Southeast Alaska
The cedar wood house in the middle of Chief Shakes Island is a replica of a typical Tlingit chief's house recreated by the Civilian Conservation Corps in…
Must-see attractions in Alaska
Alaska
Once effectively an attic of Nome 'stuff,' the Carrie McLain Museum has evolved over the years into a professionally presented museum that profiles the…
Tangle Lakes Archaeological District
The Interior
An enormous swath of land totaling some 226,660 acres, this district sandwiches the Denali Hwy between Mile 15 and Mile 32. Within the protected grounds…
Prince William Sound
Cordova's Museum has been relocated to new digs in the impressive Cordova Center. It was on the cusp of opening at the time of research and was due to be…
Skagway
At the Pantheon Saloon, built in 1903, kids are the customers. The historic bar is now home to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park’s Junior…
Arctic Interagency Visitor Center
Alaska
This impressive $5-million structure was opened in 2004 and features museum-quality displays about the Arctic and its denizens. There's a small series of…
Seldovia Village Tribe Visitor Center
Kenai Peninsula
This visitors center and museum showcases Seldovia’s Alaska Native heritage – a unique blend of Alutiiq (Eskimo) and Tanaina (Indian) cultures. The small,…
Skagway
Soapy Smith’s old den of iniquity has recently been renovated by the National Park Service to keep the rose-tinted legend of the erstwhile conman alive…
Kenai Peninsula
Seldovia’s most popular attraction is this onion-domed church, which overlooks the town from a hill just off Main St. Built in 1891 and restored in the…
Juneau
This lake at the foot of Mendenhall Glacier is an excellent destination for a paddle. Alaska Boat & Kayak offers both self-guided and guided packages. The…
Juneau
This museum focuses on gold, with interesting mining displays including 3-D photo viewers, timelines, interactive exhibits and the video Juneau: City…
Palmer Museum of History & Art
Anchorage Region
The log cabin that used to be just a visitor center is now more museum than brochures, with local art and interesting displays on Palmer’s agricultural…
Ketchikan
Thomas Basin is home to Ketchikan’s fishing fleet and is the city’s most picturesque harbor. When the boats come in, you can photograph them unloading…
Kodiak Fisheries Research Center
Kodiak Island
Opened in 1998 using funds from the Exxon-Valdez oil spill settlements, the center has an interesting lobby that includes displays about local marine life…
Anchorage Region
A lode mine originally blasted out in 1901, Indian Valley Mine still produces gold. You can buy bags of ore ($20, $50 or $100) and see for yourself. The…
Ketchikan
Houses a collection of local historical and Alaska Native artifacts, many dealing with Ketchikan’s fishing industry. More interesting is the impressive…
The Interior
At the end of downtown McCarthy, check out this environmental NGO/community center with summer field courses for university students, arts and science…
Kodiak Island
Near the Alutiiq Museum on Mission Rd, Holy Resurrection Church serves the oldest Russian Orthodox parish in the New World, established in 1794. The…
Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum
Fairbanks
For a state with so few highways, this is a surprisingly comprehensive collection of 70 working antique vehicles, highlighting the evolution of the…
Fairbanks
The severe Arctic and wild interior of Alaska are blessed with rainbows of wildflowers, which are all on display here. The Georgeson Botanical Garden is a…
Talkeetna
This beautiful cemetery is rife with wildflowers, so much so that it feels more like a secret garden than a space for the dead. Among the interred bodies…
Anchorage Region
South of Palmer, Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak Farm is the largest pick-your-own-vegetables place in the Mat-Su Valley, with would-be farmers in the fields from…
Anchorage
This hospital has a fantastic collection of Alaska Native art and artifacts: take the elevator to the top floor and wind down the staircase past dolls,…
Kodiak Island
Reached as soon as you cross the bridge, this small park is laced with easy, forested trails that converge at a stairway to the shoreline. At low tide you…
Sitka
Within Sitka's recently rebuilt Harigan Centennial Hall, the town history museum was undergoing a full renovation at last visit. It was due to reopen in…
Anchorage Region
At Mile 117, the marsh was created in 1916, when railroad construction dammed several streams. You can stretch your legs along the 1500ft boardwalk while…
Sitka
A beautiful Tlingit clan house, more impressive outside than in, that hosts regular performances from the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Dancers in the summer.
Anchorage
Anchorage's newest park sits on top of a parking garage downtown, but don't let its urban setting dissuade you from visiting. There's a synthetic ice rink…
Alaska
The word 'Katirvk' comes from the Iñupiat term for 'gathering place.' In this case, the 'place' in question is a small, modern museum that explores local…
The Interior
From a highway pull-off here, you can sigh at the stupendous view of the eponymous lake, plus a long stretch of pure wilderness abutting the snow-capped…
Kenai Peninsula
Two hundred feet south of the boat harbor is Seldovia's historic boardwalk. Overlooking the slough, this atmospheric collection of shops, inns and flowers…
Girdwood Center for Visual Arts
Anchorage Region
In town this center serves as an artisan cooperative during the summer and is filled with the work of those locals who get inspired by the majestic…
Kenai Peninsula
The site of the original community, this is a postcard scene of faded log cabins in tall grass and beached fishing boats against the spectacular backdrop…
Southeast Alaska
Petersburg's most notable building is this still active community hall built in 1912 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fairbanks
Gaze out over boreal forest to distant mountains (including Denali on a good day) from this high perch on the University of Alaska campus.
Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site
The Interior
At this gorgeous Richardson Hwy pull-off, you can cop a fantastic view of the creeping, mud-and-ice massif of the Worthington Glacier.
The Interior
The center, which sits in the town's former school, is the launching point for ranger-led activities, lectures and walks around town.
Anchorage Region
An open-air market with local produce, art, crafts, food and live music. Held every Friday in summer.
Anchorage Region
A collection of historic buildings right in the center of Wasilla's strip malls. Fridays are free.
Homer
Alaska art, on every wall. You'll find plenty of watercolors and other mediums here.
