Central Alaska

Alaska | United States

Central Alaska

On this trip you’ll visit the largest region of the state. Instead of the island chain, you’ll be exploring the interior (mostly) by car. This trip allows you to sample the most charming towns in the interior and see the famous Denali National Park. The scenery and wildlife are amazing and you will see a lot with this itinerary. This being Alaska, weather can have big effects – Alaskans say there is no bad weather just inadequate clothing. Be prepared to be flexible. If you want to see the charming towns in the Southeast, look at our other itinerary.

Day 1 – Anchorage

Day 2 – Talkeetna and Denali

Day 3 – Denali

Day 4 – Alyeska/Girdwood

Day 5 – Kenai Fjords

Day 6 – Katmai and Homer

Day 7 – Homer

Day 8 – Seward

Day 9 – Whittier

Day 10 – Anchorage

In-Depth Itinerary

Day 1 – Anchorage

On arrival In Anchorage pick up a rental car (there are plenty of choices here) and drive a short distance to your hotel (nothing in Anchorage is too far away). Our recommended stays are the Copper Whale Inn, Susitna Place B and B or Hotel Captain Hook.

Once you drop your belongings, grab lunch at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, AK Alchemist Coffee, 49th State Brewing, or Tent City Tap House.

Visit the Anchorage Museum where you can get an excellent overview of the tribal history of Anchorage, history of Alaska, and Alaska art.

With more time you can explore the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, an 11 mile long trail, by renting a bike at Trek Bike Rental. Along it you can spot wildlife (Moose, birds, sometimes bears) and enjoy the best Anchorage has to offer.

For an afternoon drink we recommend exploring one of Anchorage’s many breweries or Anchorage Distillery.

For dinner choose from our Anchorage Restaurant Recommendations. For after dinner ice cream, nothing beats the locally churned Wild Scoops (with concoctions created from locally sourced ingredients).

Day 2 – Denali by Air

Start your morning with breakfast at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop/That Feeling Co. Coffee, Snow City Cafe Breakfast, or Dark Horse Coffee Co.

Be sure and reserve a trip in advance for Flightseeing Denali. You will want to take the 2 hour tour with a glacier landing as it gets all around the mountain and the glacier landing is definitely worth it. This excursion isn’t cheap, but it’ll be one of your trip’s highlights—if the weather is good, The good news is that, while you will have paid in advance, the outfitters are typically very flexible and let you rebook for the next couple of days if it looks like the skies will be clearer (confirm this when you book). About one day in three will have decent weather and you really need to be able to see the mountain. But if you do it’s quite spectacular.

Mount Denali from the air

It’s about a two hour drive from Anchorage to Talkeetna, and you’ll need to be at the airport at least 30 minutes before your flight, so plan accordingly. There’s a better chance of clear weather in the morning. Talkeetna is very small but has a series of stores and pubs so you can grab lunch here. Denali Brewpub company is a solid choice, but other good options include Mountain High Pizza Pie, Mimi’s Haus of Cheese, Conscious Coffee.

Continue a scenic two hour drive to Denali National Park. We highly recommend that you stay a short distance outside the park at the lovely Tonglen Lake Lodge, though another good option is Grande Denali Lodge. Make sure to eat at 229 Parks (get reservations), but other decent options include Perch Restaurant, Alpenglow, Panorama Pizza Pub, Moose AKa’s, or 49th State Brewing.

Day 3 – Denali

Denali National Park is an enormous park that was set up to preserve the tundra ecosystem and abundant wildlife to the north of Mount Denali (the mountain itself was originally outside the park and not added till the 1960s). Visitors must take buses to access most of the park. There are two types: transit buses and tour buses. You’ll want to book one of the tour buses: they’re the ones that stop at scenic viewpoints and for wildlife. Be prepared for a LONG trip: you’ll be on the bus from early AM to late afternoon. Bring your own food, too: the buses sometimes provide a pretty lousy snack bag, but sometimes not even that. Some of the hotels in the area (including our recommended Tonglen Lake Lodge) will offer sandwiches, wraps, or other packed lunches to take on the bus. There are stops along the way for bathroom breaks and to stretch your legs. The scenery is otherworldly: massive braided glacial rivers, canyons, and high country tundra. On our trip we saw caribou, moose, grizzlies, and mountain sheep. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.

