Things to do in Alaska?

Fish !!!!

Near Anchorage, I quite enjoyed visiting the Independence Mine state historical park. Interesting stuff, and a beautiful setting in the mountains.

This thread should help. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27204787.cfm

Along with the thousands of other posts on this board.

A great boat trip is on the Danny J from Homer Spit to Halibut Cove. Beautiful trip and Halibut Cove is where Oto Kilcher picked up the horses because the summer grass is poison to them. Oto of the Alaskan the Last Frontier TV show.

Nice picture. If you ask an Alaskan they will tell you they are going to split the state so that Texas is the third largest state. Also interesting to overlay Alaska on the lower 48 as it stretches from Savannah to San Francisco.

We enjoyed the Barge 8 and Riverboat tours in Fairbanks. 230 miles? Isn't that just an Alaskan commute? Of course Denali and other interesting sights are on along the trip south. A very interesting CG on the way to Homer is Deep Water State CG and it's boat launching.

But there is so much more to the Kenai Peninsula that I could type for hours. We arrived at Hope for their CG but all of the town roads were closed for a wedding. We tried to stay on the Kenai River during the salmon run but there was an Alaskan every 6'. And bad traffic as the taxis were taking the floaters back upstream. That's Alaska! And a few more hundred miles will get you to Valdez which was also enjoyable.

If you go to Whitter and want to hike, there is a great one off Portage Glacier Road. Hike up to glacier (hope it's still there, I did it in 2005).

Doubt you can get a camp site, but try Denali. Denali Highway from Paxson east to Parks Highway. Fairbanks has some nice stuff you could do on the way out of Alaska. University of Alaska Fairbanks has a great museum, Chena Hot Springs, North Pole, Chena Lakes Recreations Area (great sites). If you do go via Fairbanks go to Valdez and salmon or halibut fish. Valdez is a great little town. Bear Paw II is right in town. the other one is closer to the harbor.

McCarthy, old mining town is awesome. Google it. Good hiking trails.

I coudl go on and on.

What to do in Los Anchorage:

- FWIW, if you want to visit Homer, then go for it as a "Visit Homer" objective. It's too far and (strictly IMNSHO) not worth the travel other than just for the scenery as a "meanwhile" activity while visiting Anchorage
- Some folks like the Native Heritage Center...
- Hike in Chugach State Park from either Glen Alps or Upper Huffman parking areas...or from any number of stops between Anchorage and Girdwood: at a minimum, there's nice mountain views from near the Glen Alps parking lot..or one could climb Flattop (short but fairly aggressive) from Glen Alps.
- Alaska Aviation Museum on Lake Hood
- Anchorage Museum "downtown" on 6th & somewhere ( I can picture it, can't remember the address)
- Have a drink or two at the Millenium Hotel on Lake Hood and watch the float plane traffic
- Visit Portage Glacier Visitor center...bit ho-hum but interesting nevertheless.....
- ....as is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center also in Portage
- Take the 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier.
- Go fishing out of either Whittier or Seward if interested. Seward (2.5 hours from Los Anchorage) is a neat little town to visit on it's own merits aside from the "what can I do from here" aspect. If you have a whole day, take the Alaska Railroad to and back from Seward
- Whitewater rafting is available around Hope (going south from Anchorage) or on the Matanuska River (going North)
- A visit to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center is kind of neat, even if not for a specific purpose.
- Watering holes that I like: F Street Station, Sullivan's Steakhouse, Club Paris, Ginger (all downtown, Club Paris and Ginger are good restaurants, for their cuisine types, as well); 7 Glaciers (at the top of Mount Alyeska, also a good restaurant);
- Flightseeing (of various lengths/costs) from Lake Hood
- Eagle River Visitor Center at Chugach State Park (Not the Eagle River campground)

We were there in 1999 and 2009 and found plenty open at night in the city. Head to the water and take a walk. In Palmer go to the Musk Ox farm, Reindeer farm and in Anchorage the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Go down to Seward and go to the Alaska SeaLife center. Go to Homer and walk the beaches, talk to the artists, go halibut fishing, visit the galleries and relax. You can horse back ride in Anchorage as well. Go to TripAdvisor.com and take a look at what's in the area.

MDKMDK wrote:
There's even a Starbucks and a McDonalds there.
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Those are the things I am running away from ;)
Thanks for the tips.

Go to Homer. Nice little town. Side trip to Whittier through the tunnel. Then back on track and side trip to Seward, backtrack and on to Cooper Landing and Soldotna before hitting the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World (at least that's what it says on the sign).
Camp in the Homer Spit municipal campground. It was around $15 night per spot, IIRC. No hookups, but the scenery can't be beat, and the eateries and shops are also plentiful along the spit. Visit the "Rum Locker" for supplies if so desired (ahem?). There's even a Starbucks and a McDonalds there.

Basically, just explore the Kenai Peninsula. If you get lucky, the weather will be good.