After spending a couple of weeks visiting Fairbanks, Healy and Wasilla, we spent almost two weeks in Anchorage – Alaska’s largest city with almost 300,000 people living there.
It’s a very pretty place, with lakes, mountains, scenic drives, waterfalls and more. Here’s what we got up to during our 12 days in Anchorage.
Where We Stayed
We spent all 12 nights at the Hyatt House Anchorage, although we did fly up to Utqiagvik for a night during that time (more about Utqiagvik in this post).
We booked our stay using World of Hyatt points to save money as hotel prices in Anchorage in the summer are extremely high. It was a very good stay, with a nice one bedroom suite (we used a couple of suite upgrade awards to upgrade from a standard room), complimentary breakfast, guest laundry facilities, friendly staff and more. You can check out my full review here.
What We Did In Anchorage
Hiked The Mt Baldy Trail
Anchorage has lots of great hiking opportunities and one of the most highly rated hikes seems to be the one up Mt Baldy. It’s a 3 mile loop trail, with a fairly steep incline on the 1.5 miles up and fairly steep 1.5 mile trip back down again in the other direction, no matter which way round you go.
The trail starts part way up the mountain, so it begins with some nice views and those continue as you go higher. You pass a small pond on the way up (or the way down depending on which direction you take on the loop trail), with lakes and mountains in the distance as you continue.
The trail is pet-friendly, so Truffles was able to join us and she seemed to enjoy the adventure.
The views from the top of Mt Baldy were fantastic and made the effort absolutely worth it. Here’s a quick video I took as we approached the peak which helps show how stunning the vistas are.
Rodak Nature Loop Trail At Eagle River Nature Center
After finishing our hike up Mt Baldy, we drove on to the Eagle River Nature Center for a short hike which was more of a walk. I’d seen online that there was a one mile walk/hike on the Rodak Nature Loop trail which might give the opportunity to see bears and beavers.
We didn’t have any luck during that visit, but we were treated to excellent mountain views from one of the viewing decks.
We’d visited that day at about 3:30pm which isn’t really prime beaver spotting time, although a couple there had seen a mama bear with two cubs who’d walked across the parking lot when they’d arrived, so we were super jealous!
Shae and I therefore decided to return a few days later in the evening in the hope that we’d at least see some beavers, if not bears. It was a little nervy though wandering around by ourselves knowing there could be bears around, despite us having bear spray with us. We sadly didn’t see any beavers or bears again, but this time we were treated to sunset views of those same mountains.
Spotted Moose
It was a ~45 minute drive to the Eagle River Nature Center from our hotel, so we were a little disappointed that we’d had a 1.5 hour round trip drive to not see any animals. Thankfully we were saved on the way back by Shae’s eagle eyes.
Shortly after leaving the nature center, she spotted a moose with two calves having supper in a creek/wetland area off to our left. They were a good distance from us, so the photos I got on my phone weren’t great, but Shae got some good ones with her camera:
Here’s a short video I took on my phone of them in action.
After enjoying watching them eat for a while, they started to make a move in our direction, so we quickly headed back to our car as moose can be extremely dangerous. They weren’t heading for us though; instead, they started walking up the center of the road in the direction we were heading.
Potter Marsh Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk
Shae woke up in the middle of the night one night and couldn’t get back to sleep, so she went out to check out Potter Marsh Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk. Here’s her quick account of that.
I’d read online that you *might* be able to spot beavers at Potter Marsh, so I jumped in the car at midnight to see any wildlife I could. I was mostly alone at the boardwalk. There were a few teenage boys having a blast giving “barbaric yawps” (IYKYK), so my chances of seeing wildlife plummeted but I tried anyway.
I could see a lot of evidence of moose in the grass, but never saw any moose, bear or beavers. I carried bear spray with me at all times since you never know when you might come across one in Alaska, even on boardwalks. I did spot a family of geese with the goslings having a midnight snack before tucking into a cuddle puddle for the night.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
One of the places Shae was most interested in visiting was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. She follows them on social media and they offer a Walk on the Wild Side tour where you get to feed one of their animals, so we booked that.
Both of us got to feed Heath the porcupine…
…then we explored the rest of the center. They have a few brown bears and black bears, so it was fun getting to see them so close, but in a safe way. Check out this post for more about our visit to the center.
Hiked The Bird Creek Falls Trail
One of my favorite hikes that we did in Alaska was the one to Bird Creek Falls. It’s a ~3.5 mile out and back trail which is easy enough initially, although you’ll want to be prepared to cross some water depending on the conditions when you visit.
There were beautiful views of Bird Creek running through the canyon and more mountains in the distance.
The end of the trail requires a fairly steep decline to get down to the falls and therefore a fairly steep incline to get back up after.
It wasn’t muddy or icy the day we visited though, so it wasn’t too bad getting down and back up. Even if it does take some effort, it’s worth it for Bird Creek Falls.
Other than a couple of other people who briefly made their way down there, we had the falls to ourselves. It was therefore a lovely place to stop and have lunch while listening to the raging waters.
Falls Creek Waterfall
After hiking to Bird Creek Falls, on our drive back along the Seward Hwy we stopped quickly in a pull-off to check out a waterfall that’s right there by the side of the road. You can find it here on Google Maps in case you want directions.
Beluga Point
Another location worth stopping at on the Seward Highway is Beluga Point. You can apparently sometimes see beluga whales there, but we weren’t fortunate enough to spot those. Still, it’s a pretty view nonetheless.
