We took 5 days at the end of April, during Alaska's "shoulder" tourist season, to explore Anchorage and the gorgeous surrounding regions. Full disclosure, this was a bit of a last minute trip, so I sort of winged the planning. Miss Maya, now 9 months old, her Grampy Ron and I made this trip. Very sad to leave Daddy behind, but we let him know this is merely a scouting trip for next time when he gets to join us and we go bigger and better. So here is our trusty guide to Anchorage for little ones and Grampies alike.
My first tip is to rent a car. There is so much to see north, south and east of the city that you will want to have your own wheels to maximize your reach. There are some drives that are so gorgeous you don't want to miss them. Bonus: There is never any traffic (unless there's summer construction). This is such an amazing perk of Anchorage, that you can get anywhere quickly and not worry about thousands of tourists or locals impeding your way.
Next, give yourself time. Often times you want to cram too many sights and activities into a short time. We took 5 days, and that seemed to be perfect, we saw almost everything we wanted to see, didn't have to pack our days and even had time for an unplanned "sick" day. Also super helpful that during the late spring and summer you are guaranteed at least 15 hours of daylight, so you have plenty of time to take in sights before the sun goes down.
Given the timing of our trip, there were a few misses with some lingering closures and places gearing up for the high season, but we were very happy with the sites and activities we got in! You can easily avoid closures or disappointments by calling ahead. Google, and even some websites, were not reliable about their operating hours during the off-season.
Around Anchorage
We started by checking out some of the many amazing view points and drives around town. Definitely check out Earthquake Park, which not only has great views and nice walks, but super interesting insights into how the earth evolves years after the devastating 1964 quake. The Downtown Alaska Viewpoint is also quick stop not to be missed, if you are lucky on a clear day, you can see Denali in the northern distance. We also visited Point Woronzof Park in hopes of spotting moose, as we had heard rumors and read they are all around this area near the airport, but alas, we saw none. But this stop did offer great views of the Turnagain Arm, Fire Island and it's one of the only places in Anchorage that you can stroll on the beach without sinking into the mudflats that make up most of the shoreline.
In Anchorage, we LOVED the Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center. We saved this for the one rainy day we had that week. The museum had something for everyone. Exhibits that aim to educate on Alaskan history, interactive installations, native art and history. My favorites were the very modern and interactive Alaska showcase exhibit and the artifacts of the first Alaskan people collected from the Smithsonian.
To eat, we were repeat customers at the 49th State Brewing Company. Super tasty menu in general, and I was even more impressed they had local Alaskan baby food on the menu. Maya loooooved the Sockeye Salmon Bisque and the Hali Halibut by Bambinos Baby Food, and we were so glad our hosts stocked up on it for the week. We also frequented the many "coffee shacks" that are an Anchorage staple. Take a break from Starbucks and do what the locals do, you won't be disappointed!
We found the BEST picnic spot by accident when we took a detour off of Highway 1 to Mirror Lake. Local families gathered around the lake cooking out, SUPing and enjoying the sun on a beautiful spring afternoon.
Just north of Mirror Lake is another child and grandparent friendly 1.5 mile hike to Thunderbird Falls. A lovely hike through an aspen forest where, if the sun is hitting the leaves just right (mid afternoon), it seems like you're walking through a sparkling enchanted forest to a small but mighty waterfall overlook. There's also a steep (and slippery) option to detour down to the creek if you have kids who want to splash around. I checked that out and got a great butt workout on the way back up the hill!
Misses: Alaskan Native Heritage Center was high on our list but our timing was slightly off and they were closed for a staff training (opened back up mid-May). Definitely call ahead any place you plan to visit during the off or shoulder seasons as their websites may not be 100% accurate.
Seward Highway
If this long stretch of highway was my daily commute, I would be one of the happiest people on Earth, and if this view existed everywhere, road rage would be completely eradicated. The drive from Anchorage to Portage is a magical experience. Profound beauty is out every window and probably a dozen scenic overlooks along the way. This drive offers many activities and sights to fill up any itinerary. We got in some great things, but we missed due to the time of year. Our first stop (after at least 6 scenic overlooks) was a jaunt through Girdwood to Alyeska Ski Resort. We intended to take the tram to yet another, no doubt, incredible overlook, but our timing was a bit off and though their website indicated they were open, they were actually closed for some off-season maintenance. But the the locals rave about the experience, so try to make it work for your trip!
If you are in love with the wildlife, but travelling in the off season or haven't come across many bears, moose or buffalo on your own, definitely head to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It will check those boxes and more. We drove southeast about 1.5 hours to check it out. It's set in a very unassuming valley on a delta that feeds Portage Lake. It's great for littles and Grandparents as you can take a walking tour or take your time cruising in your car. You can do self guided tours like we did or pay more for guided tours and additional experiences with the animals. Plan for 2-4 hours depending on the type of tour you opt into.
