Map tips: each color represents a different day. Click a marker to learn more about the spot, and click the star in the map header to save the entire map under Your Places in Google Maps.
Day 1: Anchorage to Girdwood
This was a trip with 10 family members and our flight arrived into Anchorage, Alaska around 1 pm. If you’re flying to Alaska, try to get a window seat. The views are unbelievable.
We grabbed our rental car from Alamo, which is on-airport like most other rental car companies. However, there are some that require a shuttle so it’s best to verify. Stopped at Costco to get a bunch of groceries and drove about 40 minutes to our rental house in Girdwood (where Alyeska ski resort is). We got settled and headed out to Virgin Creek Falls.
There is parking for the falls at the end of Timberline Drive but we were close enough to walk there in about 15-20 minutes. It only takes a few minutes to get to the falls from the trailhead, so it’s a great payoff for such a short trail. Played there for a while, made some food back at the house, and called it a day.
Day 2: Glacier Hikes
- Portage Pass Trail
- Begich, Boggs Visitor Center
- Byron Glacier Trail
- Williwaw Fish Viewing Platform
Drove about 40 minutes to Whittier, Alaska, where the Portage Pass Trail starts. You can only drive to/from Whittier through a tunnel that lets one-way traffic through on a schedule. Make sure to check this site for pricing and timing. It is one of the longest tunnels in the United States at 2.5 miles and the speed limit is very low, so you may have to wait up to 45 minutes for the next traffic opening if you don’t plan accordingly.
The trailhead is just after exiting the tunnel. The hike is a relatively easy 4 miles RT with 800 feet of elevation gain and takes you over Portage Pass to Portage Lake. Portage Glacier, which empties directly into Portage Lake, comes into view shortly after the pass. It’s a great hike with views in all directions, even with low clouds.
Timed it perfectly to eat our packed lunch around the cars post-hike and go right through the tunnel. The town of Whittier might be of interest, as almost 80% of residents live in one building. It is a very small place but cruises stop here and there are lots of options for activities. A Prince William Sound boat tour is the most popular thing to do in/around Whittier, but we had opted to do a day cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park later in the trip. There is no wrong choice as you’ll get great wildlife and scenery on either boat trip. From what I’ve read, however, the wildlife might be better in Kenai Fjords and the glaciers are more impressive in Prince William Sound.
After getting through the tunnel and heading back in the direction of Girdwood, we stopped at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center. There are neat exhibits and kids can fill out a workbook to get their choice of awesome Alaskan patches.
Just down the road from the visitor center is the trailhead for the easy walk to Byron Glacier. It takes a little less than 1 mile to get to the glacier along an easy, flat path. You can explore on and around the ice but it is not advised to go very far up the glacier. I would also ask at the visitor center if there are any caves and if you should stay away from them, as collapses have happened there. We had a blast at the glacier and made a quick stop at the Willawaw Fish Viewing Platform. A few of us saw 1 salmon but learned we’d likely have better luck towards the end of our trip. Back to the house for dinner. Great introduction to some easy hikes in Alaska.
Day 3: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
We passed the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on our way to and from the hikes the previous day but had set it aside as a good rainy day activity. Well, that worked out because it rained all day. Entry to the center costs quite a bit, but the money goes to a great cause. All the animals there were either injured and/or orphaned. We saw moose, bears, porcupines, musk oxen, a lynx, coyote, foxes, wolves, and more.
Day 4: Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise
Made the beautiful 1 hour 40 drive south to the town of Seward. This is the jumping off spot for Kenai Fjords National Park on the Gulf of Alaska. We had booked a 6-hour boat cruise through Kenai Fjords Tours weeks in advance. Major Marine is the other main company that offers the same tours. Both companies have longer and shorter options plus great reviews. It can be very windy and cold – gloves, hats, and rain gear are a good idea. While they sell it on board, you’ll also probably want to bring dramamine if you have trouble with motion sickness.
This experience was the highlight of the trip for me. The mountains and glaciers lining the coasts seemed to be never-ending. We got up close to a glacier and got to see and hear pieces breaking off. We also got to see otters, orcas, humpback whales, puffins, and sea lions.
Had a great meal at Highliner in Seward then drove back. Awesome day, really liked Seward and think it’d be a great place to stay for a night or two.
Day 5: Hiking and Dog Mushing
- Crow Pass Trail
- Girdwood Summer Dog Sledding
Amanda and I got the morning to ourselves to do a shorter hike and chose the nearby Crow Pass Trail. It’s about 6 miles RT with around 2,000 feet of elevation gain and was better than we anticipated. Beautiful and varied views pretty much the entire way. The trail goes by a nice waterfall, a lake, and ends at Crow Pass with a view of Raven Glacier. I’d say the hike was pretty easy and our kids could have done it, too. Bird Ridge was the other hike we considered but we were both very happy with our choice.
Got back to the house in time for lunch and our 1:00 booking for dog mushing with Girdwood Summer Dog Sledding. They met us at Alyeska resort and took us about 15 minutes away in an old, open-air Pinzgauer vehicle. We then took short rides through the mountains on a wheeled cart pulled by Iditarod veteran dogs, learned about the race itself, and got to play with some of the puppies. It was a neat experience, but cost a lot of money for what it was and we thought the ride would have been longer.
