds a national park and a glacier stop by Beluga Point Sight, it makes a beautiful photo-op! Seward is only 2 hours away and was the next on our adventure!

See how majestic Alaska is?

Below is a map of all the summarized activities we did in Anchorage in terms of eating, shopping, hiking, and entertainment.

Hope you enjoyed my trip in Anchorage Alaska