Things to Do in Alaska
Ten stops across a state so large it holds four time zones' worth of scenery, from glaciers you can hear cracking to a museum built entirely around Indigenous culture.
Alaska runs on a different scale entirely, distances that would take days to drive elsewhere here, wildlife that doesn't bother staying out of sight, and a night sky that puts on a proper show for half the year. Ten stops below, plus a quiz elsewhere on this site if you fancy testing what stuck.
Denali National Park
Denali rises over 20,000 feet, tall enough that it's fully visible on clear days from well over a hundred miles away, though cloud cover hides the summit more often than not, manage expectations there. A single road runs through most of the park, buses handle the bulk of the traffic since private vehicles are restricted past a certain point, a deliberate choice that's kept the wildlife properly undisturbed.
Grizzly bears, caribou, and Dall sheep all turn up regularly along the route, spotted from the bus without needing to leave the road, a good option if a full backcountry hike isn't the plan.
Best time June-August for road access and clearer skies
Address Denali National Park, AK
Kenai Fjords National Park
Boat tours run out from Seward into a coastline shaped almost entirely by glaciers, some still actively calving, chunks of ice breaking off and crashing into the water with a crack loud enough to hear from a real distance. Whales, sea otters, and puffins all turn up regularly along the route, this consistently ranks as one of the better wildlife-viewing trips in the state.
Dress in proper layers regardless of the season, the water stays cold enough that the boat deck gets properly chilly even on a warm summer day onshore.
Best time May-September, tours run seasonally
Address Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, AK
The Northern Lights, Fairbanks
Fairbanks sits directly beneath the auroral oval, giving it some of the most reliable Northern Lights viewing anywhere in the country, clear, dark nights between late August and April offer a real chance most nights the sky stays clear. Several tour operators run dedicated viewing trips out to heated cabins away from city light pollution, a considerably more comfortable option than standing outside for hours.
Patience matters here, the lights don't run on a schedule, book at least two or three nights if this is the priority for your trip rather than a single attempt.
Best time Late August-April, clearest on cold, dry nights
Address Fairbanks, AK
Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward
The state's only public aquarium, built partly as a wildlife rehabilitation facility, real seabirds and marine mammals recovering alongside the public exhibits. A touch pool lets kids handle sea stars and anemones directly under supervision, a properly hands-on stop that consistently ranks well for families with younger children.
It's a manageable size for a single visit, best given two to three hours rather than a full day, a good add-on before or after a Kenai Fjords boat tour given both sit in Seward.
Hours Daily, roughly 10am-5pm, hours vary seasonally
Address 301 Railway Ave, Seward, AK
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau
One of the few glaciers in the state reachable by road, a properly rare convenience given how remote most of Alaska's ice fields sit. The visitor centre offers close, guided views of the glacier face, and several trails lead further in for those wanting a proper hike, including one that runs behind a waterfall right beside the ice.
Kayak tours run directly on the lake in front of the glacier during summer, a good, active way to get considerably closer than the viewing platforms allow.
Best time May-September for the clearest access
Address Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK
Bear Viewing, Katmai National Park
Katmai holds one of the largest protected brown bear populations anywhere, and Brooks Falls specifically draws bears fishing for salmon in properly dramatic numbers during the summer runs, a wildlife spectacle that regularly makes it onto nature documentaries. Access is by float plane only, no roads reach this part of the park, which keeps both the bears and the experience considerably wilder than most viewing spots elsewhere.
Day trips run from Anchorage and King Salmon, book well ahead during peak salmon season, this is one of the more sought-after wildlife experiences in the whole state.
Best time July for peak salmon runs
Address Katmai National Park, AK
Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage
A cultural centre covering eleven distinct Alaska Native groups, full-scale traditional dwellings built around a central lake, each staffed by guides from the culture it represents rather than general interpreters. Dance performances and traditional games run throughout the day, a properly immersive stop rather than a static museum walk-through.
This works well for kids too, the outdoor layout and hands-on demonstrations keep younger visitors engaged considerably longer than a conventional indoor museum would.
Hours Daily in summer, roughly 9am-5pm, reduced hours in winter
Address 8800 Heritage Center Dr, Anchorage, AK
Dog Sledding & Iditarod History
The Iditarod, Alaska's famous long-distance sled dog race, traces a historic supply route once used to deliver medicine to Nome during a 1925 diphtheria outbreak, a properly dramatic piece of the state's history that the race now commemorates annually. Several kennels around Anchorage and Fairbanks offer short sled rides or summer cart tours pulled by real racing dogs, a good way to experience the sport outside of race season.
Meeting the dogs themselves tends to be the highlight for most visitors, particularly kids, these are working animals that are properly friendly and used to visitors.
Best time Winter for snow sledding; summer for cart tours
Address Multiple kennels, Anchorage and Fairbanks, AK
Fresh King Crab & Salmon
Alaska's seafood industry runs on a scale that shows up directly on the menu, king crab legs the size of a forearm and salmon that's often still fresh from that morning's catch rather than shipped in. Coastal towns like Homer and Seward run the best concentration of properly good seafood spots, a sit-down crab dinner is worth prioritising at least once.
Prices run considerably lower here than the same seafood would cost shipped elsewhere in the country, take advantage of that while it's actually local rather than saving the splurge for home.
Address Homer and Seward both hold strong seafood scenes
Whale Watching, Inside Passage
The Inside Passage, a sheltered stretch of coastal waterway running through southeast Alaska, holds some of the most reliable whale watching in the country, humpbacks, orcas, and occasionally grey whales all pass through depending on the season. Boat tours run from Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka, most guaranteeing a sighting or offering a return trip if none turns up.
Bubble-net feeding, a cooperative hunting technique unique to this region's humpbacks, is a properly rare thing to witness if the timing lines up, ask operators about current sightings before booking a specific trip.
Best time May-September
Address Juneau, Ketchikan, or Sitka, AK
Best time to visit Alaska
June through August covers the most comfortable window for the majority of this list, road access, boat tours, and wildlife viewing all run at their fullest during these months.
Late August through April flips the priority toward the Northern Lights specifically, plan a separate, dedicated trip around that window if the aurora is the main draw.
Getting around Alaska
Alaska doesn't connect the way most states do, many towns aren't reachable by road at all, boats and small planes fill the gaps regularly. A rental car covers Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Denali well; everything further out typically means a flight or ferry.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Alaska worth visiting?
- Yes, unquestionably, few US states offer wildlife, glaciers, and real wilderness at this scale, this is one of the most rewarding states on the whole list.
- How many days do you need in Alaska?
- Ten days gives a comfortable pace to cover Anchorage, Denali, and either the Kenai Peninsula or southeast Alaska without excessive travel days.
- Is Alaska expensive to visit?
- Yes, one of the pricier states overall, remote logistics push up flights, tours, and accommodation across most of this list.
- What's the best Alaska trip for kids?
- The Alaska SeaLife Center and a dog sledding experience both rank as the most reliably kid-friendly stops on this list.
That's ten decent slices of a state that simply doesn't run to the same scale as anywhere else on this trip.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government's latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
