15 Best Sights in The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska, Alaska

The center is a 144-acre, 2-mile drive-through loop with places where you can see up close the many animals the park has adopted and rescued. For more than a decade the center has been raising wood bison, which had been extinct in Alaska since the 1800s and were endangered in Canada. In 2015, the center reintroduced 100 wood bison to the wild, 340 miles west of Anchorage; a small herd remains at the center. Visitors can see moose, elk, eagles, musk ox, porcupines, and the elusive lynx. An elevated walkway at the center also allows visitors the thrilling experience of seeing bears at eye level.

The mountains surrounding Portage Glacier are covered with smaller glaciers. A 1-mile hike off Byron Glacier Road—the trail begins about a mile south of Begich-Boggs Visitor Center—leads to the Byron Glacier overlook. The glacier is notable for its accessibility—this is one of the few places where you can hike onto a glacier from the road system. In summer, naturalists lead free weekly treks in search of microscopic ice worms.

Sprawling east of Chugach State Park, the Chugach National Forest encompasses nearly 6 million acres. The forest covers most of the Kenai Peninsula and parts of Prince William Sound and is the second-largest national forest in the United States, exceeded in size only by the Tongass in Southeast Alaska. The forest has abundant recreational opportunities: hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, boating, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, and flightseeing. Southcentral Alaska is not the best terrain for rock climbing (aside from Denali), as the rock is predominantly composed of hardened ocean sediments that are weak and crumbly. There are, however, some places for great bouldering, and in the wintertime ice climbing is quite popular, as are snowshoeing, skiing, snowmachining, and dog mushing. Hiking trails offer easy access into the heart of the forest. You can spend a day hiking or looking for wildlife, or you can embark on a multi-day backpacking excursion. At all but the most popular trailheads, a five-minute stroll down a wooded trail can introduce you to the sights, smells, and tranquility of backcountry Alaska.

Be prepared to be self-sufficient when entering the Chugach Forest. Trailheads typically offer nothing more than a place to park and perhaps an outhouse. Running water, trail maps, and other amenities are not available. Also, be "bear aware" whenever you travel in bear country—and all of Alaska is bear country.

Comprising nearly a half million acres, Chugach State Park is the third-largest state park in the United States. On the edge of Anchorage, the park is Alaska's most accessible wilderness, with nearly 30 trails for hikers of all abilities. Totaling more than 150 miles, the hiking trails range in length from 2 miles to 30 miles. Although Chugach, connected as it is to Alaska's largest city, is technically an urban park, this is far from being a typical urban setting. Hardly tame, this is real wilderness, home to Dall sheep, mountain goats, brown and black bears, moose, and several packs of wolves. Miners who sought the easiest means of traversing the mountain peaks and passes initially blazed most of the park's trails. Today they are restored every spring and maintained by park rangers and various volunteer groups. Hiking in the park is free whether you're here for an afternoon or a week, though a $5 daily parking fee is charged at several popular trailheads. The park serves up some truly intoxicating views, and, depending on what perch you're looking down from, you can see across the bay to the looming white mountains of the Alaska Range, the great tides of Cook Inlet, and, on clear days, Denali in all its glory. One of the best and most easily accessible places to seek out such a view is from Flattop Mountain, on the park's western edge. The peak is the most popular destination within Chugach Park. A 1-mile hike leads to the top, and hikers of all abilities make the trek, but be aware it is strenuous, particularly toward the top.

A visit to Columbia Glacier, which flows from the surrounding Chugach Mountains, should definitely be on your Valdez agenda. Its deep aquamarine face is 5 miles across, and it calves icebergs with resounding cannonades. This glacier is one of the largest and most readily accessible of Alaska's coastal glaciers. The state ferry travels past its face, and scheduled tours of the glaciers and the rest of the sound are available by boat and aircraft from Valdez, Cordova, and Whittier.

This 35-mile-wide wetlands complex east of Cordova, a crucial habitat for millions of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway, is one of North America's most spectacular vistas. The delta's nearly 700,000 acres are thick with marshes, forests, streams, lakes, and ponds. Numerous terrestrial mammals, including moose, wolves, lynx, mink, and beavers, live here, and the Copper River salmon runs are world-famous. When the red and king salmon hit the river in spring, there's a frantic rush to net the tasty fish and rush them off to markets and restaurants all over the country. The delta is connected by the Million Dollar Bridge, an impressive feat of engineering notable for its latticework.

The Forest Service had built an imposing viewing pavilion across the Copper River from Childs Glacier—famous for the spectacle of its calving icebergs and tidal waves—but in 2011, a natural change in the river's flow compromised Bridge 339 at Mile 36, and then several years later it washed out at Mile 44. With every new administration, there are talks of reconstructing the bridge and road, but due to continued budgetary constraints and the hefty price tag of repair, it is unlikely road access will be recreated any time in the near future. The only way to see the glacier now is to book a private helicopter or plane tour or float the 140 miles or so from Chitina. The rules for these float trips are continually changing, but while you're in town, it's worth investigating if there are any motorboat outfitters currently permitted to give rides upriver to the glacier. This difficulty of getting to Childs Glacier has only slightly deterred visitors, as travelers from all over the world still come just to see the awe-inspiring glacier; though in recent years, it has ceased to calve with much frequency due to the receding of the ice and the lowering of river waters.

