Outdoor Adventures
Anchorage is your gateway to Alaska’s great outdoors. Find the best hiking trails, fishing spots, wildlife viewing areas, glacier tours, and backcountry adventures. See our full guide to things to do in Anchorage for how outdoor time fits into a broader trip.
Pan for real gold at an 1896 Alaska gold rush site forty minutes from Anchorage. Eight preserved historic buildings, family-friendly summer day trip.
Explore 11 Alaska Native cultures at Anchorage's premier indigenous heritage site — outdoor village dwellings, live dance, and gallery exhibits.
9 miles round trip from Glen Alps to a high alpine cirque lake in Chugach State Park. Dall sheep, golden eagles, and one of the best views near Anchorage.
Two Alaska whitewater rivers within 90 minutes of Anchorage — expert Class IV-V Six Mile Creek canyon and beginner-friendly Matanuska River glacier float.
Denali National Park contains six million acres of wilderness and one road. That road — 92 miles of dirt cutting through tundra, river valleys, and alpine passes — is closed to private vehicles...
A Chugach State Park trailhead 15 miles south of Anchorage with Turnagain Arm views. Choose the 4-mile overlook loop or push into alpine terrain above.
Potter Marsh's free 1,500-foot boardwalk offers some of Alaska's best birding — Arctic terns, trumpeter swans, and 130+ species just south of Anchorage.
From Flattop Mountain to Potter Marsh and Lake Hood, Anchorage's best photography spots with GPS coordinates, ideal timing, and gear tips for every season.
Alaska's best urban beach: Goose Lake Park offers swimming, kayaking, and moose sightings all within ten minutes of downtown Anchorage.
Kincaid Park packs 1,400 acres of boreal forest, Cook Inlet bluff views, moose sightings, and 40+ miles of trails into southwest Anchorage. Free entry.