The next stop on our itinerary was a glacier hike. Mommy (that's me) is borderline obsessed with glaciers, they are just fascinating and beyond beautiful to me. There are sooo many options in this part of AK, but I wanted to make sure it was doable for Grampy and Maya (my back) in the baby carrier, so no more than an hour walk and 2 miles max. So we opted to head towards Portage Glacier Valley. There we chose the Byron Glacier Trail for its ease and round trip distance of just under 2 miles. A beautiful and easy walk along a stream, in a valley surrounded by some of North America's youngest mountains and up to the foot of a of a wall of ice. To our delight, we were virtually the only ones on the trail that late April morning. This is why I love the off season! The glacier visitor's center and lake tours were still closed, so the tourist traffic hadn't quite started. We reached the base of the glacier and were the only ones there to soak in the experience. It's hard to describe how lucky I feel in those rarest of moments, when I'm consuming incredible beauty and sharing it with just my closest loved ones. You can't buy moments like that.
Misses: Our timing was just slighly off and their website was misleading, but if it works for your schedule, definitely check out the views from the Alyeska Aerial Tram. The Kenai Fjords National Park near Seward was probably the thing I'm most bummed about missing. I imagine just magnificence beyond measure. This is definitely a summer time destination as there are many closures to to ice fall dangers and road hazards in winter and spring. Given our timing, and some lingering closures, we decided not to gamble and take the 2.5 hour drive if we couldn't get where we wanted to go. Will definitely not miss next time!
Talkeetna and Denali
This is the place that you think of when you think of Anchorage and the heart of the Alaskan frontier. Of course, we wouldn't have dared to venture too close to Denali without Daddy by our side, but we couldn't miss the opportunity to get closer to this magnificent mountain (while we were in the neighborhood). The perfect place for those just taking in the view is the small town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna's the biggest little town you'll find before heading into Denali National Park itself. Since we were taking it easy, we stopped at the Denali Brew Pub fresh off our 2 drive and were delighted by the menu and the fun vibe. I loved the fresh cod "Aleutian" and Grampy enjoyed the beer too! Once we filled our bellies, we took a short walk through the town o into the Talkeetna Riverfront Park where we found our "aaaaahhhh" views of Denali. At the bank of the Talkeetna River, we had a panoramic view of the prized mountain, and the sounds of the flowing river just added to the experience. We were among just about a dozen other onlookers, which made it easy to get some unobstructed shots and find a couple helpful fellow travelers to take some group pics. Just an unbelievably beautiful site to behold and you can sense the serene majesty of it all. Do not miss this experience!!! And if you have even more adventure in you, go get dirty on Denali itself.
Misses: Not sure this qualifies as a miss. I debated the entire trip as to whether we would take a flightseeing trip around Denali. In the end, I chickened out as I have long had a phobia of small planes and had heard of a couple anomaly crashes in the area in recent years. I know we missed out on a really special experience! If you are not a scardey cat, I would recommend Talkeetna Air Taxi, I found they had a great safety record, wouldn't charge us for an infant lap passenger and the staff was very friendly with all of my inquiries.
Matanuska
To continue to indulge by glacial obsession, I dragged the fam out for one more drive at the end of our trip. This time northeast on the Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway, to the magnificent Matanuska Glacier. I had spent a good part of the week looking for accessible glaciers, but unbeknownst to me at the time, the largest glacier accessible by car in the United States was just a short 2 hour drive away. The drive itself was worth our time, again several scenic overlooks that did not disappoint. But my foot was heavy on the pedal to get to my destination. NOTE: There are not many amenities near Matanuska, so make sure to grab a bite in Palmer or be ready to eat at the one restaurant near the glacier road. Once the glacier was in my sites, I was overly excited and knew I'd hit the glacial jackpot. Unfortunately, the visit fell slightly short of my expectations, again my fault for lack of research and unfortunate timing. We took the not-so-dangerous glacier road to get as close as we could, but were stopped by a gate. We were informed that this time of year, visits to the foot of the glacier required a guide, a 3 hour hike and a $100 per person fee...doh! 😪 I am told it's much easier to get to later in the summer, but that was not going to work for Grampy or Maya, we opted to visit the Matanuska State Recreation as a consolation. We found a 1 mile hike to get to a nice viewpoint of my prized glacier, but it was not the same as being right up next to it. Mark my words, Matanuska, we will be back and ready for you!
We had an amazing time in Anchorage and we will definitely be back for a whole new set of experiences with Daddy and an older Maya. Grampy and I had traveled on and Inside Passage cruise years ago, but I think those on-and-off boat trips barely scratch the surface of what Alaska has to offer. I encourage you to spend days exploring the landscape and immersing yourself in the sights. Even in the off season, we could have filled weeks of adventures!