Grizzly bears in Denali National Park

Be aware that during the summer of 2021 there was a major landslide about halfway along the road due to melting of the permafrost. There are plans to build a bridge across the problem area, and as of now the road will not be open past mile 45.

With extra time in the afternoon, you can enjoy a hike like the Horseshoe Lake Trail (probably the best option) or Savage Alpine Trail (longer and more challenging to figure out; you’ll need a shuttle).

If hiking isn’t your thing, visit the Denali sled dogs. Sled dogs have been used for 100 years to patrol Denali National Park. Once the park becomes snow covered, these sled dogs are used by park rangers to travel through and patrol the park. In the summer you can visit them at their kennels.

Return to your lodging and try a different restaurant for dinner.

Tonglen Lake

Day 4 – Alyeska/Girdwood

You’ll spend most of the day today on the nearly five-hour drive to the town right past Anchorage, Girdwood, unless you have moved your Denali flight seeing to this day (if necessary due to weather).

Girdwood is home of the Alyeska Ski resort. Start with lunch at lunch and drinks at the Girdwood Brewing Company. Consider the Winner Creek hike, a soak or massage at the Alyeska Nordic Spa, and taking the aerial tram up the mountain (if the weather is good).

Stay at the Alyeska Resort.

Wolves at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Day 5 – Kenai Peninsula

You can take as long (or short) as you want today driving down the Kenai Peninsula to Homer. In total the drive is about three-and-a-half hours if you drive direct. However, if you want, there’s a lot to see along the way.

If you don’t feel like stopping, plan to make it to Homer by lunch to head to the Saltry (a really special dining experience). If you want to meander, plan to do this the next day.

First, stop by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where you can get up close to some of the wildlife you may have missed or only seen from a distance.

You can choose to take a hike to Russian River Falls. Relatively flat, this 4.7 mile hike (out and back) will take you to a waterfall where you can see salmon jumping upstream or bears fishing depending on the season.

Opt to take the detour along the Skilak Lake Road, an 18-mile-long gravel road along which you can see wildlife and spectacular views of lakes and glaciers.

If you like breweries, there’s no shortage along the way. Stop by Copper River Brewing (in Copper River), Naptowne Brewing Company (in Stirling), or Kenai River Brewing Company (in Soldotna). Make sure you have a designated driver!

If you didn’t catch wildlife along the Skilak Lake Road, another great option is the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where you can take a hike to try and see some.

If you like history you can detour again to Old Town Kenai (sites include Moosemeat John’s Cabin, Fort Kenay, historic Kenai cabins and 75 m Howitzer, the Arness Cabin, the Miller Cabin, the Dolchok/Juliussen cabin, the Three Scandinavians cabin, the Tomrdle House, the Holy Assumption of Saint Mary Russian Orthodox Church, the Rectory, the Chapel of St. Nicholas, Hermansen Miller House, and Veronica’s).

Another historic area is Old Ninilchik village and Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church.

Homer (“the end of the road”) is popular with Alaskans. It is in a lovely setting: the Homer Spit juts into the bay with mountains and glaciers sitting across the bay in the distance. Homer is full of artists and art galleries. It’s a center for halibut fishing and flight trips to see massive salmon-eating bears in Katmai National Park. The Homer Spit extends four miles into the bay and is full of fishing charters, tourist shops, and places to eat, and while not exactly attractive, is very popular. There’s even a “fishing hole” where you can try your luck for salmon right off the spit. Consider visiting the Islands and Oceans Visitor Center for an introduction to the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge.

For dinner we recommend Johnny’s Corner (incredible seafood bowls), The Twisted Goat (farm-to-table pizza), AJ’s Old Town Steakhouse and Tavern (upscale and old-school), The Kannery (Alaskan-Asian fusion), Fat Olives (Italian), and Fresh Catch Cafe (seafood).

If it’s before 8pm (Alaskan law doesn’t allow breweries to stay open later) grab a drink at Sweetgale Meadworks and Cider House (I was obsessed and could have gone back 100 times), Grace Ridge Brewing Company, or Homer Brewing Company.

We recommend you stay at Bay Avenue Inn (run by the incredibly delightful Lori), Homer Inn and Spa, or Alaskan Suites.

Day 6 – Katmai

Get breakfast today at La Baleine Cafe (fantastic, there is always a line) or The Bagel Shop (a transplant called them the best bagels outside of the East Coast).

