Q: What can I do in Anchorage?
A: Here are just a few of our favorites:
Situated on a flat peninsula on Cook Inlet, and backed by the Chugach Mountains, Alaska's largest city is worth exploring. Blessed with an abundance of parks and an attractive downtown walking district, the city offers attractions such as a botanical garden, a musk-ox producers' co-op, the Alaska Zoo, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.
Please refer to the Municipality of Anchorage, Parks & Recreation Department Activity Guide here for a detail of locally sponsored activities.
Russian Jack Springs Municipal Park,1600 Lidia Selkregg Lane, Anchorage - Map it!
Frisbee Golf, Sledding hill, Natural Spring, Dog Park at Lions Camper Park, Girl Scout Day Cam, Four tennis courts, Lighted cross country skiing and running trails, 9 hole golf course, Public Municipal Greenhouse & Solarium, Production Greenhouse, Eight softball fields (at Pine Street north of Debarr), Two soccer fields, Play equipment for 5-12 year olds, Covered shelter, Restrooms and community meeting rooms at the Lidia Selkregg Chalet, Portable restrooms at ball fields May through September, Parking lots at Lidia Selkregg Chalet, the Municipal Greenhouse, Cartee Softball Fields, Soccer Fields and at South Boniface.
The Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center (www.anchoragemuseum.org) is one of Alaska's most visited attractions and features displays of Alaska's cultural heritage and more than 1,000 historical artifacts. You'll find displays on Alaska's Native cultures, Russians, New England whalers, gold rushes, World War II, statehood and Alaska today. There are even full-scale recreations of early-day dwellings.
The Log Cabin Visitor Information Center on 4th Avenue is a good first stop for visitors, with its colorful display of summer flowers and photo worthy milepost, not to mention free walking tour maps and brochures about what to see and do in Anchorage. Adjacent to the information center is Peratrovich Park, which hosts a popular Music in the Park series in summer.
Shopping—from Laura Wright Alaskan Parkys and David Green Furs to the the big 5th Avenue Mall and Nordstrom's—is one of the major attractions in downtown Anchorage. On weekends there's also the Saturday Market, featuring crafts, food, fresh produce and entertainment.
Other downtown attractions include Wildride Sled Dog Rodeo (http://www.ididaride.com/tours/anchorage-tours), an exciting sled dog demonstration, and the
Ulu Factory ( www.theULUfactory.com), with demonstrations of this traditional Native implement.
The Anchorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center (www.nps.gov/aplic/center), located in the historic Old Federal Building, has natural history exhibits, fun activities for children, trip planning help, films and special programs for visitors.
Anchorage also has one of the most popular hiking trails in the state—Flattop Trail. (There is a Flattop shuttle from downtown that brings hikers to the trailhead.) On a sunny day, Flattop offers spectacular views of Anchorage and the Alaska Range, even if you don't make it to the top.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center (www.alaskanative.net) is a short drive east of downtown. This 26-acre facility features a 2-acre lake and a walking trail to 5 traditional village settings representing the Native people of Alaska. The dramatic Welcome House at the center's entrance houses exhibits, arts and crafts, and a theatre.
Another popular attraction is Alaska Wild Berry Products & Village (www.alaskawildberryproducts.com ), located off International Airport Road between the Old and New Seward Highways. Alaska Wild Berry offers free tours of their kitchen, where Alaska wild berries are turned into candies, jams and jellies. The gift shop sells these wild berry products and also has the world's largest chocolate fall. Alaska films are shown in the Wild Berry Theatre.
Other attractions in and around the Anchorage area include Potter Point State Game Refuge at Potters Marsh south of town, where you can see more than 100 species of waterfowl. Longer day trips include the tram ride at Alyeska Resort near Girdwood, a popular activity for visiting friends and relatives, or a drive out to the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and a visit to the Musk Ox Farm, Hatcher Pass or—in late August—the Alaska State Fair. Another highly recommended day trip is south on the Seward Highway to Portage Glacier and the Whittier Tunnel, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and the old gold rush town of Hope.
Anchorage is a hub for arranging flightseeing, boat or train tours to scenic attractions like Denali/Mount McKinley, Prince William Sound, Kenai Fjords and Portage Glacier.
Alaska Botanical Garden
Campbell Airstrip Road, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Gentle walking paths guide visitors to stunning perennial, rock and herb gardens in a wooded setting that once served as a military training area. Interpretive signs help with plant identification, including native plants along pathway borders. The garden connects to a 1.1-mile trail adjoining the facility. No admission, but a donation is suggested. 907-770-3692
Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge
Mile 115 Seward Highway
A boardwalk takes visitors into the heart of a 2,300-acre wetland for easy bird watching, complete with interpretive displays of the refuge's animals and plant life. Expect to see Arctic terns, Canada geese, trumpeter swans, grebes, gulls, ducks and other waterfowl. Salmon also return to the area as summer progresses. Nearby is the Potter Section House Historic Site, home of the Chugach State Park headquarters.
Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum
4721 Aircraft Drive, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
Overlooking Lake Hood, the world's busiest floatplane lake, the museum has 20 different airplanes and remnants of others on display. The museum also offers a presentation of Alaska's aviation heritage and its flying pioneers and veterans. Exhibits include photo displays, and several films are shown in the theater throughout the day. An observation platform is a good place to watch local pilots take off from Lake Hood. A gift shop and snack bar are on site. Admission: $8 adults, with discounts for military, seniors and children. 907-248-5325
Alaska Native Heritage Center
8800 Heritage Center Drive, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, mid-May through September
The Alaska Native Heritage Center theme this year is "Furs, Feathers and Fiber: Covering Native Alaska." The program features master artists from around the state producing garments using traditional materials and techniques. The center's performing and demonstrating artist series allows artists to share their art forms. The center also offers interpretive displays, daily performances by Native dance groups and five traditional Native village exhibits on the 26-acre site. Hand-crafted kayaks built last summer are on display. Transportation is available from downtown aboard the 4th Avenue Theatre Trolley. Admission: $19.95 adults, $14.95 children ages 7-17, under 7 free. 907-330-8000.
Alaska Zoo
4731 O'Malley Road, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
A variety of animals -- some native to Alaska and some imports -- highlight the wooded hillside location. Polar bear Ahpun and brown bear Oreo are two of the zoo's favorites. Other animals include Siberian tigers, musk oxen, a wolf, foxes, coyotes, caribou, otters, Sitka deer, Dall sheep, eagles, camels and and snow leopards. There's also a picnic area and a gift shop. 907-346-3242
Earthquake Park
West on Northern Lights Boulevard
A trail system with interpretive signs helps visitors understand the destruction of the 1964 earthquake that devastated much of Alaska, killed nine people in Anchorage and caused $68 million in damage in the city. The park is where dozens of homes were destroyed as the land slid toward Cook Inlet.
Alaska Fur Exchange
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