Going to Juneau and not seeing the Mendenhall is like visiting Rome and skipping the Colosseum. The most famous of Juneau’s ice floes, and the city’s most…
Mihael Blikshteyn / Stocksy United
Alaska
Awarded Best in Travel 2023
About Best In Travel 2023Bears larger than bison, national parks the size of nations, and glaciers bigger than other US states. The word ‘epic’ barely does Alaska justice.
The Call of the Wild
Pure, raw, unforgiving and humongous in scale, Alaska is a place that arouses basic instincts and ignites what Jack London termed the 'call of the wild.' Yet, unlike London and his gutsy, gold-rush companions, visitors today will have a far easier time penetrating the region's vast, feral wilderness. Indeed, one of the beauties of the 49th state is its accessibility. Few other places in the US allow you to scale an unclimbed mountain, walk where – quite possibly – no human foot has trodden before, or sally forth into a national park that gets fewer annual visitors than the International Space Station.
All Creatures Great and Small
Who needs zoos when you can get close-up views of brown bears snatching leaping salmon out of angry waterfalls or see curious moose posing majestically on national-park roadsides? Alaska is a land for wilderness purists who desire to observe big fauna in its natural habitat. This is no place for the timid. Hiking in unguarded backcountry might sometimes feel like being a guest in a very big food chain, but keep your wits about you, and the musk oxen, gray wolves, bears, caribou and other creatures great and small will quietly accept you into their domain.
Life on the Frontier
Space might be the final frontier, but for those without billions of dollars and their own space rocket, Alaska can provide a pretty gritty alternative. With scant phone coverage and a dearth of anything that passes for urban sophistication, this is a region for ‘doing’ rather than hanging out in coffee bars. Get a skilled bush pilot to land you on a crevasse-riddled glacier, or hire a backcountry guiding company to take you on a bracing paddle down an almost-virgin river. Whether you go it alone with bear-spray, or place yourself in the hands of an experienced ’sourdough’ (Alaskan old-timer), the rewards are immeasurable.
Tales of the Unexpected
For savvy repeat visitors, the real joys of Alaska are the ones you least expect: ginormous vegetables, epic bus rides, half-forgotten Russian cemeteries, friendly, hassle-free airports, and dive bars where no one's rethought their hairstyle since 1984. Welcome to a state with as many offbeat attractions as off-the-beaten-track locations. Imagine a land where locals still go subsistence hunting, campers plan gold-panning expeditions in the wilderness and wi-fi is just a rumor. Pitch in with a quirky medley of contrarians, rat-race escapees, wanderers, dreamers, back-to-the-landers and Alaska Natives and discover what makes America's biggest state tick.
Explore Alaska
- Mendenhall Glacier
Going to Juneau and not seeing the Mendenhall is like visiting Rome and skipping the Colosseum. The most famous of Juneau’s ice floes, and the city’s most…
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a 30,625-sq-mile wilderness in Alaska’s northeast corner, straddling the eastern Brooks Range from the treeless…
- Tongass National Forest
Welcome to the largest national forest in the US, a tract of land almost the size of Ireland and significantly larger than adjacent Wrangell-St Elias…
- Columbia Glacier
This is the star glacial attraction in Prince William Sound – a large sea inlet named by British colonizers after a young English prince in the eighteenth…
- SSitka National Historical Park
This mystical juxtaposition of tall trees and totems is Alaska’s smallest national park and the site where the Tlingits were defeated by the Russians in…
- Denali National Park & Preserve
In our collective consciousness, Alaska represents the concept of the raw wilderness. But that untamed perception can be as much a deterrent as a draw…
- Anchorage Museum
This world-class facility is Anchorage’s cultural jewel. The West Wing, a four-story, shimmering, mirrored facade, adds 80,000 sq ft to what was already…
- KKlondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Museum & Visitor Center
The recently improved NPS center is in the original 1898 White Pass & Yukon Route depot. The center is spread over two interconnecting buildings. One…
- Alaska Native Heritage Center
If you can't travel to the Bush region to experience Native Alaska culture firsthand, visit this 26-acre center and see how humans survived – and thrived …

Featured Story
Top 8 road trips in Alaska
8 min read — Published Aug 10, 2022
Brendan SainsburyWriter
In a land of epic wilderness, rugged landscapes and a Serengeti’s worth of big fauna, Alaska’s highways offer unlimited possibilities for road trips.
Latest Stories from Alaska
Planning Toolkit
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Ways to maximize the fun without spending a dime on your next great adventure.
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Alaska.
See
Mendenhall Glacier
Going to Juneau and not seeing the Mendenhall is like visiting Rome and skipping the Colosseum. The most famous of Juneau’s ice floes, and the city’s most…
See
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a 30,625-sq-mile wilderness in Alaska’s northeast corner, straddling the eastern Brooks Range from the treeless…
See
Tongass National Forest
Welcome to the largest national forest in the US, a tract of land almost the size of Ireland and significantly larger than adjacent Wrangell-St Elias…
See
Columbia Glacier
This is the star glacial attraction in Prince William Sound – a large sea inlet named by British colonizers after a young English prince in the eighteenth…
See
Sitka National Historical Park
This mystical juxtaposition of tall trees and totems is Alaska’s smallest national park and the site where the Tlingits were defeated by the Russians in…
See
Denali National Park & Preserve
In our collective consciousness, Alaska represents the concept of the raw wilderness. But that untamed perception can be as much a deterrent as a draw…
See
Anchorage Museum
This world-class facility is Anchorage’s cultural jewel. The West Wing, a four-story, shimmering, mirrored facade, adds 80,000 sq ft to what was already…
See
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Museum & Visitor Center
The recently improved NPS center is in the original 1898 White Pass & Yukon Route depot. The center is spread over two interconnecting buildings. One…
See
Alaska Native Heritage Center
If you can't travel to the Bush region to experience Native Alaska culture firsthand, visit this 26-acre center and see how humans survived – and thrived …