jcs

Planning a late May/early June trip, arriving in Anchorage. First time trip to AK. We are 64yo, active couple. Plan is to drive from Anchorage for first week (to where?), then circle back to Anchorage to fly to Kodiak, catch the float plane to Katmai Wilderness Lodge, where we'll spend the 2nd week, with their guided wildlife excursions. Interested in hiking, views, history, good food, photography, kayaking, day cruises, interesting towns. Would love to see mush dogs (though know it's out of season for racing). Not interested in fishing, zip-lining, or week-long cruising.

My question is: which is prettier, more interesting for the first week, to drive north to Denali, or to go south to Girdwood, Seward, Homer, Whittier? We're assuming this won't be our only chance to visit AK, we don't have to see it all, just want a couple week adventure.

Thanks!

dfrostnh

Late May/early June might be a little early for some museums so checks hours. We enjoyed visiting the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla. At the time they were giving rides in wheeled gigs pulled by sled dogs. Dogs shouldn't do heavy exercise if temperature is over 50F if I remember correctly. Friends in NH waited until October to start getting ready for race season.
it depends on your interests. We liked the trasportation museum in Wasilla but liked Independence Mine a lot better. Make sure it is open. The mining village buildings are interesting and you get an idea of how isolated they were even nowadays.

but the drive south to the Kenai Pennisula is spectactular. Major Marine boat to see glaciers is a must. In Seward I also liked the aquarium. Shopping in local shops we discovered one with sled dog puppies to visit. Homer on the other side is also a fascinating town to visit and so fun to get first glimpse of Homer Spit from an overlook just before you get to town. The museum is very interesting although small. Each town seems tomhave it's own personality. Get a copy of the Milepost. You can seemthat there's more to see and do south of Anchorage in a week than driving further north than Independence Mine.
start reading the daily newspapers for local events of interest. I've attended a quilt show and also a local garden tour of an Anchorage neighborhood.

Madam397

The drive south from Anchorage to Whittier and Seward is pretty spectacular. You could do that with stops in Girdwood for the aerial tram as well as Seward for boat ride as Major Marine offers several options. You can easily do the SeaLife Center, Exit Glacier easy trail walk and you can see how far the glacier has receded. We loved Seavey's Iditaride in which we learned lots about the race, the mushers, their gear, how the sled dogs are trained and got to see the pups. We were there in mid-August so maybe the pups are not ready to be exposed or handled in late May or June. You can check their website. You can and should also visit the Wildlife Conservation Center which is about a mile and a half walk around the animal enclosures. We were there post-pandemic in 2021 but still not offering any programs or demonstrations but that has of course changed.

We were in Homer over a long weekend for a wedding. The drive from Seward to Homer is not especially scenic as you do drive past what had been a large forest fire. As it is the only road, you will have to allow for school buses stopping and entering/exiting the various schools along the way. If the day is clear however you can get a view of the volcanoes across the sound and the look-out before you get to Homer offers a spectacular view. The Spit is interesting especially for the views but there are lots of tourist offices and shops as well as restaurants and it is somewhat spread out. We enjoyed the small Pratt Museum in Seward as one of the days we were there was pretty rainy as was our trip heading back. You can also stop and visit the little town of Ninilchuk with the Russian Orthodox Church.

tom_mn

I don't have much to add, except to say that Kenai Fjords Tours runs the same boat trips out of Seward as Major Marine (same departure times, same itineraries) for about $25 less. Actually book by tomorrow and it's 40% off, which is a steal (but you won't be able to adjust your trip day to the weather forecast).

Here's the link, you probably want the national park cruise (6 hours).

https://www.alaskacollection.com/day...enseason=false

jcs

Thanks!! I think we'll head south. Need to do more research, thank you for the guidance, much appreciated!

CrookedCreekAK

I'm not sure if you've landed on anything yet, but I'd recommend spending some time on the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula. It's called Alaska's Playground for a reason! From where we are in Kasilof (near Kenai and Soldotna) you are situated right in between the best halibut fishing and all that Homer has to offer, and some once in a lifetime fly-outs where you spend time on a completely guided salmon fishing trip right next to the bears. On the flight back they fly you over the top of a glacier and it is just breathtaking (this is one of two trips I personally do every year because it's so fun). Not to mention how fun the local rivers (Kenai and Kasilof) are. I also will send people over to Seward for the Major Marine Tour cruise (I recommend the 6 hour, which is the second of two trips I do every year). It's about 2-2.5 hours from the Soldotna area, but it's do-able in a day, or stay a night in Seward on your way up or down the peninsula.

sunbum1944

We flew into Homer and rented a car- spent a few days there which we really enjoyed. We were there the first week of July and it was quite cool and rainy. In Homer we took the Danny J boat to Halibut Cove and had dinner at a great restaurant called the Saltry. The Saltry website says its temporarily closed- I don't know if that's because of the season or because the owner got into some trouble for harassing a float plane and is not in business anymore. Its a beautiful spot and there is boardwalk so you can walk around the island. There are a couple of artist studios there.

For sure go whale watching. We saw several pods of whales bubble net feeding and its one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. You can watch on YouTube.