What to do in Anchorage?

Hello,

We will have an afternoon and then a day in Anchorage. There will be 2 grandparents and one nuclear family. The Dad has to leave the first night. What good things are there to do in Anchorage? I haven't looked at anything yet, but I found when doing the Caribbean, it was best to just start a thread.

Would you be open to renting a car?

Would you be open to renting a car?

Yes, we are planning on renting one if we need to.

Would highly recommend the Anchorage museum and a visit to Moose tooth pizza! Also go visit ship Creek where the salmon may be running.

We spent several days doing day trips in and around Anchorage at the end of May/beginning of June.

Moose’s Tooth Pizza was great! The trolley tour downtown was a good way to get aquainted with the city.

We also took a drive north to Palmer and over to Wasilla. We did the Colony House Museum in Palmer which was great to me but would not be for everyone. It was fascinating learning what the colonists had or didn’t have and how the experiment was set up. It’s great for history lovers of all ages; I would not take kids though. There is also the Musk Ox Farm. We didn’t get there due to time constraints. We did make it to the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. The Reindeer Farm is terrific! :D We fed and let the reindeer, pet a yak, a bison, saw a moose, a pair of elk, a herd of horses, and they had other animals (pigs and chickens I think). We were with a mixed group of all ages from very young to elderly (some tourists, some Alaskans), and everyone had a fantastic time.

In Wasilla, we went to the Iditarod headquarters—saw the trophies, watched a short film about the importance of the sled dogs, pet and held husky puppies and also rode on the cart pulled by the grown dogs. Great side trip for a mixed group.

We were limited by my mom’s mobility issues, so we didn’t do any hiking though there are some places nearby. (Someone with authority can post). Also, because we were too early, we didn’t go to the Independence Mine State Historical Park which we would have considered working in if we had been able to since several on these boards have mentioned it favorably.

I am not recommending, since I haven’t done it, but there are also helicopter and flight seeing tours you can book in/around Anchorage if it suits your preference and budget.

If you want to see some amazing scenery, you can do a day trip to Seward and back. We did that as well; it was great. However, I’d pick the northern route for having more options and less time in transit if I only had one day.

I asked a similar question and got some great input:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2585121

For the record, we are taking a drive on Turnagain Arm. http://www.alaska.org/guide/turnagain-arm-drive

Also, someone mentioned getting a copy of the Milepost - which I did from my hometown library - it is an incredible resource.

When we had a full morning and part of the afternoon in Anchorage before our flight in 2007 we went to the Anchorage Museum and took the guided trolley ride (https://anchoragetrolley.com/) around town. We had an excellent guide and enjoyed the itinerary. It was the only place in Alaska we saw a moose. As we went through a very nice neighborhood, the moose was eating shrubbery in a front yard. The trolley stopped, the moose moseyed across the road stopping right in front of us and then jumped a small fence in another yard. We had been in Alaska for 11 days (7 day cruise an 4 day cruise tour) and hadn't yet seen a moose so that was a real treat!

Anchorage (like other Alaskan cities) is beautiful with incredible flowers everywhere.

We just got back from Anchorage. Rent a car and drive to the wildlife conservation center. It is amazing! We were there for three hours. We took our time driving down and stopped at a few of the photo stops. The drive is breathtaking. On the way back we stopped at the alyeska Resort and had dinner at Seven Glaciers. Amazing meal. (But don't get the Alyeska dessert - everyone in my group who had it had stomach issues that night.)

We also took the trolley tour and really enjoyed it! https://anchoragetrolley.com/

Whenever we go to a new town we look for Ghost Tours - they are a fun way to see the city and learn some history. http://www.ghosttoursofanchorage.com/

We tried to go to earthquake park but the mosquitoes were too bad. Even with bug spray we got eaten alive. At times we had to cover our faces with scarfs so we could walk thru clouds of mosquitoes. Never again.

Kathy

We're going next month, extended family of 10 people, including 4 kids and my grandmother. The night we get in, we're having dinner at Moose's Tooth Pizza. The next day is our full day in Anchorage, and we're doing the trolley tour, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and/or Anchorage Museum, depending on time. Maybe dinner at the Peanut Farm.

We just got back from Anchorage. Rent a car and drive to the wildlife conservation center. It is amazing! We were there for three hours. We took our time driving down and stopped at a few of the photo stops. The drive is breathtaking. On the way back we stopped at the alyeska Resort and had dinner at Seven Glaciers. Amazing meal. (But don't get the Alyeska dessert - everyone in my group who had it had stomach issues that night.)

 

We also took the trolley tour and really enjoyed it! https://anchoragetrolley.com/

 

Whenever we go to a new town we look for Ghost Tours - they are a fun way to see the city and learn some history. http://www.ghosttoursofanchorage.com/

 

We tried to go to earthquake park but the mosquitoes were too bad. Even with bug spray we got eaten alive. At times we had to cover our faces with scarfs so we could walk thru clouds of mosquitoes. Never again.

 

Kathy

This is the Turnagain Arm drive (that I mentioned above) that goes to the Wildlife Conservation Center - glad to hear it was great - we are so excited.

Tell me more about the mosquitoes - where else should we avoid ? I am a skeeter magnet.

If you want to do the drive many people spoke of here, I've done an unreasonable amount of research, both online and via friends who either have traveled extensively in Alaska or who were born there. So I have what could be considered a ridiculous amount of notes on stops for a day trip drive featuring various stops. I'm happy to share them. I'm even more happy to share what I've actually done once I've done it--so feel free to ask for my notes now or for my stories five weeks from now.

But without any of that--from what I've found, driving out the Seward Highway is not to be missed. But then I love road trips more than anything.

I'm going to suggest the 7 Glaciers Restaurant in Girdwood. We are planning the Grand Mountain Marvel cruise tour with RCI but have not been able to find out how much free time we will have in Anchorage to do a late lunch or dinner there. It would be a 30 mile drive east on highway 1/I-3. Don't know yet what rent car or cab ride would cost.

The Alaska Zoo is not far from Anchorage and in the summer there is a free zoo shuttle from a pickup spot in downtown Anchorage. We will be there next weekend and will see how it works.

Thanks for all the great info. We have a car rented for a day in Anchorage for a road trip day before our cruise in July. Great suggestions and downloaded the alaska.org app and see the driving map on their site for suggestions.

This is the Turnagain Arm drive (that I mentioned above) that goes to the Wildlife Conservation Center - glad to hear it was great - we are so excited.

 

Tell me more about the mosquitoes - where else should we avoid ? I am a skeeter magnet.

Earthquake park was the WORST for mosquitoes. I have never seen anything like it. Most of the other locations were okay. There were some at the wildlife conservation center - but bug spray kept them away for the most part.

Kathy