In August, my husband & I are attending a conference in Anchorage and then plan to stay an additional week. We have opens days and would appreciate some suggestions. We are 40-something yrs olds - very active & love nature & love boats & do not fish. Here’s our schedule:

Anchorage - conference - Aug 20 -23 then vacation
drive to Seward (3 nights)
Aug 23 Seward - Exit Glacier & Sea Life Center - check into Windsong Lodge
Aug 24 Seward - Kenai Fyords - 9 hr boat tour
Aug 25 Seward - tour Kenai Penisula

then drive to Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge for (3 nights)
Aug 26 Talkeetna - check in & see the town
Aug 27 Talkeetna - flightseeing trip to Denali then bus tour of park
Aug 28 Talkeetna - open day - Any suggestions?

Aug 29 Leave Talkeetna - Don’t know where to go or what to do this day -Any suggestions?

Aug 30 Anchorage - Capt Cook - Should we take a boat tour of Prince William Sound?
Aug 31 Go home - Dallas, TX

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

Seems you have a full or almost full Vacation

IF your going to be in anchorage, I would suggest a nice hike up flattop mountain in anchorage, or maybe just going to the Alaska ZOO in Anchorage and seeing the animals up close.

IF you like about 30 minutes south of anchorage you can stop along many scenic places and view the upper cook inlet lots of little stops for pictures some with small waterfalls etc...on the way to girdwood.. In fact girwood is an excellant place to catch lunch, cost a bit more but alot of wonderful places to eat by the ski resort... its a good place to spend time and reflect your journey.....

Good luck and good traveling.

Thanks for your suggestions. How is the bear viewing the last week in August - seems like it might be a little late?

we loved the drive from Wasilla/Palmer up to Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine, absolutely beautiful, lots of places to stop. the mine offers tours sometimes, you can call to check

we saw great bear action in denali the first week in august.
several bears, one dug up a ground squirrell, and devoured it just feet from the bus!! the guts were flying, and the kids loved it!

I would reroute your itinerary. It makes no sense to go to Seward, then to Talkeetna, then back to Whittier. Do the Prince William Sound boat tour, on your way from Seward. Your "Kenai Peninsula" reference isn't a good one either. It takes way more than a day, Homer is worthwhile, but needs 2 nights. Instead, I would use this day to travel to Talkeetna and then only stay one night, then continue up to Denali Park and stay there with a shuttle bus to Wonder Lake. Going your timeframe- Wonder Lake is my min. distance in.

Overall, I would not be spending 3 nights in Talkeetna, even with a shorter day trip to Denali. Just not a lot to do here.

It may be the lodging is your priority?? But you claim to "love" nature etc??

Alaska really requires you to be on the move and isn't the best location to be based in one place and thinking of doing "day trips". Distances are just too vast.

Glacier trekking is also excellent, if of interest and could easily be added out of Matanuska.

Independence Mine is very worthwhile with an extremely scenic drive of Hatcher Pass. Eklutna Spirt House tour is also excellent. Great hiking at Eagle River Nature Center- Plenty to see and do.

Based on the itinerary you already have, my suggestion is to spend the day of the 29th taking a bear viewing trip. If you get back to Anchorage for the night of the 28th you can take an early morning flight to see bears at Katmai or Redoubt Bay or Lake Clark. The trip is expensive but well worth it if you can swing it. There are several companies that do these trips but check out www.flyrusts.com . It would be a day you would NEVER forget.

We were in Alaska last July. We have fished maybe 4 times in our lives. I read your post that you do not fish. We did a Salmon Flyout Fishing and thouroughl enjoyed it. Landing on the water on a plane and seeing Alaska from the air was a good experience. We were around Lake Clark NP area. We fished right along with about 15-20 black bears. They were there almost the entire time. We caught our limit of fish and had it shipped back to us. Really good salmon that we enjoyed for several months. So you might give it a chance, we were glad we did. You would see and do a lot more than fishing.

Another Highlight for us was the Train. Fantastic from Seward to Anchorage.

You might consider visiting Alyeska for a day in Girdwood. Lots of things to do there. Winner Creek Trail is a must for any hiker. Unusual pulley car to cross a small creek. Google it and find a picture of it.

Kayaking in Seward was a firt for us and we enjoyed that as well.

It sounds like you have a good trip planned, and you are doing a lot of the things we did. At Exit Glacier, hike in a group a carry bear spray. Pretty likely you might see a bear.

I checked out Winner Creek Trail, and it looks like a hike that we'd love. Thanks!

One more suggestion for Girdwood. Take a helicopter, do a glacier landing and ride a dogsled in the snow. Very expensive, but very scenic and you are in the middle of nowhere. The guy that does it lives on the glacier all summer with no electric or water. They haul everything in and out by helicopter, even the dog poop. There wasn't any dog poop anywhere on the snow to be scene. He had about 50 dogs there with him. Dario, is his name and he rides in the Idar. He is on the travel channel in a segment.

Just spend time enjoying the scenery by hiking a trail!

Notes. If you go to Seward from Anchorage try to take the train. Best train ride in Alaska. Try a kayak trip at Millers landing. Eat at Rays in Seward. It is so popular you won't find many advertisements for it. Fish for salmon with a guide named Diane. Exit Glacier is a fun and easy walk. Take rain gear everywhere. On the 29th I would drive up to Jeff King's sled dog camp. It is a fun show, and I went kicking and screaming at my wife's insistence. ON the 29th you can also, and probably should, leave the car keys in the nightstand and ask around for a local trail. Our most relaxing days in Alaska involved nothing more than a stroll through the woods.

If you have an extra day in Talkneetna, and are feeling adventurous, i would recommend rafting the Nenana River. There is a place that guides you down the river. I was there in May and the river was a Category IV. I'm guessing the river won't be as strong in August, but who knows.

Anyway have a great time!!

You will have your boat tour of Prince William Sound on your boat tour from Seward. If you want additional sea life watching and glacier viewing I suggest you take a cruise on the LuLu Belle from Seward. The gentleman owns his own boat and is very knowlegeable. Excellent 4 to 5 hour cruise.
Aug 28th & 29th. Drive to Fairbanks to visit the Georgeson Gardens near the University of Alaska if you love flowers. Expirmental gardens part of the University and see the museum nearby.

I would agree with taking time in Girwood. We spent a couple days at Alyeska ski resort. There are some beautiful trails to hike, some great restaurants in town, and easy to get to from Anchorage.
You might also check into taking a Kayak tour of Prince William Sound. They picked us up right at the resort, and provided us with everything we needed. Just check with the concierge.
Enjoy!

Your first part of tour sounds great - going to Seward. On way back to Anchorage, take the 26 Glacier Cruise Catamaran trip on Prince William Sound,out of Whitter. Stop at Girdwood and take the tram to top of Mount Alyeska, great food (2 restaurants) and paragliding off the mount. Alyeska is a beautiful resort. I would suggest taking a train ride (Princess Tours) from downtown Anchorage to Talkeetna and stay at the Princess Wilderness Lodge. There is so much to do from the lodge; hiking,white-water and scenic float trips on the river,mountain biking tours, flightseeing around Mt. McKinley, horseback riding,fishing, etc. This is a beautiful lodge. (food at lodge and on train is excellent) Spent at least 2 days there. If you are in Anchorage for several days, take an hour and drive north to Wasilla. Visit the IDITAROD museum. Another 1 hr trip from Anchorage is south at Mile 79 Seward Hwy. Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. We topped our trip off with a floatplane ride the last day of our trip. We used Rust's Flying Service, near Anchorage Int'l Airport in Anchorage (www.flyrusts.com) Have fun!