Adventure & Ecotourism

Information Courtesy of TravelAlaska.com

National Parks

Alaska is a national parks paradise. The state is home to the largest national park in the country (Wrangell-St. Elias) the tallest mountain in North America (Mount McKinley, at Denali National Park and Preserve) and the awesome spectacle of Glacier Bay, to name just a few among the state’s 19 federally designated parks, historical sites and wild rivers.

Information

National Park Service
240 West 5th Avenue, Room 114, Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 644-3512
www.nps.gov/akso/

Top 12 Hikes

One of the best things about hiking in Alaska is that high adventure can be had only minutes from civilization.

The following hikes offer a great beginner’s tour of the Alaska’s trail system. Some of them are exceptional for their unparalleled beauty, others for their remoteness. Some are short. Others are long. And if you have the time, they are all worth the effort.

1. King Mountain, Seward Peninsula
2. Resurrection Pass, Kenai Peninsula
3. Lost Lake, Seward
4. Termination Point, Kodiak Island
5. Twin Peaks, Eklutna Lake
6. Kesugi Ridge, Denali State Park
7. Pinnell Mountain, Fairbanks
8. Perseverance Trail and Granite Creek, Juneau
9. Chilkoot Pass, Skagway
10. Saddlebag Glacier, Cordova
11. Deer Mountain, Ketchikan
12. Flattop, Anchorage

Birding

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that 468 species of birds have been identified in the state, and the department’s new Wings Over Alaska program encourages birders to seek out as many of them as possible.

Off-road Alaska

If you’re interested in getting into Alaska’s backcountry, consider touring the back roads by Jeep of by four-wheeler. Alaska Travel Adventures’ Backcountry Jeep Safaris are the only Jeep tours in Alaska.

Information

• Alaska Travel Adventures
  9085 Glacier Highway, Suite 301
  Juneau, AK 99801
  (800) 478-0052 in Alaska or (800) 791-2673 outside Alaska
  www.alaskaadventures.com
• Alaska ATV Adventures
  17023 Kantishna Drive
  Eagle River, AK 99577
  (907) 694-1521
  www.alaskaatvadventures.com

Yachting

When many people think of Alaska, they think of roughing it in the great outdoors. But Alaska has something to offer those who prefer a bit more luxury in their wild adventures, too. There are dozens of yachts plying the waters of Alaska waiting to introduce you to the joys of lodging at sea.

Most of the luxury yachting opportunities can be found in Southeast Alaska, although there are cruising options in Prince William Sound, Kodiak and other coastal areas of Southcentral Alaska as well.

Prince William Sound, with its countless glaciers and quaint waterfront communities, is another excellent place to go yachting, especially because it gets fewer seagoing vessels than Southeast. Corsair Charters is one of the only options — and luckily quite an excellent choice — for those traveling in this part of the state.

Further west, experience some of the state’s best fishing in Kodiak.

Flightseeing Glaciers

There are nearly 100,000 glaciers in Alaska, which take up some 29,000 square miles. These giant icefields dip into the coastal areas of Southeast and Southcentral Alaska. They shimmer among mountain passes in the far north. Some of them even come right out to greet visitors, and walking on them is just a matter of driving up and setting foot on ice.

The greatest concentration of glaciers can be found from the Alaska Range south to the Alaska Peninsula and in Southeast Alaska. It is in Southeast that access to glaciers is easiest. A good 5,000 square miles of ice cover the land in this region, and with population centers like Juneau, Sitka and Skagway nearby, there are guides to help you get there.

FLYING

Perhaps the grandest way to capture a glacial moment in Southeast is to fly over these massive mountains of ice and, perhaps, land for a better look. Helicopter flight tours are available from Juneau, Skagway, Petersburg and Haines, among other towns.

TREKKING

For those that want the “up close and personal” view, glacier trekking actually gives clients a chance to land on the ice, strap on a pair of crampons and go walking. Temsco and Era offer two-hour walks and mini-expeditions, although Juneau’s NorthStar Trekking is the leader in this adventure category.

DOG MUSHING

One of Alaska’s most popular glacier outings includes riding a dog sled behind a team of Alaskan huskies, raring to run. Mushing is currently available out of Juneau, Skagway and Seward. Visitors land by helicopter, hop on a sled and drive a dog team across the ice.

CAMPING

As beautiful as they are, glaciers can be unpredictable. They recede, they advance, they break off in giant pieces and they are riddled with cavernous crevasses. Weather conditions dictate a glacier’s safety, and those who are experienced on the ice are the ones who should be in charge. If your idea of glacier adventure involves any hardcore ice climbing, camping or backcountry exploration, go with a guide.

Information

• Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau
  One Sealaska Plaza, Suite 305,
  Juneau, AK 99801
  (800) 587-2201

Ecofriendly Photo Safaris

Raucous shorebirds, animated brown bears, calving glaciers and shimmering northern lights — these images capture the heart of Alaska. It is no wonder that world-class professionals, photography buffs and even those who have a point-and-shoot camera with lots of film to burn are lured to the Last Frontier.

In Alaska, there are a small number of guides that cater to photographers interested in taking photographic tours of various parts of the state.

Karst Formations (a.k.a. caves)

Prince of Wales – located near Ketchikan along the Inside Passage – is home to some 636 caves or “karst” formations, a term that collectively includes closed depressions, sinkholes, collapsed channels and caves.

The Prince of Wales caves are not as large as some other well-known caves in the United States, like those at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  The cave know as El Capitan is the only one in which tours are given. It is a place rich in archaeological history, dating back 3,400 years. The limestone surrounding El Capitan was formed about 400 million years ago. Tectonic shifts caused areas where the limestone deposits were worked away by rain and glacial retreats, creating a landscape pockmarked by caves.

Information

• Prince of Wales Chamber of Commerce
  P.O. Box 497, Craig, AK 99921
  (907) 826-3870
  www.princeofwalescoc.org