Alaska day trips

Bodenburg Butte near Palmer delivers sweeping Mat-Su Valley panoramas — Pioneer Peak, Matanuska River, and Chugach peaks — in just 1.5 miles round trip.

Kenai Fjords glacier cruises from Seward offer tidewater glaciers calving into the sea, humpback whales, puffins, and sea lions in one spectacular day.

Palmer Hay Flats hosts thousands of sandhill cranes each fall and dense moose year-round — all viewable from the roadside near Palmer, Alaska.

One of Alaska's most unusual towns is also one of its most rewarding day trips — 60 miles from Anchorage through a shared rail-and-highway tunnel to a harbor full of glaciers, otters, and boat tours.