Wild places are the heart and soul of Alaska [1], but a number of small towns merit a visit, especially if you’re looking to see how real folks live. Here are a few of the author’s favorite places.
Number one on the Northern Exposure meter, funky Talkeetna [2] is a haven for climbers en route to Mt. McKinley and flightseeing trips over Denali National Park [3]. The town has several excellent restaurants [4] and good lodging [5] choices.
Skagway [6] gets thousands of cruise ship tourists daily in the summer, but this picturesque and walkable town remains an authentic dose of the past. Famed Chilkoot Trail [7] is nearby, and a narrow-gauge railroad [8] climbs over the pass into Yukon.
Accessible only by air or ferry, Cordova [9], a compact Prince William Sound [10] fishing town, has a spectacular drive-up glacier [11], not to mention the acclaimed Copper River red salmon.
Steeped in Russian and Native Alaskan history, Sitka [12] has a gem-like setting and all sorts of outdoor options, from whale-watching [13] to mountain hiking [14].
Homer [15], at road’s-end on the Kenai Peninsula [16], has it all: glaciers, fishing [17], sea kayaking [18], fine restaurants [19] and lodging [20], art galleries [21], a hip populace, and a to-die-for setting.
One of the few Southeast towns connected by highway to the mainland, Haines [22] has historic buildings at Fort Seward [23] and a salmon-filled river that attracts hundreds of eagles to the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve [24] in winter.
Just 190 miles from the Siberian coast, this is the end of the Iditarod Trail [25] and home to active gold mines, unusual wildlife, and wonderful backcountry roads across the tundra.
Primarily a destination for fly-fishers in search of steelhead, the remote Yakutat [26] settlement surprises with amazing beaches [27], towering glaciers [28], and big-wave surfing [29].
At the end of a rough 60-mile dirt road within Wrangell–St. Elias National Park [30], tiny McCarthy [31] has quaint lodging places [32] and restaurants [33]. Just up the road are the picture-perfect buildings of long-abandoned Kennecott Mine [34].
There isn’t much to Gustavus [35] itself, but it’s right on the edge of Glacier Bay National Park [36], with several high-end lodges [37], great kayaking, whale-watching, and trips up the bay.
OK, Wasilla [38] makes 11 towns. Shop at the same Wal-Mart as Sarah Palin. Enjoy the traffic jams, strip malls, and fast-growing suburbs. But you can’t see Russia from here.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-interior/talkeetna
[3] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-interior/talkeetna/recreation/mt-mckinley-flightseeing
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-interior/talkeetna/food
[5] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-interior/talkeetna/accommodations
[6] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/skagway
[7] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/skagway/chilkoot-trail
[8] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/skagway/sights/white-pass-yukon-route-railroad
[9] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/cordova
[10] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound
[11] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/cordova/copper-river-highway
[12] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/sitka
[13] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/sitka/recreation
[14] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/sitka/recreation/hiking-trails
[15] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer
[16] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula
[17] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer/recreation/fishing
[18] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer/recreation/sea-kayaking
[19] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer/food
[20] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer/accommodations
[21] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/homer/shopping
[22] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/haines
[23] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/haines/sights/fort-seward
[24] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/haines/chilkat-bald-eagle-preserve
[25] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/discover-alaska/explore-alaska/the-iditarod
[26] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/yakutat
[27] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/yakutat/sights/country-roads
[28] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/yakutat/sights/hubbard-glacier
[29] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/yakutat/sights/surfing-safari
[30] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/wrangell-st-elias-national-park
[31] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/wrangell-st-elias-national-park/mccarthy-and-kennicott/mccarthy
[32] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/wrangell-st-elias-national-park/mccarthy-and-kennicott/accommodations
[33] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/wrangell-st-elias-national-park/mccarthy-and-kennicott/food
[34] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/the-wrangells-and-prince-william-sound/wrangell-st-elias-national-park/mccarthy-and-kennicott/kennicott-vall
[35] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/glacier-bay-national-park/gustavus
[36] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/glacier-bay-national-park
[37] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/southeast-alaska/glacier-bay-national-park/gustavus/accommodations
[38] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/anchorage/matanuska-susitna-valley/wasilla