Anchorage Travel Guide

The Portage Pass Trail is a short, relatively easy, and well-maintained USFS trail that gives amazing views. Of all the trails you will hike in Alaska, this one provides the best "bang for your buck" - the best views with the least amount of work. When you get to the pass after a moderately steep one mile hike, you are treated to a beautiful of...

Sure, the start line is where the excitement is, but you will get a better views and thinner crowds if you move a bit down the track! My experience was that it was easy to find free curbside parking on 5th avenue, and then just a short walk (five blocks, maybe) to the race area.

Hiking Flat Top was a routine for the friends in Anchorage that I was visiting so they had no problems. For a flat-lander like me from Florida, it was a heck of a workout! The motivation to make it to the top was that I could yell at them for bringing me along. Despite how strenuous it was, I had a great time. The view from the top was totally...

I was lucky to be staying at the Hotel Captain Cook for the evening and our bellman strongly suggested making reservations if we wanted to go to the Brewhouse; he called down to the concierge and arranged the reservations for us. When we arrived, the place was PACKED; I could barely move around the hostess desk - we were given a pager and found a...

This was a great seafood restaurant, but it also does Steaks and Poultry. Don't be put off by the less than distinguished entrance, being inside a downtown office building because the views of the Cook Inlet are excellent. Also don’t be scared of having to wait in the bar area because the bar staff are great and you can even order you starters at...

I had food poisoning there and when I called and complained they were beyond rude. My boyfriend talked me into going again and then got terrible food poisening and they denied it and refused to do anything about it, even with the doctor's note.

If your looking for a nightclub with all kinds of people in a very rustic setting, then Koots is the place for you. You'll find all kinds of people from rednecks to pimps in fur coats! This is not an upscale nightclub by any stretch of the imagination. If your looking for a more classy nightlub experience with ultra-lounge seating and contemporary...

Humpy's has become a very popular spot the past five years or so. Very large on the inside, they have a great menu and a very wide selection of beverages. Live music most nights with a solo local artist week nights and larger groups like the Hawaiian Regae band H2 on weekends. A wide spectrum of ages, but my son tells me it's a singles bar. The...

The Snow Goose Restaurant have live music all week long. It is a restaurant with it's own brewery. My favorite on a sunny summer day is a drink and a cigar on their open deck looking out over Sleeping Lady and Cook Inlet. Friday nights they have Firkin Friday where a newly brewed beer is combined with a live musical act. And there's also Accoustic...

We haven't take the taxi here, we have a car. I see the taxi in Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport is orange color. They're line up waiting for passengers. When I look at it, they are all from the same company Checker cabWe have been to in the states several times, we never took any taxi from the airport. No idea how much the fare might be, but in that...

Other options how explore the city at your own tempo. Although we never used the bikes but I think is also one of the easiest way to go around. The city is flat so biking is easy I think. I also did not expected to see bike rentals in the cityThere are enough bike rentals in the city, you have to choose which best for you. This bike shop I check...

We have luckily a car during this trip and we haven't use of this train. I was curious about their train station it seems nice outside. I went inside and have a look. There was nobody and very quiet, the only person I've see is the sales guy from the gift shopThe ticket counter is nice, and unique, just what I'm expected. Inside there is no screen...

Shopping in Anchorage is never a problem, there are plenty of stores around. When we wander around, the first thing we saw are the souvenir shops. We're looking some souvenirs for home. It wasn't difficult to find one, at 4th street you'll see the souvenir storesWe jumped from one store to another, is difficult to choose which souvenir you want,...

I mostly do my shoppings each time we travel and this happened most of the time of our last day in the country. I have search some shopping malls in Anchorage before we leave. The biggest shopping mall I've found during my research is this one at 5th avenue.I wasn't very sure if I found something I like here, we drove to the underground parking and...

I found a great deal of little things for gifts and trinkets here. It is on the street with all of the trinket shops. But this one was a little better than most we were in. .................... ................... ................. ................ ................... ...................... ...................

During our wandering in Anchorage at the 4th Ave, in front of the visitor center, we've found this stall selling reindeer hot dog. At first I can't believe I saw this kind of food on the street, if I say an ordinary hotdog is okay, but a reindeer?I certainly do not want to try it, I ask Didier if he wants to tried and he said yes. So he order one,...

Despite being the largest city in Alaska, wildlife is never far away. I ran across this moose with her fawn one morning.

Anchorage is a very laid back city when it comes to fashion and dress code. In fact, there are no restaurants with a dress code (other than you should be dressed) in this city. I imagine it’s because it’s so cold a lot of the time that you need to dress in layers and keeping warm is a top priority. I do like this about the city because you don’t...

