Readers Digest (editor) - Great American Road Trips: Best of 50 States

Anchorage and Cook Inlet are part of the view from Flattop Mountain in Chugach State Park.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JODY OVERSTREET

THESE TRIPS FROM ALASKAS LARGEST CITY DELIVER ADVENTURE FOR EVERY INTEREST, FROM WATCHING WILDLIFE TO HIKING MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS.

FUN FACT

Grizzly bears and brown bears are technically members of the same species. The key difference is their geographic location. Brown bears live in coastal areas and feast primarily on marine resources, while grizzlies live further inland and tend to be smaller.

WORDS TO THE WISE

Come to Alaska prepared for an adventure: Bring good rain gear, warm clothing, sturdy footwear, insect repellent and binoculars.

SIDE TRIP

Denali National Park and Preserve is home to plentiful Alaskan wildlife, as well as Denali itself, the tallest mountain in North America (the peak was once known as Mount McKinley). Note: Campground stays and bus rides should be booked in advance here. nps.gov/dena

NEARBY ATTRACTION

The Eagle River Nature Center offers public programs and guided hikes, as well as platforms and trails for wildlife viewing. ernc.org

FROM ANCHORAGE, the breadth and beauty of the wild Alaskan frontier opens up to travelers. Here, Ive chronicled just a few of my favorite regional destinations and drives; they are all worth exploring as part of a visit to this magical place.

East of Anchorage lies Chugach State Park, a vast wilderness boasting nearly half a million acres of alpine meadows, rugged peaks, tidal flats and waterfalls. Watchable wildlife is abundant here: moose, bears and lynxes roam freely, mountain goats scale rocky precipices and salmon spawn. Look out for willow ptarmigan, Alaskas state bird.

Nearly 300 miles of maintained trails crisscross the park, with several trails following portions of the Old Iditarod Trail (the segment of the trail outside the park is part of the course for the annual Iditarod Dogsled Race). Hikers of all abilities will find something to enjoy here. While the trails are easily accessible from bustling Anchorage, they tend to remain peaceful even in the busier summer months.

A few hours south of Anchorage, in Homer, summer brings pink-purple fireweed blossoms to the mountain meadows along Skyline Drive. This easy-to-do route has scenic pullouts with views of Kachemak Bay, Cook Inlet and several active volcanoes at a distance. Wonderful hiking trails in this area lead to more views of the colorful fireweed blossoms, so named because they are often the first plants to grow over a burn area.

Lake Clark National Park is home to many coastal brown bears.

For another memorable drive from Anchorage, consider heading south to Seward. Seward Highway, which links Anchorage to the historic port city, is a gorgeous 127-mile route that delivers the best of Alaska as it winds through the Chugach Mountains and Kenai Peninsula. The highway gives travelers access to excellent trails and lots of chances to spot local wildlife, including Dall sheep, moose, brown and black bears and bald eagles.

For amazing vistas of the Chugach Mountains en route to Seward, be sure to make a make a stop at Potter Marsh. The convenient parking lot is accessible from the highway on the south side of Anchorage. From a lengthy boardwalk traversing the marsh, summer visitors can watch for migratory birds nesting, moose grazing and salmon swimming to their spawning grounds.

Once youve arrived in Seward, take a day cruise with Major Marine Tours and sail to Kenai Fjords National Park. There you might see humpback whales, orcas, puffins and sea otters. While the parks star attractions are the deep, narrow fjords referenced in its name, this diverse wilderness covers almost 700,000 acres of coastline, mountains and more than 35 named glaciers.

The Alaska Almanac estimates that the state has 100,000 glaciers, though only 616 of them are named. Setting foot on one of these towering wonders is an experience like no other. Back in the Chugach Mountains south of Anchorage, I photographed a trio of hikers exploring the blue ice atop Knik Glacier. The awe-inspiring formation is 5 miles wide and calves daily. The hikers were dwarfed by the depth of the cracks on the surface.

If youre eager to see a glacier up close, consider a Glacier Landing trip with Alaska Helicopter Tours, which operates throughout south-central Alaska. The helicopter hovers above the ice, giving visitors a birds-eye view of the icebergs and crevasses, and then lands on the glacier.