Anchorage: what to see

The Anchorage Museum is downtown at 625 C Street. It houses the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center with Alaska Native objects, a planetarium and a hands-on Discovery Center. From October to April it is open Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon, closed Mondays; from May to September it is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Adult admission is $25, or $20 for Alaska residents. First Fridays are free from 6 to 9 p.m., and on Third Thursdays from October to April admission is $5.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is at 8800 Heritage Center Drive. Six traditional village sites stand around Lake Tiulana, and the halls present Unangax, Sugpiat, Tlingit and other cultures, including the peoples Russian fur traders met first. From September 14, 2026 to May 8, 2027 the center is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a suggested $15 donation instead of a ticket. In summer a free shuttle runs from W 4th Avenue and E Street, about 15 minutes each way.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs about 11 miles along Cook Inlet from downtown to Kincaid Park. It is paved and mostly flat, used by walkers, runners and cyclists. Earthquake Park sits along the trail on ground wrecked by the 1964 earthquake, with displays explaining the upheaval. Kincaid Park covers 1,400 acres with 40 miles of hiking trails, groomed for cross-country skiing in winter.

Chugach State Park covers 495,000 acres, the fourth-largest state park in the US, with more than 280 miles of trails. Many trailheads are 30 minutes or less from downtown. Flattop Mountain is the most popular hike in Anchorage.

Lake Hood is called the world's busiest floatplane base. The Alaska Aviation Museum is at 4721 Aircraft Drive, on what it calls the largest floatplane base in the world, and Travel Alaska says it is home to 25 planes. From March through October it is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; in January and February it closes on Sundays. Admission is $19 for Alaska residents and $23 for visitors.

Ship Creek runs just below downtown. King, coho and pink salmon come in to spawn from mid to late summer, a short walk from the hotels. Dena'ina fish camps once stood here, and in spring 1915 the tent camp that became Anchorage grew up on its north shore.

Eklutna is inside the Municipality of Anchorage, north of downtown off the Glenn Highway: take the Eklutna exit and turn west (left) after the off ramp. According to the Orthodox Church in America, Dena'ina people at Knik began converting to Orthodoxy in the 1830s, and in 1897 Chief Wasilla (Vasily) moved his people and the old church to the present site. A new church was built in 1962. About 80 brightly painted spirit houses stand over graves in the cemetery, a blend of Dena'ina and Orthodox custom. There is no regular congregation now, but the diocese holds liturgies on St. Nicholas Day and Radonitsa. Eklutna Lake nearby is seven miles long, the largest body of water in Chugach State Park.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is at Mile 79 of the Seward Highway in Portage Valley, about 47 miles south of Anchorage. More than 200 acres of enclosures line a 1.5-mile loop, with brown bears and wood bison among the residents. It is open daily 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May to September 15; in November it is open Friday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kenai Fjords National Park is 126 miles south of Anchorage near Seward. Created in 1980, it covers more than 600,000 acres; a road of 8.6 miles leads to Exit Glacier, and the fjord coast is reached by water. There is no entrance fee. From mid-May to mid-September the Alaska Railroad's Coastal Classic runs from Anchorage to Seward along Turnagain Arm, with about a seven-hour layover before the evening return.