100 Places To Go and Things To Do In Alaska

With its breath taking beauty and unique culture, Alaska has an allure like few other places on the planet.

So many of its landscapes are still fairly untouched by mankind, and those types of landscapes attract all types of people from the toughest adventurers, to photographers, to the average person who is in search of awe and inspiration.

There is no doubt about the fact that there are experiences you can have in Alaska that you probably won't have anywhere else.

For many people an Alaska trip is the type of bucket list adventure that is dreamed about for decades, so when you're finally planning your trip to go there, you're going to want to make sure you are making the most of what Alaska has to offer.

That is why I have compiled this list of popular destinations. I wanted to make your vacation planning as easy and convenient as possible.

I've separated tourist attractions into several subcategories, so that you can quickly find what you're looking for no matter what your interests are.

I've included links to informational websites for as many of these places and activities as possible to make this list more user friendly.

In order to make this list a little bit easier to navigate, I'll give you an idea of what order the activities and locations will be listed in. By the way, some of these categories do overlap a little bit. For example, the list of waterfalls may include some hiking.

Also, I've included the locations where some of these activities can be found to make planning a little bit easier for you.

• National Parks (1-8)
• Hiking (9-26)
• Waterfalls (27-34)
• Salmon Fishing (35-39)
• Halibut Fishing (40-41)
• Hunting (42-47)
• Mountain Biking (48-57)
• Caves (58-70)
• Museums (71--83)
• Theme Parks (84-87)
• Dog Sledding Tours (88-93)
• Whale Watching (94-100)

I hope this list will be useful to you. Now go out there and enjoy all of the awesomeness that Alaska has to offer!

If you have been to some of these places, I'd love for you to vote on some of my interactive polls about which places and activities are the best. That way other people who use this list can easily figure out which tourist attractions are the tried and true favorites.

Thanks for your help!

Alaska has eight national parks with Wrangell-St. Elias being the biggest national park in the United States. If you're looking for outdoor adventure, you won't be disappointed. These national parks are about as wild as they come.

In fact, some of them require that you be flown in, because there aren't even any roads going out to where they are.

1. Glacier Bay National Park
2. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (America's Largest National Park)
3. Kenai Fjords National Park
4. Katmai National Park (You can't drive to this park. You must be flown in.)
5. Lake Clark National Park (You can't drive to this park. You must be flown in.)
6. Denali National Park (You have to either ride a bus or hike in the last bit of the way)
7. Kobuk Valley National Park (You can't drive to this park. You must be flown in.)
8. Gates of the Arctic National Park(Most people fly in, but you can also backpack in)

Many people would say that if you really want to get a taste of Alaska's beautiful landscapes, the best way to do it is to go on a hike, maybe even a really long one.

If you know you want to hike in Alaska, but you aren't sure where to start your adventure, this list can give you some ideas.

If you're looking for a more extensive list of hikes in Alaska, you can check out this awesome website.

9. Mount Roberts Alpine Loop Trail- 1/2 mile (Juneau)

10. Caines Head Trail-5 miles (Seward)

11. Lost Lake-15 miles (Kenai Peninsula)

12. Kesugi Ridge-29.2 miles (Talkeetna)

13. Chilkoot Trail-33 miles (Skagway)

14. Crow Pass-22.6 miles (South-central Alaska)

15. Tutka Bay Trails (Seldovia-16 miles from Homer)

16. Mount Marathon-4 miles round trip (Seward)

17. Wickersham Dome Trail-14 miles round trip (about an hour out of Fairbanks)

18. Auke Lake Trail-2.2 miles (Juneau)

19. Hatcher Pass-multiple trails ranging from 1.7 miles to 16 miles (Palmer)

20. Exit Glacier-multiple options for trail length (Seward)

21. Gunsight Mountain-multiple options for trail length (Near Glacier View)

22. Portage Pass-4 miles round trip (Whittier)

23. Skilak Lake Overlook-5 miles round trip (Kenai Peninsula)

24. South Fork to Triangle Peak-18.5 miles (Chugach National Forest)

25. Deer Mountain Trail-2 miles round trip to the overlook 5 miles roundtrip to the summit (Ketchikan)

26. Twin Peaks Trail-11 miles round trip (Eklutra Lake)

I don't know about you, but I find something completely humbling and awe inspiring about waterfalls. They're so beautiful and powerful.

There are a lot of waterfalls in Alaska, and to say that they are impressive is a huge understatement.

Here is a list of just a few that you might be interest in seeing while you are out exploring.

27. Indian River Falls (Sitka)

28. Thunderbird Falls (Anchorage)

29. Chitistone Falls (Wrangell-St. Elias National Park)

30. Ebner Falls (Juneau)

31. Bridal Veil Falls (Valdez)

32. Beloit Falls (Whittier)

33. Rookery Falls (Whittier)

34. Liberty Falls (Chitina)

Many people go to Alaska for the very specific purpose of fishing. If you are one of those people, you probably already know that successful fishing is all about having the right timing.

Obviously, you will want to do your research for details about when specific types of salmon are in their greatest abundance at the location where you choose to go fishing.

I've listed a few places that are known for great salmon fishing, but this website has a lot more fishing destinations if you want to do more research.

35. Copper River Delta-Cordova

36. Bristol Bay "the salmon factory of the world"

37. Ship Creek-Anchorage

38. Kenai River-Moose Meadows

39. Kodiak Island

As you know, salmon isn't the only fish that people travel to Alaska to catch.

Alaska attracts halibut fishers from around the world. When it comes to halibut fishing, these two locations rival each other as two of the best halibut fishing locations on the planet.

Please make sure to vote in the poll below, since I know there are a lot of people who will be interested to get experienced opinions about which halibut fishing location is the best.

40. Homer

41. Seward

Beautiful fish aren't the only treasures that people bring out of Alaska. Many hunters go to Alaska with hopes of bringing home a trophy that will be the envy of all of their friends when they return.

According to one hunting website, the list below includes some of the best hunting locations in Alaska.

42. Alaska Peninsula (Alaska-Yukon moose and brown bear)

43. Haines (Mountain Goats)

44. Illiamna Lake (caribou)

45. Bristol Bay (brown bear, Dall sheep, moose, caribou)

46. Denali Preserve (sheep, grizzlies)-requires bush aircraft, and you will only want to go hear during the summer due to the rough weather in the higher terrain

47. Prince of Wales Island (deer, black bear, wolves)

If we're going to list all the outdoor adventures Alaska has to offer, we can't forget to mention mountain biking. For a more extensive list than I've provided here, check out this website that was the source of the information about mountain biking I've provided below.

48. Lost Lake Trail-Seward

49. Kincaid Park-Anchorage

50. Kepler-Bradley Lakes State Park-Wasilla

51. Power Line Pass to Indian-Anchorage

52. Sta Trails-Anchorage

53. 16 Mile Hatcher Pass-Palmer

54. Perseverance Trail-Juneau

55. Crescent Lake-Cooper Landing

56. Pillar-Kodiak

57. Resurrection Pass-Cooper Landing

Exploring caves has always been an activity that appeals to the bravest adventurers.

There are a lot of caves in Alaska, but it is important that you do your research before you go exploring, because many of them are quite dangerous, and you wouldn't want to "fall upon one" unexpectedly (excuse the pun).

Some of these caves are best enjoyed by looking at their entrances from a distance while others are safe to explore.

If you are feeling adventurous and choose to experience a cave up close, it should definitely be explored with the help of an experienced guide.

Please don't sacrifice your safety for the sake of the ultimate adventure. Be smart about which of Alaska caves you decide to explore.

58. Kit n' Kaboodle Cave-Dall Island, Gold Harbor

59. Root and Kennicott Glaciers-Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

60. El Capitan Cave-Tongass National Forest

61. Matanuska Glacial Gave-Palmer area

62. Blowing in the Wind Cave-Kodiak Island

63. Spencer Glacier-Chugach National Forest

64. Bumper Cave-Calder Mountain

65. Mendenhall Ice Caves-Tongass National Forest

66. Kushtaka Cave

67. Puffin Grotto-off of Noyes Island

68. Devil's Canopy Cave

69. On Your Knees Cave-Prince of Wales Island

70. Zina Cave-Prince of Wales Island

While most people visit Alaska to enjoy the great outdoors, you might want to get in out of the weather from time to time. When those times come around, you might want to brush up on your history at one of these museums.

71. Sitka National Historic Park

72. The Alaska State Museum-Juneau

73. Ilanca Cultural Center-Cordova

74. UA Museum of the North-Fairbanks

75. Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center

76. Totem Heritage Center-Ketchikan

77. The Pratt Museum-Homer

78. Alaska Aviation Museum-Anchorage

79, Alaska SeaLife Center-Seward

80. Alaska Native Heritage Center-Anchorage

81. Aluttiq Museum and Archaelogical Repository-Kodiak

82. Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum-Fair Banks

83. Klondike Gold Rust National Historical Park-Skagway

Most people don't think about theme parks when they think of Alaska, but there are a few. Each has a very unique personality to it, and one of them is just, well...very unique.

If you want to mix things up a little bit on your Alaska trip, you might want to check out one of these theme parks.

Make sure to check these parks' websites, because some of them are only open seasonally.

84. Pioneer Park-Fairbanks

85. Roadrunner Amusements Inc.-Anchorage (This is mostly a sports lounge, but does have bumper cars)

86. H2Oasis (Indoor water park)-Anchorage

87. Mukluk Land-Tok (This "theme park" is more like a random museum than a theme park, but it does have mini golf and skee ball.)

Many people say that watching dog sledding is the highlight of an Alaska vacation. That being said, there are a lot of tour guides, and I thought it might be nice to get some opinions on which ones are the best, so please give your input about the dog sledding tours listed below.

88. Aurora Viewing and Dinner With a Dog Sled Tour (1st Alaska Tours)-Fairbanks

89. Seward Helicoptor Tours-Seward

90. Temsco Helicoptors-Juneau

91. Temsco Helicoptors-Skagway

92. Coastal Helicoptors-Juneau

93. Alaska Mushing School-near Anchorage

There are few sights as powerful as the majestic whale breaching in its natural habitat. If that's something you'd like to see, you might be interested in this list of whale watching tours.

94. Phillps Cruises and Tours: 26 Glacier Cruise-Whittier

95. Kenai Fjords Tours

96. Lazy Otter Charters Custom Sightseeing Tours-Whittier

97. Stan Stephens Cruises-Valdez

98. Major Marine Kenai Fjords Cruise-Seward

99. Alaska Travel Adventures-Juneau

100. Aurora Charters-Seward