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Discover Places to Go and Things to Do
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Anchorage, AK
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A mix of the familiar and the unusual, the metropolitan and the rustic, Anchorage is a place where it is not uncommon to see moose walking through the parking lot of a downtown skyscraper, or to find yourself stuck in traffic as dogs fill the road as they begin the Iditarod sled dog race.
Government Hill The oldest district and the northernmost part of Anchorage, Government Hill was one of many places to feel the destruction of the 1964 earthquake. When 400 feet of its bluff collapsed, it destroyed a school and dropped the railroad yard and shipyard by 30 feet. Only partially rebuilt, its shipyard has six fuel ports, which handle approximately 15 million barrels of petroleum each year. The  Alaska Railroad operates daily with freight and passenger service.
Government Hill The oldest district and the northernmost part of Anchorage, Government Hill was one of many places to feel the destruction of the 1964 earthquake. When 400 feet of its bluff collapsed, it destroyed a school and dropped the railroad yard and shipyard by 30 feet. Only partially rebuilt, its shipyard has six fuel ports, which handle approximately 15 million barrels of petroleum each year. The Alaska Railroad operates daily with freight and passenger service.
Ship Creek Ship Creek was selected as the original tenting site of the pioneers who arrived in the area to build the railroad in 1914 and 1915. They first filled the area located nearby, Ship Creek , then spread north up to Government Hill.
Visitors who come during summer can experience the fun of amusement rides, car races and the Saturday Market . Ship Creek is also a great place to be when the salmon are spawning, and it provides excellent salmon fishing, as approximately 9,000 king salmon spawn here yearly. The large parking lots used by fishermen in summer play host to the ice sculpting contests held during February's Fur Rendezvous Festival .
Downtown An area teeming with activity and filled with high-rise buildings, businesses, restaurants and hotels, Downtown allows you to experience both the historic and the modern within the space of several blocks. From the small log cabin that houses the Visitor's Center , you will find yourself in view of such hotels as the landmark Captain Cook Hotel , the Marriott and the Hilton . Several blocks away are glass-walled skyscrapers housing offices for multi-billion-dollar oil companies and other businesses. Nearby, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts offers local and international opera, theater, dance, chorus and symphony performances. From that building's second floor, take the Fifth Avenue skywalk to overlook the town square as you walk toward the Egan Convention Center . Here also is the Anchorage Fifth Avenue Mall . Finally, don't miss Captain Cook's Resolution Park platform at the Inlet's edge. With the telescope available, you can close the 120-mile gap between yourself and Mt. McKinley and see why this 20,320-foot mountain is referred to as the "Great One."
Midtown In this "practical district," you will find schools, gas stations and grocery stores spread across an alluvial plane. You can find any type of food here—from Greek and Italian to Chinese and Japanese—as well as a selection of busy nightclubs. Shopping choices here include the R.E.I. outdoor store, Barnes & Noble Bookstore and more. Meanwhile, such establishments as the Northern Lights Hotel, the Hampton Inn and SpringHill Suites welcome guests to the area.
Spenard District—Central, West Considered the "red light district" in the 1970s and 80s due to the heavy presence of massage parlors and escort services, this area has since witnessed a revitalization program that has cleaned up the area and brought in many new businesses. The closest thing to "bohemia" in Anchorage, this district is home to new cafes and juice bars such as the Organic Oasis and the Q Cafe. Some of the older Anchorage flavors remain, such as Chilkoot Charlie's Nightclub , with its dirt floor and stump seating, and The Fly By Night Club , which hosts musical and comedy acts. An old-time local favorite is Gwennies , an Alaskan-style restaurant. New hotels such as the Holiday Inn Express and older ones such as the Millennium Alaskan and the Best Western Barratt Inn conveniently serve visitors staying in the airport area.
South District This trail-filled district begins at Dimond Boulevard, home to the Dimond Center and its more than 200 shops. The Siam Cuisine restaurant and the Southside Bistro provide the area with a couple of first-class, yet still casual, dining options. Pockets of business dot the residential areas, which are made up of wide yards and quiet streets. Campbell Creek Greenbelt winds its way through the South and Midtown districts, beginning at Dimond Boulevard and stretching three miles to the east, meanwhile passing by salmon-spawning streams and several small lakes. A number of residential areas circle bodies of water such as Campbell Lake , which is also a floatplane runway; many residents park their floatplanes in their "backyards" here.
