Alaska: Trails, Wilderness and Culture

Alaska’s wildlife habitats range from boreal forests and Arctic tundra to glacial fjords and coastal rainforests. Guided wildlife viewing tours in the state include bear, whale and bird watching. Cultural experiences are also an important part of a trip: Alaska is home to 20 distinct Indigenous cultures, 229 federally recognized tribes and 300 different dialects. Travelers can learn stories passed down by Elders and experience traditional dances. Alaska’s seafood includes salmon, crab and cod.

Plan destinations and experiences

Five distinct regions of Alaska are highlighted for trip planning, along with various routes and modes of transportation. If you’re looking for a hotel, you can start by considering which experiences you want to shape your trip: trails and parks, coastal scenery, culture or wildlife viewing. These priorities can help you organize destinations and transportation to suit your plans.

Denali: Scenery and road access

The George Parks Highway connects Anchorage and Fairbanks through the wilderness in the heart of Alaska and provides access to Denali National Park and Preserve. In Denali State Park, the road roughly divides the area in half. The landscape there ranges from meandering lowland streams to alpine tundra, and recreational opportunities include everything from roadside camping to wilderness exploration.

Denali National Park and Preserve has a special seasonal road rule: most of its only road is open exclusively to buses in summer, from May 20 to mid-September. This is a specific planning consideration if you intend to visit the area during this period. It means that road travel there differs from a trip planned on the assumption that you can drive freely in your own car.

Hiking trails and activities in Chugach State Park

Chugach State Park has more than 280 miles of hiking trails. The Flattop Mountain Trail starts at the Glen Alps Trailhead, is challenging and is 1.5 miles each way. The Historic Iditarod (Crow Pass) Trail offers a different historical connection: it follows a former supply route for the Iditarod and is 23.2 miles each way. Cycling is permitted on certain designated trails in the park.

The Alaska State Parks hiking guides provide information about trail access, difficulty, length and use. Trail conditions and guide availability may change, so check the information relevant to your specific hike. This makes it easier to compare trails based on their described features, rather than judging a route by its length alone.

Coastal parks: access and nature experiences

Kachemak Bay State Park covers approximately 400,000 acres of mountains, glaciers, forests and sea. Visitors can kayak there. Above the tree line, skiers will find glaciers and snowfields stretching for many miles. Visitors to the park often see sea otters, seals, porpoises and whales. Getting there is very different from reaching a destination by road: the park is not accessible by road, but by boat or plane, including charter flights or a water taxi from Homer.

Caines Head State Recreation Area is located at the site of an abandoned World War II fort. Its coastal trail runs 4.5 miles from Lowell Point to North Beach; the area can be reached from Seward by boat or on foot. When planning this trail, be sure to consider the tides, as both tidal conditions and trail conditions may change.

In Glacier Bay, kayak trips can start at Bartlett Cove. Guided day trips and overnight trips are also available. The Alaska SeaLife Center combines a public aquarium with marine research, education and wildlife care. These offerings differ from the parks’ trail- and landscape-based experiences.

Museums and historic trails

The Alaska State Museum was founded on June 6, 1900. The Sheldon Jackson Museum curates a collection of 6,000 objects. The Alaska State Museums provide the public with access to their offerings and collections. The Iditarod Trail is also part of Alaska’s historical landscape: it is designated a National Historic Trail. Together with the Historic Iditarod (Crow Pass) Trail, this designation shows that Alaska’s trails are significant not only as routes for activities, but also in a historical context.

These examples represent different travel interests: a challenging trail with a clearly stated one-way distance, a coastal park accessed by boat or plane, a seasonal road rule, museums and guided wildlife viewing. For your hotel and trip planning, you can combine these priorities with the regions and modes of transportation that suit your plans.

Discover more destinations: Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Haines Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, North Slope Borough, Juneau, Anchorage, Denali, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Aleutian Islands, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Sitka, Kodiak Island Borough, Petersburg Census Area, Aleutians West Census Area, Bristol Bay, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Nome Census Area, Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Yakutat, Wade Hampton Census Area.

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