121 Best Sights in Alaska, USA

Roam the trails and visit with the polar bears, caribou, brown and black bears, seals, tigers, snow leopards, moose, wolves, lynx, and a large array of birds that call the Alaska Zoo home. The zoo provides a wide array of programs included with admission, such as zookeeper talks and toddler story times, that concentrate on promoting the conservation of arctic and subarctic animal species. Throughout the summer for an additional fee you can join daily two-hour tours that include behind-the-scenes stops. The zoo is located in the foothills on the edge of town, but a summer-only shuttle leaves from the Downtown Visitor Center at 4th Avenue and E Street every hour. 

The main focuses at this natural history museum are bald eagles and associated fauna of the Chilkat Preserve. Lectures, displays, videos, and a taxidermy-heavy diorama help tell their stories, and there's a raptor center that has live presentations and an aviary displaying live eagles.

The local members of the Arctic Brotherhood, a fraternal organization of Alaska and Yukon pioneers, built their hall's (now renovated) false front out of 8,833 pieces of driftwood and flotsam from local beaches. The result: one of the most unusual buildings in all of Alaska. The AB Hall now houses the Skagway Convention & Visitors Bureau, along with public restrooms.

This lodge on Cleary Summit that has big picture windows conducts late-night viewing tours from late August to April to see the northern lights sky. The tour fee—from $75 to $85, depending on your Fairbanks pickup point—includes hot drinks and transportation. Visitors driving themselves pay $25. You can extend your northern lights viewing pleasure by spending the night. Each of the four spacious rooms (starting at $209 for two people) in the two-story lodge building has large, north-facing windows, a private bath, and a kitchen. The standalone Logan Chalet ($350 rate for one to four people, three-night minimum) holds up to six people. Both accommodations have free Wi-Fi and offer discounts for multinight stays.

This recreation area includes a number of sites scattered along the Mitkof Highway from 15 to 20 miles south of Petersburg. Blind River Rapids Trail is a wheelchair-accessible 1-mile boardwalk that leads to a three-sided shelter overlooking the river—one of Southeast's most popular fishing spots—before looping back through the muskeg. Not far away is a bird-viewing area where several dozen trumpeter swans spend the winter. In summer you're likely to see many ducks and other waterfowl. At Mile 18 the state-run hatchery releases thousands of king and coho salmon each year. The kings return in June and July, the coho in August and September. Nearby is a popular picnic area. Four miles south of the hatchery is a Forest Service campground.

These buses serve permitted backpackers and those staying in campgrounds along the road. Seats in the back of the bus are removed for gear storage and there is room for two bikes (the bike spaces must be reserved ahead of time). While there is no formal narration, bus drivers aren't likely to let you miss anything important. The $40 pass includes transportation anywhere down the road as far as Wonder Lake for the length of the backpacker's stay; kids under 16 are free. Tell the driver ahead of time where you'd like to get out.

On this hill, Alaska was formally handed over to the United States on October 18, 1867, and the first 49-star U.S. flag was flown on January 3, 1959, signifying Alaska's statehood. To reach the hill, take the first right off Harbor Drive just before O'Connell Bridge; then enter the paved path switchbacks to the top, where you can read the interpretive signs on the area's Tlingit and Russian history and take in the views of Crescent Harbor and downtown Sitka. On a clear day, look for the volcanic flanks of Mt. Edgecumbe on the horizon.

About 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, the Chena Hot Springs Resort offers guests winter snow coach rides to a yurt on Charlie Dome with a 360-degree vista of nothing but wilderness—and a good chance of viewing the northern lights. The resort also offers a heated log cabin "aurorium" a short hike away. Guests can even arrange a wake-up call when staff spot the lights.

A footbridge from the bottom of Shakes Street provides access to this small island in the center of Wrangell's protected harbor. The Tribal House, constructed in 1940 as a replica of the original 19th-century structure, was completely restored by local carvers in 2012 and 2013, as were the surrounding totem poles. The interior of the building can be viewed for a fee; arrangements should be made through the Wrangell Cooperative Association ( www.wca-t.com).

Buried here is Shakes V, who led the local Tlingit during the first half of the 19th century. A white picket fence surrounds the grave, and two killer-whale totem poles mark his resting spot, which overlooks the harbor.

This park on Chilkat Inlet has beautiful and accessible viewing of both the Davidson and Rainbow glaciers. The Seduction Point Trail, about 7 miles one way, takes hikers to the very tip of the peninsula upon which Haines sits.

The exhibits here explore commercial fishing and the cannery industry, the era of fish traps, the social life of Petersburg, and Tlingit culture. Don't miss the 126½-pound king salmon—the largest ever caught commercially—as well as the Tlingit dugout canoe; the Cape Decision lighthouse station lens; and Earth, Sea and Sky, a 3-D wall mural outside.

Located in the Golden North Hotel building, this impressive (and free) scrimshaw museum highlights more than 40 exquisitely carved walrus tusks and other exhibits that detail Alaska's history. The museum was founded by Dennis Corrington, a onetime Iditarod Race runner, who passed away in July 2021.

Thousands of migrating ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes stop here in spring as they head north to nesting grounds, and in late summer as they head south before the cold hits. It's amazing to watch them gather in huge flocks, with constant takeoffs and landings. This is also a great place to view songbirds and moose. Five miles of nature trails, open year-round, lead through fields, forest, and wetlands. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, Creamer's Dairy was the northernmost dairy in North America from 1910 to 1966.

This was once Ketchikan's red-light district. During Prohibition, Creek Street was home to numerous speakeasies, and in the early 1900s more than 30 houses of prostitution operated here. Today the small, colorful houses, built on stilts over the creek waters, have been restored as interesting shops. When the fish are running, the Creek Street footbridge makes a stellar viewing platform for salmon and trout, as well as the sea lions and other animals that eat them.

