avoiding crowds
 

We are planning to visit Alaska in the first week of July for about 10 days. We would like to go to places with fewer summer tourist. What places would you recommend and any activities at those places?

Where will you be??? Alaska is a big state and frankly crowds can easily be avoided. Just head in another direction if the big tour buses are around. :)

Avoid Seward on the 4th ... crazy, fun but crammed

We are flying into Anchorage on June 30th and leaving on July 8th. We are also going to rent a car. It seems like everyone visit Denali and Seward. Therefore, we were trying to find places to visit that would not be visited by the tourist. Thinking of driving to the Artic circle? Is it worth driving on the Dalton Hwy?

To avoiding crowd you do what are doing here on many years: eat an onion like the apple. Just chewing. I rememberr the famous man Steve Martin say one time he put a half a balonny sandwich under each arm pit. Both them ideas are good I telling you avoid a crowded.

Do seek truth in all your travels and you will never be demophobic, enochlophobic, agoraphobic, ochlophobic or misanthropic.

AR

nuview-

It is true that many tourists visit places such as Seward, Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula but that is because of the spectacular scenery and superb outdoor recreational opportunities these areas afford. This is the precise reason why people visit these areas. Alaska is a VERY BIG state and it is not likely you will encounter crowds as you know them. Denali National Park, for example, is 20% larger than the entire state of Massachusetts.

Yes, you could visit areas north of the Arctic circle, but you may be underestimating the vast distances involved. For example, from Anchorage to Kotzebue, it is approximately 550 miles by air, and there are no roads to drive there. It is an interesting one-day trip but that's about all. Probably the same with Nome and Barrow, but I haven't been there yet.

I've visited Alaska during that time frame but frankly, enjoyed the crowds at Kenai's 4th of July parade. We also attended Girdwood's Forest Fair. Got there early for a good parking place and never felt crowded. I don't recall lines at the food concessions either. I haven't visited Seward on the 4th and maybe we missed the cruise ships when we were there but again, it didn't feel crowded at all. Certainly nothing like Boothbay Harbor, ME on a Saturday in July. When we visited Skagway there were cruise ships in port plus we were departing the ferry. Yes, it was crowded but not as much as other places I've been on a Saturday. Around 5pm everyone went back to their ships and the streets emptied. We've been lucky and never gotten behind a slow RV or stuck in any traffic jams. However, after the salmon started running the Russian River, there was a lot of cars/trucks around the ferry area. But this was only a small part of road. Independence Mine wasn't crowded (near Wasilla). Hope wasn't crowded. There were very few people at the Transportation Museum in Wasilla. It was busy in Talkeetna but it was the Summer Solstice. There are lots of trails. Anchorage certainly has less traffic than Boston.
Keep in mind that my husband hates crowds and traffic. I think you are going to be surprised at how much open space and crowdless areas there are.

Sorry but you are GREATLY underestimating what is involved in driving to the Arctic Circle, plus you would have to rent from the only company I know of in Fairbanks who has the cars for it. NONE of the major rentals allow it. You need to be self sufficent- can change tires. Little or no cell service. Miles and miles and miles between services.

If you want to visit Alaska near the height of its tourist season, about the only way to avoid crowds is to go where there are almost no facilities to handle crowds. If you ALSO want to enjoy the best of what Alaska has to offer in scenic beauty, you've got a problem: people go to Alaska for scenery and nature, and people build facilities near to where such sights. So you'll either (1) avoid the best of Alaska, (2) rough it quite a lot, and/or (3) expend a lot of money and effort.

As noted above, almost no car rental companies will permit you to drive off paved roads. More fundamentally, there isn't a lot of interest, either in scenery or wildlife, up there anyway. I drove up there, fully aware I might end up buying the car rental company a new car out of my own pocket, and I got a sense of accomplishment over driving north of the Arctic Circle. But there wasn't much to see other than a sign.

If you have the gear and skills for wilderness camping, your choices are almost infinite. You can drive to the trailheads of St Elias NP (or 100 other wilderness areas) and hike for weeks without seeing another soul. Of course, if you don't know what you're doing, your body may never be found.

If you're willing to plan ahead and put out big bucks, you can pay a guide or outfitter to do the work for you. S/he can take to a dozen places without people, as well as lots of scenery.

My suggestion? Make reservations at the places that have what you're hoping to experience, even if it means 100 times more tourists than you would prefer. Drive off when their bus arrives where you're standing. Then get away from all of them by walking off the main roads for 20 minutes.

trust me, dfrostnh, seward IS crowded on the 4th. A big part of the crowding is due to street closures for the Mount Marathon race.

That's what happen when you have a town at the end of the road, where the population swells from 2,500 to "more than 30,000'' for one day of the year, according to the local chamber.

I think that estimate is somewhat high, but it can be truly nuts.

Summer is tourist season and there will be crowds. The crowds aren't like other "crowds". Alaska is a big state and there's plenty of room for plenty of people. If you want to do some things "off the beaten trail" you can research various ideas. There are lots of things to do that don't have huge crowds. Avoid places that the cruise buses take people if you really hate crowds.