Located in the Cordova Center, the Cordova Historical Museum documents early explorers to the area, Alaska Native culture, the Kennicott Mine and Copper River and Northwestern Railway era, and the growth of the commercial fishing industry. Additionally, the museum often features touring exhibits by Alaskan and (occasionally) non-Alaskan artists. The gift shop sells local postcards, Cordova and Alaska gifts, and regional history books.

Eagle River Road leads 12 miles into the mountains from the bedroom community of Eagle River. The nature center, at the end of the road, has wildlife displays, telescopes for wildlife spotting, and 9 miles of hiking trails. Volunteers are on hand to answer questions, lead hikes, and host naturalist programs. A cabin that sleeps eight and a pair of yurts (round insulated tents) that sleep four and six are available to rent ($65 per night). A 1½-mile hike in is required. Amenities include wood stoves, firewood, and outdoor latrines. The center is also the trail end for the Crow Pass Trail, a 26-mile section of the Iditarod National Historic Trail that starts in Girdwood.

A popular place where for almost 40 years Alaskans have had their game processed, Indian Valley Meats has a shop that sells smoked salmon and reindeer, along with buffalo sausage made on the premises. The folks here will smoke, can, and package any fish you've caught, and they'll arrange for shipping.

This museum contains one of the largest collections of Alaska Native artifacts. Over the course of several decades, Maxine Whitney, a gift-shop owner, amassed the ivory and baleen pieces, masks, dolls, fur garments, and other objects. Whitney donated her collection to Prince William Sound Community College in 1998; the museum is adjacent to the college.

The 1964 earthquake destroyed the town of Portage. The ghost forest of dead spruce in the area was created when the land subsided by 6 to 10 feet after the quake and saltwater penetrated inland from Turnagain Arm, killing the trees.

The glacier is one of Alaska's most frequently visited tourist destinations. A 6-mile side road off the Seward Highway leads to Begich-Boggs Visitor Center on the shore of Portage Lake, named after two U.S. congressmen who disappeared on a small-plane journey out of Anchorage in 1972. The center is staffed by Forest Service personnel, who can help plan your trip and explain the natural history of the area. A film on glaciers is shown hourly, and icebergs sometimes drift down to the center from Portage Glacier. Due to global climate change, Portage, like most of the glaciers in Alaska, has receded from view in recent years.

Historically a route used by the Chugach Alaska Natives, Russian fur traders, and early settlers, this 1-mile hike (one-way) now offers tremendous views of Portage Glacier. To access the hike, drive through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to Whittier and take the first right after the railroad tracks, onto a gravel road marked “Forest Access.” The trail will be just a short way up from there on the right. There’s a 750-foot elevation gain, so bring your hiking poles.

Several hiking trails are accessible from the Seward Highway, including the steep paths up Falls Creek and Bird Ridge. Both offer spectacular views of Turnagain Arm, where explorer Captain Cook searched for the Northwest Passage. The arm has impressive tides, and notably, the second-largest bore tide in North America. These bore tides can reach up to 40 feet, and move at an impressive 30 miles per hour (an average tide flows at 10 to 15 miles per hour). An increasingly popular, yet somewhat dangerous, sport is windsurfing the tidal bore. To view the bore tide, station yourself at one of the turnoffs along the arm about 2½ hours after low tide in Anchorage.

During the summer, beluga whales are frequent visitors to the arm as they patrol the muddy waters in search of salmon and hooligan, a variety of smelt. During high tide from July to August, when the surface of the water is calm, belugas are often spotted from the highway, frequently causing traffic jams as tourists and residents pull off the road for a chance to take in this increasingly rare sight. For reasons that are still unclear to scientists, Southcentral's beluga population has declined from 1,300 in 1980 to fewer than 290 today; they are currently listed as critically endangered, making a sighting of them even more exciting.

The museum has two sections, the Egan and the Hazelet, named after their respective streets. The highlights of the museum at 436 S. Hazelet include a 35- by 40-foot model of what Old Town looked like before the 1964 earthquake and artifacts of the historic event that registered 9.5 on the Richter scale. An award-winning film that screens often describes the quake. Two blocks away, the 217 Egan site explores the lives, livelihoods, and events significant to Valdez and surrounding regions. On display are a restored 1880s Gleason & Bailey hand-pump fire engine, a 1907 Ahrens steam fire engine, and a 19th-century saloon, and there are exhibits about local Alaska Native culture, early explorers, bush pilots, and the 1989 oil spill. Every summer the museum hosts an exhibit of quilts and fiber arts made by local and regional artisans, and other exhibits are presented seasonally.