Where We Ate & Drank In Anchorage
Wild Scoops
Someone recommended getting ice cream from Wild Scoops while we were in Anchorage as you can get baked Alaska ice cream – ice cream with a torched meringue on top. That sounded awesome, so both Shae and I ordered that. You can pick one or more scoop flavors, so I got a scoop of rhubarb crumble and a scoop of Sitka swirl, the latter of which had a sweet cream base with homemade salted caramel and Alaskan sea salt.
Shae got a scoop of their Redoubt’s Revenge which has a spicy chocolate base with cinnamon, cayenne and chocolate shards. It was Pride month when we first visited, so Shae paid $1 for a little Pride flag which Wild Scoops matches and donates to a local non-profit working with LGBTQ youth in Anchorage.
Shae and I had wildly differing opinions on how good their ice cream was. While I didn’t think it was awful, I did find it disappointing – especially considering how long the lines are there. My ice creams weren’t particularly creamy, nor were they particularly flavorful. I’ve had better grocery store-bought ice cream, so it was a shame as I had high hopes for my two flavors. Shae on the other hand adored her spicy chocolate ice cream.
Shae wanted to return on our way out of Anchorage when we headed down to Seward so that she could get another scoop of Redoubt’s Revenge. Thinking that I might’ve gotten a little unlucky with the two flavors I’d picked last time, I ordered a scoop of their Wild Blueberry ice cream. Sadly this was a disappointing flavor too – not very creamy and not anywhere near as blueberry-y as I’d hoped.
King Street Brewing Co
After our hike up Mt Baldy and walk at the Eagle River Nature Center, we stopped in at King Street Brewing Co for a quick drink as they have a pet-friendly patio outside.
The brewery offered 4oz tasters for $2 each, four for $8 or seven for $12, so I ordered a flight of seven:
- Hefeweizen
- Stout
- Hopfenweisse (1/3 IPA, 2/3 hefeweizen)
- OJ Hefe (hefeweizen with fermented orange juice)
- Coffee milk stout
- Dunkelweisen (1/4 stout, 3/4 hefeweizen)
- Black IPA (1/3 stout, 2/3 IPA)
I thought all the beers were nice enough to try, but not so nice that I wanted to stick around for more.
The Ice Cream Shop
On our drive back from the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, we stopped off at The Ice Cream Shop in Girdwood to get some ice cream. We’d already been to Wild Scoops by that point, so I hoped that The Ice Cream Shop would redeem our ice cream experience in Alaska.
It did!
I thought their ice cream was sooooo much better than Wild Scoops. I got their Caramel Caribou flavor which is toffee ice cream, Denali caramel swirl and chocolate covered caramel cups. This was the creamy, flavorful and delicious ice cream I’d been hoping for. Shae ordered their chocolate brownie thunder which she really enjoyed too (although she preferred her spicy chocolate ice cream from Wild Scoops).
Anchorage Brewing Company
After our hike to Bird Creek Falls, we stopped in at Anchorage Brewing Company to reward ourselves with a drink. They sadly didn’t have any darker beers other than a double-oaked black barleywine and I’m not a big fan of barleywines.
I normally like to get a flight to try several different beers, but none of the beer options excited me and so I just got their A New Shape witbier. Shae had a glass of red wine which, at $12-$15 for a glass, was overly expensive.
Anchorage Brewing Co has a very nice outdoor patio area with fire pits out back, but with expensive wine and not particularly great beer based on the one I tried, we left after one drink.
Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria
Two or three different people had recommended to us that we should get pizza from Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria, so we ordered some for pickup to have for lunch on our way down to Seward.
Shae and I ordered a half-and-half pizza. She got regular cheese and tomato on her half, while I had their Call of the Wild pizza which is topped with reindeer sausage, steak, bacon, portabella and crimini mushrooms, red peppers, green onions, garlic cream sauce, mozzarella, provolone and garlic oil, although I ordered my half without cheese as I don’t like that.
What we did both like though was our respective halves of pizza – it was excellent.
Girdwood Brewing Company
After stopping for pizza at Moose’s Tooth and an ill-fated second attempt at good ice cream from Wild Scoops, we drove on to Seward, stopping in Girdwood along the way. That’s because it’s home to Girdwood Brewing Co which came highly recommended by a couple of people.
Girdwood Brewing is in a beautiful setting next to Mt Alyeska and the quality of their beer matches the views. I got a flight of four beers:
- Hippy Speedball (coffee stout)
- Girdwood Reserve (bourbon barrel aged stout)
- Surly Captain (English style pale ale)
- Space Tornado (New England IPA)
My favorite of these was the Girdwood Reserve, but all four were very good and the best beer I had in the Anchorage area. I should note though that Matanuska Brewing which we visited in Wasilla has a taproom in Anchorage and all their beers are excellent too, although we didn’t visit their Anchorage location.
Shae ordered their Funk Berry Pie which is a pastry sour. She doesn’t normally like beer, so the fact that she liked that one shows that they have decent beer!
Things We Missed In Anchorage
We had several places we didn’t make it to when visiting Anchorage, so this stuff is on a future to-do list:
- Bike the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail
- Twin Peaks Trail at Eklutna Lake
- Barbara/South Fork Falls Trail
- Alaska Native Heritage Center
- Glen Alps / Flattop Trail
- Upper Rabbit Creek/Rabbit Lake Trail
- Midnight Sun Brewing Co
- Bernie’s Bungalow Lounge
- Tommy’s Burger Stop
- Anchorage Distillery
- House of Bread for cinnamon rolls
- Alaskan Spirits Distillery
[…] – We did numerous beautiful hikes. The Mt Baldy trail in Anchorage was one of my favorites, but I think my most favorite was the Bird Creek Falls […]