A cruise is the easiest way to explore the USA’s inaccessible northernmost territory.
Claire Webb - 18 February 2020
You don’t have to be an intrepid explorer to get a taste of raw wilderness… try boat, train, car or plane
British couples are hoping to win the keys to their dream home in Win the Wilderness: an Alaskan house 100 miles from the nearest road. To prove themselves worthy, they’ve had to fell trees, cross glaciers and brave freezing waters.
But you don’t need to be a hardy adventurer to get a taste of Alaska’s raw wilderness. The 49th State is an ideal cruise destination, while its empty highways and 500-mile Alaska Railroad meander through the untamed interior. In its vast national parks, you can spot bears, caribou and eagles. Peak season is summer, when the average daytime temperature in Anchorage is 16°C. While at this time of year, the mercury drops to sub-zero and the state is buried under snow.
SAIL THE INSIDE PASSAGE
A cruise is the easiest way to explore the USA’s inaccessible northernmost territory. Its craggy coastline rises and falls with brooding peaks and towering glaciers, and sightings of orcas and humpback whales are common in its icy waters. The most popular itinerary is a round trip from Vancouver or Seattle via the Inside Passage – a sheltered waterway that meanders past Pacific Ocean islands and fjords. Ports of call include Alaska’s isolated capital Juneau, the Gold Rush town of Skagway, Russian-influenced Sitka and Ketchikan, which is a centre for Native Alaskan cultures. Expedition cruises on smaller ships allow passengers to get closer to the epic scenery and wildlife, but are more expensive. Excursions range from guided hikes and kayaking to helicopter trips and seaplane tours.
Gulf of Alaska voyages also venture further north to Seward or Whittier – the gateway ports for Anchorage. The cruise season runs from late April to September, and the warmer, wetter months offer the best chance of spotting wildlife.
RIDE THE RAILS
The Alaskan Railroad runs year-round and wends from Fairbanks to Anchorage in 12 hours, stopping at Denali National Park. The final 114-mile stretch (the Coastal Classic route) is the most spectacular. After leaving Anchorage, the railway follows the coast, then burrows through backcountry and the Kenai Mountains, winding past blue glaciers, thundering waterfalls and crossing a gorge. The final stop is the harbour town of Seward, where you can search for otters, whales, sea lions, porpoises, bald eagles and puffins on a boat trip around Resurrection Bay.
The narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is also stupendous. Linking Skagway with Whitehorse in Canada, it climbs nearly 3,000 feet in just 20 miles and snakes past glaciers, gorges and waterfalls. Built in the 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush, it’s a mind-boggling feat of engineering that required tens of thousands of men and 450 tons of explosives.
EPIC ROAD TRIP
Only 20 per cent of Alaska is accessible by road, but its highways are refreshingly free of billboards, motels and traffic jams. Its most famous road is the Parks Highway, which links Anchorage and Fairbanks. On a clear day, North America’s loftiest peak, Mount Denali, is visible from the road. The shorter Seward Highway glides past dramatic coastal scenery. It starts in Anchorage and skirts mountains, lakes, glaciers and bird-rich wetlands. If you don’t fancy being behind the wheel, you can take the bus. The Park Connection Motor coach operates between Anchorage, Denali National Park and Seward in summer. The 1,500-mile Alaska Highway connects the 49th State with “the Lower 48”, after traversing Canada’s Yukon and British Columbia.
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Alaska’s most popular national park is Denali, which is over half the size of Switzerland, and home to grizzlies, moose, lynx, wolves and golden eagles. The awesome centrepiece is the snow-capped 20,310ft Mount Denali, although you’re more likely to see a bear: the lonely peak is often blanketed in cloud.
Most visitors explore the park’s forest, tundra and glaciers on a bus tour, or stick to its waymarked trails. But the best way to enjoy this untamed landscape is to hike off-trail: join a guided trek if you don’t fancy meeting a bear. A more leisurely but expensive option is a scenic flight or helicopter trip. In winter, you can do cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fatbiking and dog-sledding. Alaska has seven other national parks. Katmai is the best for bear-spotting, while Glacier Bay’s pristine coastline sparkles with tidewater glaciers and cool-blue icebergs. The biggest is WrangellSt Elias, bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined.