Salmon are integral to life in Southeast Alaska, and Alaskans are proud of their healthy fisheries. A visit to the hatchery is a great introduction to the complex considerations involved in maintaining the continued vitality of this crucial resource. Watch through an underwater window as salmon fight their way up a fish ladder from mid-June to mid-October. Inside the busy hatchery, which produces almost 125 million young salmon annually, you will learn about the environmental considerations of commercial fishermen and the lives of salmon. A retail shop sells gifts and salmon products. The salmon hatchery is part of a larger nonprofit, Douglas Island Pink and Chum, Inc., and is usually referred to locally by its acronym, DIPAC.

Housed in a rustic log cabin, the center's sod roof is festooned with huge hanging baskets of flowers. Anchorage is a major stopping point for cargo jets en route to Asia, and a signpost out front marks the mileage to many international destinations. After a stop in the cabin, step out the back door to the more spacious visitor center stocked with brochures. There are also two visitor information centers in Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, one in the north terminal and one in the south terminal in the C Concourse baggage-claim area.

Just north of the Petersburg Fisheries cannery, this small roadside park is a great place to spot eagles, especially at low tide. On a clear day you will also discover dramatic views of the sharp-edged Coast Range, including the 9,077-foot summit of Devil's Thumb.

Housed inside the historic Lacey Street Theatre, this museum screens hourly films about ice carving and the tools of the trade. The Ice Showcase, a walkthrough display of intricate sculptures, is kept a consistent 20°F and includes something to dazzle just about everyone, including an ice slide, ice bar, and occasional live demonstrations. 

An independently operated animal rescue center, Fortress of the Bear offers the chance to see bears up close without worry for safety. The center, 5 miles east of Sitka, shelters a handful of brown and black bears, both adults and cubs, in large enclosures that allow them to interact and play. In addition to creating a hospitable environment for bears that might otherwise be euthanized, the center educates visitors about proper human–animal interaction. 

Stately clapboard homes stand against a mountain backdrop on the sloping parade grounds of Alaska's first U.S. Army post. As you enter you'll soon see the gallant, white-columned former commanding officer's quarters, now part of the Hotel Hälsingland. Circle the parade ground if you like, passing the other homes along Officers Row. On the parade ground's south side at Alaska Indian Arts, you can watch artists at work. The Haines Alaska Convention & Visitors Bureau has a walking-tour brochure of the fort.

When most people think of Alaska's vegetation, they conjure up images of flat, treeless tundra, so the variety of native and cultivated flowers on exhibit here is often unexpected. The garden, 4 miles west of downtown, is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A major focus of research is Interior Alaska's unique, short but intense midnight-sun growing season, and the results are spectacular. The nonstop daylight brings out rich and vibrant colors and—to the delight of locals and visitors—amazing vegetable specimens that don't grow anywhere near as big in the Lower 48. An adjacent children's garden includes a treehouse and hedge maze to explore. 

Though you'll go to Girdwood to ski or hike, you'll find yourself spending time perusing the crafts and artwork at this nonprofit co-op gallery. With pieces from more than 30 artists on display, there's plenty to look at—and you might end up taking care of any gift needs (from the trip or for the holidays) in one fell swoop.

One of the upsides to living in a rain forest is the lush proliferation of plants and trees. At Glacier Gardens, they've turned local flora into an art form. Spread over 50 acres of rain forest, the family-owned Glacier Gardens has ponds, waterfalls, hiking paths, a large atrium, and gardens. The roots of fallen trees, turned upside down and buried in the ground, act as bowls to hold planters that overflow with begonias, fuchsias, and petunias. Guided tours in covered golf carts lead you along the 4 miles of paved paths, and a 580-foot-high overlook provides dramatic views of the Mendenhall wetlands wildlife refuge, the Chilkat Range, and downtown Juneau. A café and gift shop are here, and the conservatory is a popular wedding spot. Admission includes a guided tour. The Juneau city bus, which departs from multiple locations downtown, stops in front of Glacier Gardens (but be prepared for a meandering journey).

This riverside park is the hub of downtown celebrations, including free evening concerts. The plaza is dominated by the towering statue of the Unknown First Family, encircled by plaques containing the names of 4,500 local families who contributed to the building of the plaza.

Built during the 1898 gold rush, the Golden North Hotel was—until closing in 2002—Alaska's oldest hotel. Despite the closure, the building has been lovingly maintained and still retains its gold rush–era appearance; a golden dome tops the corner cupola. Today the downstairs houses shops.

This stately Colonial-style home completed in 1912 overlooks downtown Juneau. With 14,400 square feet, 6 bedrooms, and 10 bathrooms, it's no miner's cabin. Out front is a totem pole that tells three tales: the history of man, the cause of ocean tides, and the origin of Alaska's ubiquitous mosquitoes. Unfortunately, tours of the residence are not permitted.

In the 1880s, Steve Sheldon began assembling Native artifacts, items from historic Ft. Seward, and gold-rush memorabilia, such as Jack Dalton's sawed-off shotgun, and started an exhibit of his finds in 1925. Today his collection is the core of this museum's impressive array of artifacts, including Chilkat blankets, a model of a Tlingit tribal house, and the original lens from the Eldred Rock lighthouse just south of Haines on Lynn Canal. Repatriated Bear Clan items such as an 18th-century carved ceremonial Murrelet hat are also on display.

The owner started his impressive collection of 1,800 hammers decades ago and founded the museum—the world's first—in 2001. Noteworthy specimens include a Roman battle hammer and 6-foot-long posting hammers used to secure advertisements to exterior walls.

Houses on high stilts and the historic Sons of Norway Hall border this creek that floods with each high tide, creating a photogenic reflecting pool.