Shae and I had been looking forward to visiting Alaska for our entire road trip, so we were glad to finally spend five weeks there in late spring/early summer.
We had a wonderful time there, from going hiking to seeing wildlife to an excellent brewery and much, much more.
Here’s a list of our favorite and not-so-favorite things from Alaska.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – This one’s much trickier than I would’ve thought. I liked having a one bedroom suite at the Hyatt House Anchorage and the staff there were very nice. Our hosts at the Airbnb in Seward were also lovely.
However, I think my favorite was our Airbnb in Wasilla. It was excellent value and it was nice having the place all to ourselves. Truffles wasn’t a fan of it though because she could smell all the wild animals in the area, so she would get nervous when we’d take her out, even though it was a fenced-in yard.
Shae – Oh man, oh man. How can I choose? There are lots of great things to recommend all of our locations but I think I’m going to choose our tiny house near Denali National Park in Healy. It was crazy expensive for what it was, but that’s because it was all about the location. I loved being only a 20 minute drive from the entrance to Denali and a 5 minute drive to 49th State Brewing.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – In terms of meals, the dinner we had at 49th State Brewing in Healy after we’d gone hiking in Denali National Park was very good. This award though is going to go to a non-meal – Matanuska Brewery & Tap Room in Palmer. I tried every drink they had on tap (thanks to numerous flights across a couple of days) and every single beer was very good.
Shae – I loved the caribou soup we had in Utqiagvik during the Whaling Festival.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – Ice cream from Wild Scoops in Anchorage. It wasn’t awful, it just wasn’t great ice cream. It didn’t help that we visited twice and none of the flavors I tried were better than store-bought ice cream, but Shae really liked the spicy chocolate one she got.
Shae – My most disappointing meal was probably whale tongue in Utqiagvik because it was so incredibly tough to bite or chew.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – I’ve had a hard time coming up with something for this because, strictly speaking, very little of what we did was truly free because even our hikes had paid parking. I’m therefore going with the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla which was actually free. There wasn’t much to the museum itself, but they did have a very interesting video about the history of the Iditarod that was worth the ~30 minutes.
Shae – Jumping in the Arctic Ocean to complete the polar plunge in Utqiagvik for sure.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – This is another tricky one because although I really enjoyed pretty much everything we did in Alaska, there wasn’t really anything that blew me away with its awesomeness. As overall days go though, I’ll pick our day in Denali National Park.
Shae – I could choose several things but I loved the time I spent at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – In reality, I’d say any one of the pet-friendly hikes we did. However, the Museum of Alaska Transportation in Wasilla gets an honorable mention for being pet-friendly both inside and out.
Shae – I enjoyed 49th State Brewing and that it was dog-friendly on their beautiful patio in Healy, AK.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Being worried about our dog Truffles while Shae rushed her to the emergency vet two hours away (I had to work). Thankfully she ended up being OK, but her condition had us extremely worried that her body was shutting down.
Shae – Well, yes, Truffles being sick was very worrying but I’m going to just block that out. My least favorite actual activity was the Museum of the North in Fairbanks. It was nice enough, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it when there are other amazing things to do in Alaska.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – 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 trail.
Shae – Ooh it’s hard to pick just one but I think my favorite was the Bird Creek Falls trail too.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – Oh man, there was so much quirkiness. I initially thought of the giant moose made of duck tape at the Museum of Alaska Transportation, but that was nothing compared to sleeping in a wood stove cabin in Tok. Ultimately though, the most quirky thing of all was getting to eat numerous different parts of a whale while in Utqiagvik.
Shae – I think it has to go to sleeping in the wood stove in Tok. Also, although it’s not technically in Alaska, it was part of our drive up and therefore I’d say trying the Sourtoe Cocktail deserves a mention. Plus, it’s only 8 hours from Fairbanks, so it’s practically right next door by Alaskan standards.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – I’m going to award this to something that wasn’t actually in Alaska, but was part of our Alaska adventure – driving to and from Alaska.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t looking forward to the drive through Canada because it meant many long days of driving and I’m not a big fan of being in the car for more than a few hours. However, the drive was perhaps my favorite part of the entire Alaska experience. British Columbia and the Yukon was indescribably beautiful. Endless mountains, countless beautiful lakes, all kinds of wildlife – it was amazing.
Shae – By far my favorite memories in Alaska were made in Utqiagvik. Although an honorable mention goes out to seeing pika in Denali National Park. My favorite memory along the drive up and back was our first 24 hours in Stewart where we saw a bear, went to Salmon Glacier and had amazing food at Tostador.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Doing the polar plunge in Utqiagvik.
Shae – I think we laughed the hardest after the polar plunge, but I think my favorite memories are always going to be Stephen saying “no wifey, stay in the car,” whenever we encountered wildlife along the road.
(Stephen edit: This is why she needed to stay in the car 😉 )
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Spending a week in Fairbanks. Fairbanks isn’t a horrible place, it’s just not quintessential Alaska. I wish we’d spent that week elsewhere so that we could’ve experience more of “real” Alaska.
Shae – I regret that we didn’t book a tour in Utqiagvik to see the polar bears. But I agree, I’d probably have skipped Fairbanks too in favor of Whittier, Homer, Valdez or Juneau.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – I’m going to preempt Shae’s answer and say Brooks Falls at Katmai National Park where you can watch bears catching salmon.
Shae – Waaaaahhhhhh! (that’s me crying about missing out on my fat bears in Katmai that hubs mentioned above). Definitely, definitely not flying out to Brooks Falls. I’m a huge fan of Fat Bear Week and my favorite (and gateway bear) 747 aka Colbert aka The Bear Plane aka Bear Force One, who last won Fat Bear Week in 2022, is getting older and I wish we’d gone to see him while we were “close.” But, I’m hopeful we’ll get up there in the next few years and he’ll still be around even if he’s not as dominant. You can watch the Fat Bears from your home too – right here.
I also really wanted to see Homer, Whittier, Valdez, Juneau and Nome and I’d have liked to have booked a tour in Utqiagvik for polar bear sightings as I mentioned above. I also wish we’d done some water-based tours to see the fjords and marine wildlife along the Alaskan coast.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – That Alaska didn’t feel quite as stunning as we’d expected. Don’t get me wrong – it was very beautiful and scenic. However, after spending a few weeks driving up through Canada, Alaska just didn’t feel quite as eye-catching as British Columbia and the Yukon.
Shae – I agree with hubs – it is beautiful, and I think we might’ve missed out on some of its beauty by staying inland. However, I’m also surprised how much I enjoyed hiking in Alaska. Hubs is our hiker – I go along for some with cool views or waterfalls, but I was all about the hiking in Alaska. Although, I think that may also have something to do with the chance to see wildlife along the hikes which greatly increased my excitement and interest to get out on the trails.
My Alaska Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time you can’t decide on which hiking trail to do because there are too many!
Shae – I have two. One is to take a drink every time you see something referencing Alaska as “The Last Frontier.” The other is to take a drink every time you see clumps of grass that look like animals.
Summary Of Alaska In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Beautiful and unique, but best part is the drive there
Shae – Wonderful wildlife, beautiful views, expensive but so worth the drive.
Alaska Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Wasilla, Anchorage, Seward, Healy, Tok, Fairbanks
Shae – Healy, Seward, Anchorage, Wasilla, Tok and Fairbanks
Props on your polar plunge. Brrrr
Thanks!