A Good Walk

A Good Walk

A pleasant two- or three-hour walk starts at 4th Avenue and F Street at the Log Cabin Visitor Information CenterOld City Hall. Next door, the is fronted by a marble statue honoring William Seward. Many of Anchorage's original buildings, dating from 1920 when the city was incorporated, still stand along 4th Avenue.

A walk down F Street to 2nd Avenue takes you to the site of original town-site homes built by the Alaska Engineering Commission, which also built the Alaska Railroad in the early 1900s. Continue east along 2nd Avenue—toward the Chugach Mountains that form Anchorage's backdrop—to a set of stairs leading down to the Alaska Railroad depot . From here you will overlook Ship Creek , where salmon run from early June through August, attracting hundreds of anglers and curious visitors alike, all amid an unlikely setting of industrial dock facilities and adjacent skyscrapers.

Turning around and walking to the far west end of 2nd Avenue, you can step onto the Tony Knowles Coastal TrailOscar Anderson House Museum which curls along between the city's edge and Cook Inlet, offering views of Mt. Susitna (locally called "Sleeping Lady" after a Dena'ina Indian legend of uncertain provenance), Mt. McKinley, and the Alaska Range. Popular among walkers, runners, bicyclists, and in-line skaters, the Coastal Trail passes by the . Set off the trail at the north end of Elderberry Park, the Oscar Anderson House was Anchorage's first permanent frame house, built in 1915 by city butcher Oscar Anderson. From Elderberry Park, head back up 5th and continue past the Egan Convention Center, whose lobby has several modern native Alaskan sculptures and a beaded curtain that evokes the northern lights. Across the street, next door to the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts , is a park (Town Square) packed with sculptures, fountains, and flowers in the summer. Walk on to A Street and 7th Avenue for the entrance to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art , which occupies the whole block between 6th and 7th avenues. The red metal sculpture out front is a favorite hide-and-seek site for children.

Volunteers from Anchorage Historic Properties (907/274-3600) lead historic walking tours on weekdays in the summer. These depart from Old City Hall at 524 West 4th Avenue and cost $5.