What to do in Alaska when visiting?

[bill sheldon]

They drove the local people have nowhere to endure. see how
beautifully Olympics held in Russia and how much money there. People enjoy life. And we have to pay the costs of Washington on useless wars in weak countries!
Why?

[Glitch]

The overwhelming theme of this thread thus far appears to be: Do not try to see the entire State in one visit. Pick an area that is of interest to you, and focus on that area. No matter where you go in Alaska it has its own particular beauty and charm.

Those are great maps by the way heathen.

As for the best time to visit Alaska, again that has a lot to do with your interests. June is typically the warmest month with the least rainfall. June is also the best opportunity to catch King salmon, however, the majority of the salmon do not return until July, and they continue returning to the rivers until September.

If fishing is not your thing, then maybe a winter visit might be in order. You would get to see the REAL Alaska during the winter, not the fake Alaska that is rolled out every tourist season. There are more than 850,000 tourists that visit Alaska every summer. That is more than the population of the State. However, by winter time the number of tourists drop to ~100,000.

The vast majority of the tourist traps will be closed for the winter, but there are still lots of things to do. Fur Rondy is a month-long celebration in Anchorage during the month of February that culminates with the beginning of the Iditarod.

Fairbanks and points further north would be the ideal location for watching the northern lights. Nobody tops Valdez and Thompson Pass for their extreme skiing and snowboarding.

Winter is when Alaskans come out to play.

[notoriouskelly]

Heathen's post with maps is excellent.

I recommend skipping Juneau on this trip, and also Barrow, villages etc. That's too much territory to cover so you'd spend all of your time and money traveling.

Alaska is quite a place and, regardless of which time of year you visit, it'll be memorable.

[heathen]

Originally Posted by sweepout

The people I'm going with all love railroads though so im sure we'll be on that at some point.

Although I wouldn't recommend the railroad as your primary transportation, the out-and-back train trips from Portage to Grandview (just south of Anchorage), and from Skagway up over the mountains, are two of the most spectacular train trips in the world.