Outdoor sights in Alaska
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Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
This 2812-sq-mile preserve, which covers the southern two-thirds of Kodiak Island, all of Ban and Uganik Islands and a small section of Afognak Island, is the chief stronghold of the Alaska brown bear. An estimated 2300 bears reside in the refuge and the surrounding area, which is known worldwide for brown-bear hunting and to a lesser degree for salmon and steelhead fishing.
Birdlife is plentiful: more than 200 species have been recorded, and there are 600 breeding pairs of eagles that nest within the refuge. Flowing out of the steep fjords and deep glacial valleys and into the sea are 117 salmon-bearing streams that account for 65% of the total commercial salmon harvest …
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Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
In 1982 the state reserved 48,000 acres along the Chilkat, Klehini and Tsirku Rivers to protect the largest known gathering of bald eagles in the world. Each year from October to February, more than 4000 eagles congregate here to feed on spawning salmon. They come because an upwelling of warm water prevents the river from freezing, thus encouraging the late salmon run. It's a remarkable sight - hundreds of birds sitting in the bare trees lining the river, often six or more birds to a branch.
The eagles can be seen from the Haines Hwy, where turnouts allow motorists to park and view the birds. The best view is between Mile 18 and Mile 22, where you'll find telescopes, inte…
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Stan Price State Wildlife Sanctuary
Named for an Alaskan woodsman who lived on a float house here for almost 40 years. The sanctuary includes an area that has been closed to hunting since the mid-1930s, and due largely to the former presence of Price and his visitors, the bears here have become used to humans. The bears are most abundant in July and August, when the salmon are running.
Most visitors to Pack Creek are day-trippers who arrive and depart on floatplanes. Upon arrival, all visitors are met by a ranger who explains the rules. You must leave all food in a cache provided near the south sand spit. You may not leave the viewing sand spit to get closer to the bears, although you may use a small observ…
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Admiralty Island National Monument
The Admiralty Island National Monument has 3641 sq km (1406 sq mi) of designated wilderness, featuring eagles, humpback whales, harbor seals, porpoises, sea lions and bears - the best bear-viewing area in Southeast Alaska is at Pack Creek, on the eastern side of the island. Angoon is the starting point for the adventurous canoe trips the area is famous for.
Admiralty is a rugged island, with mountains that rise to 1417m (4650ft) and a cover of tundra and even permanent ice fields.
You can fly in for a stay at a USFS cabin, spend time kayaking Seymour Inlet and Mitchell Bay, or arrange a bear-watching trip to Pack Creek. The most unusual adventure on the island is the Cros…
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Park Rd
Park Rd begins at George Parks Hwy and winds 92 miles through the heart of the park, ending at Kantishna, an old mining settlement and the site of several wilderness lodges. Early on, park officials envisaged the onset of bumper-to-bumper traffic jams along this road and wisely closed almost all of it to private vehicles. With few exceptions, motorists can drive only to a parking area along the Savage River at Mile 14, a mile beyond the Savage River Campground. To venture further along the road you must walk, bike, be part of a concessionaire-run tour, or, most popularly, take a park shuttle or camper bus.
If you're planning to spend the day riding the buses, pack plenty …
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Earthquake Park
The gargantuan shaker of 1964 caused, among other things, 130ac (53ha) of land on the city's west side to slip 2000ft (610m) seaward. Part of that slipped strip was a neighbourhood that suffered 75 demolished homes and three deaths. The other end, fortunately undeveloped at the time, is today the site of Earthquake Park.
An interpretive walkway includes displays describing the effects of the quake and the tsunamis that followed.
The last stop on the display circuit is a series of benches from which panoramic views can be had of Anchorage's skyline set against the Chugach Mountains. On a clear day, you can see Mt McKinley and Mt Foraker, from the park's Tony Knowles Coast …
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Waterfront Area
Between the cruise ships and Willoughby Ave, Marine Park is an open space where kids practice their skateboard tricks, state workers enjoy a sack lunch and tired tourists occasionally take a nap in the sun. Free binoculars let you search Mt Juneau for mountain goats while on the dock is a sculpture of Patsy Ann, the late faithful Fido who became known as the 'Official Greeter of Juneau' for her tendency to rush down to the docks to meet arriving cruise ships.
A block inland from the waterfront is S Franklin St, a refurbished historical district where many buildings date from the early 1900s and have since been turned into bars, gift shops and restaurants.
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Shore Avenue
Perhaps the most interesting thing to do in Kotzebue is just stroll down Shore Avenue, where the old and new Arctics collide. On the beach, elders gut seals and dry salmon in preparation for the long winter ahead; meanwhile, youth skim their supercharged snowmachines across the water, wowing their buddies on shore. Across the road, a long line of caribou antler-adorned, weather-battered shacks stands as testament to the endurance of this place. Shore Ave also offers the best views of the midnight sun as it rolls along the horizon, painting the sea reddish gold with reflected light. From early June the sun doesn't set for almost six weeks.
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Whale Park
If you don't have funds for a wildlife cruise, try Whale Park, 4 miles south of town, which has a boardwalk and spotting scopes overlooking the ocean for whale watching. Fall is the best time to sight cetaceans; as many as 80 whales - mostly humpbacks - have been known to gather in the waters off Sitka from mid-September to the end of the year. If you don't mind cold, rainy weather, the Sitka's is the first week of November.
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Klawock Totem Park
Of the three totem parks on POW, the Klawock Totem Park is by far the most impressive and obviously a great source of community pride. Situated on a hill overlooking the town's cannery and harbor, Klawock's 21 totems are the largest collection in Alaska and make for a scenic, almost dramatic setting. The totems are either originals from the former village of Tukekan or replicas.
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Aleutian WWII National Historic Area
In 1996 the US Congress created this 134-acre national historic area to preserve the bloody history of the WWII battles on the Aleutian Islands. The park is unique because the Alaska Native Ounalashka Corporation not the Federal Government, owns and manages it, with NPS providing only technical assistance.
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Frederick Sound
In recent years, whale watching has become a popular trip out of Petersburg. From mid-May to mid-September humpback whales migrate through and feed in Frederick Sound with the peak feeding period in July and August. Other wildlife that can be spotted includes Steller's sea lions, orcas and seals.
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Sitka Spruce Park
Sitka Spruce Park, within Dutch Harbor, is a national historical landmark where three of six trees planted by Russians in 1805 have somehow survived where all other foliage can't. Because of the treeless environment, however, hiking is easy here. And don't worry about bears - there aren't any.
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North End Park
Reached as soon as you cross the Zharoff Memorial Bridge. The small park is laced by forested trails that converge at a stairway to the shoreline. At low tide you can search the tidal pools here for starfish, sea anemones and other marine life.
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Delaney Park
If you're not ready to be face-to-face with the grizzly wilds, grab a latte and stroll over to this city park, known locally as the 'Park Strip'. The greenbelt is a good place for a lie-down on a warm afternoon.
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Adair Kennedy Memorial Park
Take the kids to Adair Kennedy Memorial Park to scale the 'Boldr,' a 9ft-tall climbing rock with handholds and a layer of rubber chips around the base for any mishaps.
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Lake Aleknagik State Recreation Site
At the end of the 23-mile gravel road to Lake Aleknagik you'll find Lake Aleknagik State Recreation Site, which has a free seven-site campground.
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Exit Glacier Nature Center
At the Exit Glacier trailhead; has interpretive displays, sells postcards and field guides, and is the starting point for ranger-guided hikes.
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Visitor Center
The visitor center features Russian and indigenous artifacts and traditional carving demonstrations.
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