Day 6: Gold Mining
- Crow Creek Gold Mine
- Alyeska Resort
- Girdwood Park
- Girdwood Brewing
Headed to the Crow Creek Gold Mine in Girdwood to pan for gold. The old mining town buildings and grounds are very interesting and we had a great time trying to strike gold. We didn’t, unfortunately, aside from the bags of dirt they give you that are guaranteed to have a few flakes. Spent several enjoyable hours there and ate a packed lunch.
The Alyeska tram is unreasonably (that’s a nice way of putting it) expensive to go up, but is free to take down. Our plan for the late afternoon was for my mom to take the Alyeska tram up while the rest of us hiked to the top. She could grab something at the restaurant at the top and spend some time admiring the views, and then we could all ride down together. However, there was a moose on the trail pretty early on. It did not move after 15 minutes so we nixed those plans. Luckily this was before my mom had gotten on the tram, so we decided we’d try again the next day.
Went to Girdwood Park to let the kids loose on the playground for a while. It’s very close to a bridge on the main road through Girdwood (which is called Alyeska Highway). There is a spot on Google Maps called Glacier Creek Bridge Viewpoint that has stunning views on both sides.
Next, we had a great experience at Girdwood Brewing Company for dinner. They have 2 different food trucks each day and you can find the calendar on their website. Had awesome Mexican food and beers, loved it there.
I felt a bit unfulfilled by the hike getting scrubbed, so I couldn’t end the day there. Drove to the Alyeska Resort Daylodge and just started walking uphill with my brother-in-law to get a little elevation gain in. While the views were similar to what we’d see the next day, the sky was awesome and the fireweed made for a beautiful setting. One of my favorite pictures from the trip.
Day 7: Alyeska Hike
We went back to the Willawaw Fish Viewing Platform in the morning and got to see the salmon. I don’t really understand why they all stay in the same spot, but we got to see it.
After lunch back at the house, returned to Alyeska resort for hike attempt number 2. The North Face Trail to the top of the tram is just over 2 miles and 2,200 feet of elevation gain. Surprisingly, it wasn’t well marked at the bottom. If you walk uphill under the tram wires, take the road on the left just pass the Winner Creek trailhead. It eventually turns into a regular dirt trail with signage and winds its way to the top.
Views on the way up, and at the top, are great. Near the top are 2 bridges you can pay another unreasonable amount to walk across. They are called the Veilbreaker Skybridges – pictures and more info here. When we were at the top, I hiked to the start of the first one. They have it completely roped off unless someone is doing it. I think pictures make it look way cooler than it really is, so I wasn’t disappointed we skipped it.
Caught the tram down and had dinner at the house. If you’re hiking up with the intention of taking the free tram down, make sure you verify when the last run is. It wouldn’t be that fun to hike up only to learn it’s done for the day.
Day 8: Eagle River and Eklutna Lake
- Eagle River Nature Center
- Eklutna Lake
- 49th State Brewing Company
We planned on going north of Anchorage during one of the full days. However, since we didn’t get to do the Alyeska hike when originally planned, and our flight left this day at 9 pm, we saved it for our day of departure. Packed up and drove about 1 hour 15 minutes to the Eagle River Nature Center. While a little bit out of the way, this is a beautiful place where you can get great mountain views with very little effort. We took the 0.75 mile RT Rodak Nature Trail, which hits the highlights. There are longer trails, but we didn’t want to do too much hiking then get on an overnight flight. Spent about an hour there, ate as much of the rest of the food we couldn’t take home, and decided we had enough time to continue further up north to Eklutna Lake.
I wanted to spend the better part of a day at Eklutna Lake, but even an hour was absolutely worth the 45 minutes of extra driving and $5 parking fee. I wanted to do a 5-mile RT hike with 2,000 feet of elevation gain called Twin Peaks. It gives a stunning view of the long lake with mountains lining both sides. You can also rent kayaks, so it’s a perfect destination for all ages/abilities.
Instead, we admired the scenery from ground level while playing and walking around the coast. Lovely place, really glad we made the choice to go there. We easily could have just gone to Anchorage right from the Eagle River Nature Center.
Drove 45 minutes to downtown Anchorage and were able to park for free on the street since it was in the early evening. Went to a couple of the many souvenir shops then had a really good last dinner at 49th State Brewing Company before heading to the airport.
Final thoughts on Alaska
- Girdwood was a perfect base. We considered staying in Anchorage or Eagle River, but chose Girdwood since there is so much right there. If the road to Denali wasn’t closed at the 40-mile mark, we would have gone there and been more likely to stay in or closer to Anchorage.
- Alaska is really hard to plan for. It takes a long time to get from one area to another so you either need to figure out the area you want to see most and stick around there (like we did); pay a ton of money to get from one area to another; or take multiple trips. Cruises are not our style, but they would allow you to see a lot of different places in Alaska.
- Alaska is crazy expensive. Train rides, all activities, and rental cars were shockingly high. There is so much more you could do (flightseeing, glacier kayaking, etc.). We saved a lot of money by only eating out a few times (thank you Costco), but anything besides hiking is going to cost a lot.
- Weather in late July/early August, which is right about the hottest time of the year for the area, was pleasant. I never wore shorts or short sleeves but others did. Temperatures were in the 50s and low 60s, which is typical.
Traveled in July 2024
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