Take a bear viewing flight to Katmai National Park (best in August when the bears are actively fishing). This is not cheap—about $700-1000 per person depending on operator—but is one of the most incredible life-changing adventures we have ever had and gives you an amazing experience being surrounded by bears fattening up on salmon for the winter. Alternatively (or with more time) you could book a halibut fishing trip. Homer is famous for its enormous halibut.

You’ll get back in time for dinner at The Saltry which is one of the most amazing dining experiences in Alaska. Located across Kachemak Bay in the tiny settlement of Halibut Cove, you’ll start by taking the ferry (Danny J). Enjoy dining on incredible seafood and wandering the artisan shops of Halibut Cove.

For an after dinner drink you should stop by the historic Salty Dawg for drinks (anyone’s guess how much money is pinned to the walls). Other options include The Homestead Restaurant LLC or Alice’s Champagne Palace.

Day 7 – Homer

Take a morning boat taxi to Kachemak Bay State Park. Of note, nothing in Homer is cheap. This isn’t either. You’ll have to pay around $80 per person for a boat taxi to the park (it is the only way to get there, there is no other option). We used Coldwater and they were great, but there’s tons of taxi companies up and down the Spit. The hike in the park is really lovely. Your boat will drop you along the shore and you’ll walk until you find the trailhead (you will see a sign in the shape of a triangle with a “T” on it). You have the option to hike the Glacial Lake Trail and Saddle Trail to the boat pick up point (in Halibut Cove) or to do a longer hike via the Blue Ice Trail where you’ll break off to the glacier overlook before heading to the lake. If you’re breaking off for the longer hike, head towards the Grewingk Tram Spur Trail when you see the sign (and get ready for the hand tram). Arrange which hike you want to do with the boat taxi in advance. The glacial lake gives you incredible views of the Grewingk Glacier (made even more picturesque by the glacial ice floating in the lake). The entire hike is gorgeous, easy to follow, mostly flat, and you’ll feel lost within a forest of green.

When you get back to shore, drive to Seward (about three and a quarter hours). When you get there drive to the Exit Glacier and take the short hike to the viewpoint. The Exit Glacier comes off the enormous ice field above, which blankets much of the Katmai Peninsula and spawns numerous glaciers. This one is interesting in that you can walk up quite close to it and there are signs of where it was before retreating. There is a strenuous trail that leaves from here and climbs about 3000 feet up to view the ice field, if you have the energy and the time.

Get dinner at the Seward Brewing Company, or The Cookery. Another ok option is the Resurrection Roadhouse.

We loved staying at the Box Canyon Cabins though another good option is the Seward Windsong Lodge.

Day 8 – Seward

Get breakfast at Sea Bean Cafe or 13 Ravens Coffee.

Seward

Seward is one of the best places for sea kayaking in Alaska. Book a reservation in advance, then arrive early for a beautiful all-day boat and wildlife watching trip to Aialik Glacier. The boat will pull up on a beach, and you’ll board your sea kayak and paddle amongst the ice to get within a half mile of the Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. Pack a lunch or reserve lunch in advance from the outfitter. Alternatively, visit the sled dog center (where dogs from the famous Iditarod Sled Race are trained and live). You might also consider a hike to Lost Lake or up to the Harding ice field with Exit Glacier Guides.

Kayaking in Kenai Fjords

Day 9 – Whittier

Drive to Whittier (about 2 hours) and make sure you’re in the tunnel at the right time. The tunnel to Whittier (the only way to get there) is one-way (the direction of traffic permitted through the tunnel changes at designated times), and if you aren’t there at the right time you won’t make your tour.

The reason to go to Whittier is for the 26 Glacier Cruise which, as it sounds, takes you past 26 glaciers along 150 miles of the Prince William Sound, keeping your eyes out for sea life along the way.

There isn’t much in Whittier (the city is famous for almost all of its residents living in the Begich Towers Condominium creating the nickname of a “town under one roof”), so rather than staying here, we recommend heading back to Alyeska or Anchorage and staying at the Alyeska Resort, Copper Whale Inn, Susitna Place B and B or Hotel Captain Hook.

Day 10 – Anchorage

Depending on the time of your flight you may have more or less time in Anchorage. With more time, if you haven’t yet take the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail by renting a bike at Trek Bike Rental, or take one of the many hikes nearby like Flattop Mountain (2.8 mile loop) or South Fork Valley Trail to Eagle and Symphony Lakes (10.7 miles out and back).

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