In a state this vast and varied, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Even for the seasoned explorer, figuring out where to go, what to do, when and how can feel like an adventure too far.
This guide attempts to ease some of those doubts. We’ve provided expert guidance on each of Alaska’s main adventure travel destinations, with handy reference charts on the types of activities to be found in each one, along with all the essential trip planning information you’ll need.
No guidebook can be a replacement for wilderness survival and navigation skills, so treat all the information contained in these pages as indicative. With the right skills and knowledge, independent adventure travel to Alaska is entirely possible, but you might find the safety, comfort and convenience of a professionally guided trip an appealing prospect.
There’s the great outdoors and then there’s the wilderness. And then, in a category all of its own, there’s Alaska.
Just two million tourists visit Alaska each year--a drop in the ocean for a space that is larger than the next three states combined. And yet of that number, only a tiny fraction get to see the true Alaska in all its awesome glory.
If you thought everything about the USA was big, well, Alaska is just... bigger. It's the country's largest state, home to both the country’s biggest National Park, Wrangell-St Elias, and highest peak, Mount Denali. Everything here is on an epic scale and there's adventure everywhere. You can paddle across silent fjords with snowy peaks towering above you, watch huge grizzlies pluck glistening salmon from icy rivers, hear the howl of wolves from your cabin in the dark of night and gaze skywards at the shimmering fireworks of the Northern Lights.
There are few roads, so you'll need to hop aboard a light plane to enter the wilderness where musk oxen, grey wolves, bears and caribou roam wild and free. Alaska is a place to encounter nature in all its raw, ethereal beauty ‒ and perhaps to find yourself again as you do so.
From May to the end of July, much of Alaska experiences 24-hour daylight. Take this surreal opportunity to head out hiking after midnight in the perpetual twilight.
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