Also in this district, on the far west end, is Kincaid Park . This locale is home to the Blues on the Green music festival, and it also hosts many other special events and races on its 40 square miles of beautiful, wild, moose-filled woods. You can access Kincaid Park by traveling from the downtown Tony Knowles Coastal Trail to its southernmost point, which ends at Kincaid .
University District—Central Tucked between Midtown and Muldoon, this district is composed of the University of Alaska, Anchorage and the private Alaska Pacific University . Together, they swallow up an expanse of nearly one square mile, which is home to two small lakes and a multitude of walking and biking trails. On these casual campuses, professors are nearly always referred to by their first names, while students sometimes cross-country ski to class. Many sky bridges and buildings are joined by hallways in order to help students escape the elements. Across the street from the Providence Medical Center, the UAA campus is home to the popular Seawolves hockey team, which recruits both international and local players onto its roster.
East—Northeast This blue-collar neighborhood contains the Alaskan Native Heritage Center , the Botanical Gardens and the attention-grabbing Saint Innocent Orthodox Cathedral, with its 12 onion-shaped domes. You will also find restaurants such as the vegetarian-friendly Thai Kitchen . Beyond this area, which acts as the northeastern boundary of Anchorage, lie the Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Bases as well as the city of Eagle River.
C. Whitefield
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By alaska
8 days
<div style="float: right"><a href="http://www.alaskatours.com/driving/alaskas_finest.htm" target="Alaska"><img src="images/AlaskaTours.jpg"/></a></div>
Tour 1548CTA - See Alaska in style! Join us on an exciting adventure featuring Alaska's finest accommodations and destinations. Features include the glaciers of Prince William Sound, the awe of Mt. McKinley and the wildlife of Denali National Park.
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By Ingrid
10 days
Point your motor home south from Anchorage and discover days of fun and unparalleled adventure. The scenery along Alaska's Seward Highway is breathtaking. That's why it has been designated a National Forest Scenic Byway. You'll travel along the beautiful highways & byways & appreciate nature in its pristine state.
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11 people reviewed Anchorage
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Top
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at 7:50AM January 31, 2009
Lived here for a month when I was 11?
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at 9:00PM July 12, 2008
Bear Hunting at its best
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at 10:20AM June 27, 2008
Went to a lot of cool places, Seward, Alaska, the Kenai penninsula. Saw tons of wildlife.
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at 3:24AM May 29, 2008
Small city with good restaurants. Probably a great place to catch a cruise or start your Alaska adventure but don't spend more than a few days here!
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at 12:26AM May 29, 2008
Your typical big city (400K people or so) in a beautiful location: nestled between the Chugiak mountains and the Prince William Sound. The city is filled with flowers during the summer. Winter temps are much milder than Interior Alaska. If you enjoy downhill skiing, Alyeska Resort is a great place to go in the winter.
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at 5:02PM May 28, 2008
The best! You have to see Alaska to appriciate it. I spent one month tehre, driving around Alaska, from Anchorage-sewerard-Mt.Deneli-Fairbanks-Alaskan Highway-Haines junction-Haines Ak-Sitka-Juneo-Valdiez-Anchorage.
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at 3:12PM May 28, 2008
Some of what I see has to do with locaton and having family in Europe. If I could work it out, I'd like to see the last Frontier!
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at 3:07PM May 28, 2008
Went here in May 2004. The city was ok, pretty normal city, but you will be driving around and there will just be a huge moose sitting on the side of the road, chilling out. Thats a little funny to witness. Also, definitely travel away from the city and check out the glaciers, so you can listen to the cracking noise they make as they move-one of the most beautiful noises I have ever heard in my life. Oh! When you are in the city eat some reindeer. It is on the menu in a lot of restaurants and is very good! I also traveled to a reindeer farm and was able to feed a moose an apple. How many people can say they have fed a moose an apple? We went in early May, and the sun was up until about 11pm. After that there was a strange bluish glow in the sky until about 3am, and I think the sun came up again around 6am? Not exactly sure but was pretty neat looking at the odd glow in the sky in the early morning!
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at 2:52PM May 28, 2008
I didn't see much of Anchorage but that doesn't matter cause I would not remember seeing it anyways. It's the only city I've ever been to where you can see Bald Eagles flying high over an 4 way stop intersection. If Blues Travelers come to town I suggest you skip the show because they suck. Spend your money on local strippers.
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at 8:06PM May 27, 2008
Not a very nice city.
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at 6:40PM May 27, 2008
Nothing special here; Skip and proceed to Denali...
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