What is the first thing you think of when you hear Alaska? If you are like me you probably think of cold weather and igloos. Well, this could not be farther from the truth. Yes, Alaska does get cold. But, my summer there was a mesmerizing experience of so many great places that I visited in Alaska that I have to share on places I highly recommend you visit if you ever visit the last frontier.
Seward
I\’m going with the best first! There was something about Seward that left me in awe! My friend and I took a road trip there and the first thing we did is do some moderately light hiking to this lake right on the side of the road. I’m not going to lie to y’all, the hike was partially for the kayaking, but mainly for the gram!
Besides our little detour, there were so many other amazing experiences about Seward. The town itself is small but has so much going on with the daily fisherman sailing off to the number of different boat tours that all the tourists are rushing to get on. We did the Kenai Fjords Glacier tour which was 6 hours but it was well worth it! The day is spent seeing whales, seals, puffins, and otters on your way to the Aialik Glacier. I gotta say listening to parts of the glacier breaking into the water was such a cool experience! I kept saying to my friend that I felt like we were in something out of Frozen, corny I know. There was some dueting of the song Let it Go as well and I am not even ashamed. It felt right with parts of a glacier breaking in front of you!
The Kenai Fjords tour was the highlight of our trip. If you\’re ever in the area I highly recommend this tour.
Denali National Park
This is where I spent most of my time while I was in Alaska. I was there for almost 5 months and I gotta say that time was filled with so much to do!
Take A Trip Down the Denali Highway
The Denali Highways tour I took with Denali Jeep Tours was a fun way to see Denali and you get to drive one of their fun colored Jeeps yourself. It\’s a great trip to get some spectacular pictures of Denali and other scenery. Also, a great place to pick some fresh blueberries (if you go during the right time of the year). I took the trip at the end of July and was able to pick some delicious blueberries that you can pick and eat right there.
Since Denali Park Road is closed this year there is another Denali Highway tour by Denali Backcountry Adventure Tour that I highly recommend. I have been on their tours before and always had a great experience with the tour guides giving an exception tour about the history of Denali. They also provide lunch, snacks, and beverages on this tour. This tour is a great option if you’d rather have someone else drive you down the Denali Highway with some experienced guides of the Denali Park Road.
Fly around Denali
One of my all-time favorite experiences in Denali was the flight tour around Denali with Denali Air.
This flight tour around Denali was a breathtaking experience that gave so many amazing sights of the peak of Denali. It’s a 45-60 minute tour with very experienced pilot guides. I couldn’t believe how different the views of Denali are so high up. I highly recommend if you are in the Denali area to book with Denali Air. I had such an amazing time. Note, I would recommend taking some Bonnie or Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness. They do offer some there for purchase as well.
I honestly could talk about Denali for ages. But, I’ll cut the list here for now. I do recommend that if you want to know all of the activities, restaurants, and lodging go check out Denali 360 for more information from some very knowledgeable people in the Denali area.
Alaska astounded me for how amazing of a place it is. It’s a state that I never really thought I would go to but once there had something special that makes you want to come back again. I only scratched the surface of places to visit here and I can’t wait to go back to see more. If Alaska isn’t on your bucket list of places to visit I would ask you to rethink this and just go see for yourself what the last frontier has to offer.