Sitka--that's my favorite place in Alaska! Everyone who goes to Alaska needs to go there at least once. It has incredible scenery, history, wildlife (fishing, whale watching, bear viewing, etc.), and native culture.
Second is Denali National Park just for the views of the mountain on a clear day and of course the wildlife. Third might be the Kobuk Valley--now a national park--with its jade mines, sand dunes, and Brooks Range backdrop. Fourth would be Valdez just for the drive over Thompson Pass, the cruise on the Arm on a sunny day, and NO cruise ship passengers! Fifth might be the Haines area due to all the wildlife you can view and photograph there. Even though it does occasionally get a small cruise ship or two, they don't stay long.
For honorable mentions, Kodiak Island is an interesting place to visit, but, unless you are there for fishing, you can see everything in a couple of days. The towns along the Iditarod Trail and the Yukon River like Ruby, Galena, Unalakleet, and Nome are also worth a visit. In summer, they are certainly off the beaten path for RVers and cruise ship passengers, which in itself makes them more interesting. But the native culture and history of those villages is worth exploring. Hyder-Stewart, BC, is also an interesting place to visit. The bear-viewing and views from above Salmon Glacier are unique and Hyder sort of reminds me of what Talkeetna was like in the early 1970's.
In 1972, Seward was my favorite but these days, despite its beautiful setting, it is overrun with cruise ship passengers. Talkeetna was also one of my favorites back then when it was just a railroad stop and the Parks Highway had just been completed. Today same problem--too many cruise ship passengers. And these days Skagway wouldn't even make my top 20 list with as many as five 2,000-passenger cruise ships there on a single day! And you can have the Aleutians too. Adak and Shemya, while historically interesting, are definitely not on my top 10 list.
One of these days I hope to get to Lake Clark before mining ruins it. Then maybe it will become my third favorite place in Alaska.
"Retirement is the best job I ever had!"
2015 RAM 2500 4x4 crewcab 6.7L CTD; 2016 Rockwood Signature UltraLite 5th wheel