Sometimes you might encounter Moose, I heard a story of some kids throwing rocks at the Moose, then an innocent person came along later and the Moose was annoyed and killed this person. They can be very aggressive and they are very strong. Don't even think you can scare one with shouting or noises they will just ignore you unless you get on their...

Sometimes you might encounter Moose, I heard a story of some kids throwing rocks at the Moose, then an innocent person came along later and the Moose was annoyed and killed this person. They can be very aggressive and they are very strong. Don't even think you can scare one with shouting or noises they will just ignore you unless you get on their...

Expect to see a lot of homeless people wandering our streets and be careful when driving. In addition to terrible street maintenance on heavily traveled streets (quite a few with no traffic lines left on them and deep ruts), one never knows when a drunk or homeless person with little children in tow will suddenly step into oncoming traffic to cross...

This is a slide show presentation at the Alaksa Center for the Performimg Arts Sydney Laurence TheatreAs we visited Alaska in late July, we decided to take a look because it would be our only chance of seing the Northern lights on our trip.The poster for the show has the line "You pay for your whole seat but only sit on the edge", and although the...

Not the best of attractions in downtown Anchorage. The film they show is rather old and the earth quake effects of shaking the seats is rather tame.The film has it's funny moments

Hmmm. Well, we went and saw the Earthquake 1964 feature and a movie on the dome ceiling called Alaska - The Great Land.We consider this experience a tourist trap because the movies are quite old. It appears, from our estimation, that these displays were established in the early 1980's? Their gift store items were also quite high compared to the...

I use a carryon bag with extensible handle and wheels making fast entry and exits from the airport, despite the flight security screening and precautions. Try to avoid a checked bag if you can. Wear or bring comfortable hiking shoes and thong rubber sandals for shower safety. In August a light rainproof jacket and a Tilley sun hat were enough in...

If you plan to fish here, know that you can carry home plenty of the fish on the airline, or you can have it shipped.Anchorage International Airport offers freezer storage for about $12 per day if you have a departing airline ticket.Call 248-0373 for details

I have visited Anchorage in June, August, and September, and on those trips have never needed more than a light to medium-weight jacket. Naturally, winter temperatures get quite cold, but because of moderating ocean currents it is no colder here than in the upper mid-western states. In fact, areas of northern Michigan, Minnesota, and adjoining...

North of Anchorage is Hatcher's Pass. This is not all paved and parts are best not done in a car. But the drive is breath taking. There were people out there collecting different berries and such along the road. There were also nice little ponds up towards the top for a stop.

This is a fun look through the different forms of wild life in Alaska. There are also buffalo that are going to be reintroduced into the wilds of Alaska. These are not the same as the buffalo in the lower 48, but called woodbine buffalo and native to the area. They are being held until they can be proven to be disease free before being released.It...

The water south of Anchorage is called Turnagain Arm, because when Captain Cook was looking for the NW Bipass they kept having to turn around because the pass was getting too low, hence the name. Do not go wading out into this water. The brown areas around the shore is dangerous and can actually such you under. Several people die each year in one...

I rented a bike and got directions for some of the local trails available in and around the city. I had my own clothing to wear and the rest came from the shop. They have many bikes for all kinds of riding and all kinds of riders. It was mild for an October day so my timing was perfect.My destination ended up being Kinkade Park for a total of...

Alaska gets pretty shut out of the whole National and American sporting leagues because of our location and our small population. However, we do have a hockey team that's very popular among locals. The Alaska Aces (who are affiliated with St. Louis and Peoria) always draw a good sized crowd when they play--and they should. They're pretty decent...

Anchorage has developed an extensive bike path system over the years. A highlight is the Coastal Trail which runs from downtown to Kincaid Park just south of the airport. Great vistas and an upclose look at the damage from the Good Friday earthquake as the trail runs thru Earthquake Park - a large chunk of land than fell away in 1964.The trails are...

The City of Anchorage overlooks Cook Inlet, named for Captain James Cook who explored this area in his vain search for a northwest passage across the top of the North American continent in 1778. The inlet , surrounded by mountains and filled with glacial silt, extends from Anchorage 150 miles to the open Pacific Ocean. These waters are ferocious...

If you talk to people from here, they seem so blasé about moose. Not me. I haven’t lived here a long time, but there’s no way I’ll ever get tired of them. They are so large and fun to watch that spotting one (which is not really spotting since they walk through parking lots and your yard or stand in intersections) it always exciting for me. I can...

Even in the summer you need to dress warm. Take warm clothing always. Rain is common in the summer and even on other days you are going to want a jacket. In the winter it gets really cold. Layers are the way to go. But it is so pretty to see all the snow.