You don’t have to be an intrepid explorer to get a taste of raw wilderness… try boat, train, car or plane
British couples are hoping to win the keys to their dream home in Win the Wilderness: an Alaskan house 100 miles from the nearest road. To prove themselves worthy, they’ve had to fell trees, cross glaciers and brave freezing waters.
But you don’t need to be a hardy adventurer to get a taste of Alaska’s raw wilderness. The 49th State is an ideal cruise destination, while its empty highways and 500-mile Alaska Railroad meander through the untamed interior. In its vast national parks, you can spot bears, caribou and eagles. Peak season is summer, when the average daytime temperature in Anchorage is 16°C. While at this time of year, the mercury drops to sub-zero and the state is buried under snow.
SAIL THE INSIDE PASSAGE
A cruise is the easiest way to explore the USA’s inaccessible northernmost territory. Its craggy coastline rises and falls with brooding peaks and towering glaciers, and sightings of orcas and humpback whales are common in its icy waters. The most popular itinerary is a round trip from Vancouver or Seattle via the Inside Passage – a sheltered waterway that meanders past Pacific Ocean islands and fjords. Ports of call include Alaska’s isolated capital Juneau, the Gold Rush town of Skagway, Russian-influenced Sitka and Ketchikan, which is a centre for Native Alaskan cultures. Expedition cruises on smaller ships allow passengers to get closer to the epic scenery and wildlife, but are more expensive. Excursions range from guided hikes and kayaking to helicopter trips and seaplane tours.
Gulf of Alaska voyages also venture further north to Seward or Whittier – the gateway ports for Anchorage. The cruise season runs from late April to September, and the warmer, wetter months offer the best chance of spotting wildlife.
RIDE THE RAILS
The Alaskan Railroad runs year-round and wends from Fairbanks to Anchorage in 12 hours, stopping at Denali National Park. The final 114-mile stretch (the Coastal Classic route) is the most spectacular. After leaving Anchorage, the railway follows the coast, then burrows through backcountry and the Kenai Mountains, winding past blue glaciers, thundering waterfalls and crossing a gorge. The final stop is the harbour town of Seward, where you can search for otters, whales, sea lions, porpoises, bald eagles and puffins on a boat trip around Resurrection Bay.
The narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is also stupendous. Linking Skagway with Whitehorse in Canada, it climbs nearly 3,000 feet in just 20 miles and snakes past glaciers, gorges and waterfalls. Built in the 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush, it’s a mind-boggling feat of engineering that required tens of thousands of men and 450 tons of explosives.
EPIC ROAD TRIP
Only 20 per cent of Alaska is accessible by road, but its highways are refreshingly free of billboards, motels and traffic jams. Its most famous road is the Parks Highway, which links Anchorage and Fairbanks. On a clear day, North America’s loftiest peak, Mount Denali, is visible from the road. The shorter Seward Highway glides past dramatic coastal scenery. It starts in Anchorage and skirts mountains, lakes, glaciers and bird-rich wetlands. If you don’t fancy being behind the wheel, you can take the bus. The Park Connection Motor coach operates between Anchorage, Denali National Park and Seward in summer. The 1,500-mile Alaska Highway connects the 49th State with “the Lower 48”, after traversing Canada’s Yukon and British Columbia.
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Alaska’s most popular national park is Denali, which is over half the size of Switzerland, and home to grizzlies, moose, lynx, wolves and golden eagles. The awesome centrepiece is the snow-capped 20,310ft Mount Denali, although you’re more likely to see a bear: the lonely peak is often blanketed in cloud.
Most visitors explore the park’s forest, tundra and glaciers on a bus tour, or stick to its waymarked trails. But the best way to enjoy this untamed landscape is to hike off-trail: join a guided trek if you don’t fancy meeting a bear. A more leisurely but expensive option is a scenic flight or helicopter trip. In winter, you can do cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, fatbiking and dog-sledding. Alaska has seven other national parks. Katmai is the best for bear-spotting, while Glacier Bay’s pristine coastline sparkles with tidewater glaciers and cool-blue icebergs. The biggest is WrangellSt Elias, bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined.