My 8.5 day Alaska itinerary

Daniella Nacad
May 30, 2022
11 min read

This trip was taken in September 2021.

Day 1: Scenic drive to Seward

We planned our first day in order to land in Alaska (Anchorage) as early as possible (~2PM). This way we had time to pick up our car, and take the AK1S and State Hwy 9 down to Seward. The scenic drive is STUNNING, and only ~130 miles. If driving straight south, it should take less than 2.5 hr (in good weather). Do keep in mind that there are a lot of overlooks and scenic areas to stop at, so our drive was *slightly* longer.

Our first stop was at the Beluga Point, which is a great location for beluga whale watching (season is from mid-July until the end of August) and you have the opportunity to take in the beautiful mountains of the Turnagain arm. There is a very large parking area in this overlook, which makes it even easier to access.

Our second stop was at the Portage Lake, closer to Seward. There are many other spots to visit (like the town of Girdwood, Byron Glacier, and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center), and the decision will be based solely on how much daylight you have, if you decide to stay at a mid-way town and the activities you are interested in pursuing. The Portage lake will provide access to the Portage Glacier as well (only visible by boat ride). Still, the lake is beautiful with a bright turquoise color characteristic of glacier lakes.

Finally, we arrived at Seward, where we booked an AirBnb with amazing views to the Resurrecting Bay. Exhausted from the day, we ventured to the town's main street (which is very small - and reservations are needed for most dinning locations) and were able to have some dinner at Seward Brewing Company, as well as do some basic grocery shopping for our stay.

End of Day 1.

Day 2: Kenai Fjords National Park

Day two started with clear skies that allowed some magnificent views of Resurrection Bay, which quickly took a turn for the worse with an incoming storm. Initially, we were booked for a last-day-of-the-season kayaking tour which was regretfully cancelled. We had booked with Liquid Adventures for their Aialik/Northwestern Kayak Explorer tour. September is a very rainy, transition month between all the summer activities and the colder months ahead, which allow for the initial views of the northern lights.

Thankfully, we decided on a plan B real quick, and hopped aboard a Major Marine Glacier Tour that took us from Resurrection Bay to Cape Aialik and back. The trip was BUMPY due to the storm (highly recommend taking some non-drowsy dramamine and ginger ale before departing), and were unable to venture beyond the Cape, but we saw tons of mountain goats, seals, sea lions, otters, a breeching humpback whale and so many Dall's porpoise! We were even able to see one lost horned puffin (their season is mainly May to early September) with help of binoculars that the tour company offers! The ride ended up being a ~4 hr trip, where you get to see the fjords and some of the larger glaciers.

Afterwards, we drove to the Nature Center of Kenai Fjords National Park, and walked to the "Glacier View" point - and slightly past it- via the Exit Glacier Overlook Trail. You can continue all the way to the overlook for another ~1.5 miles, and even take the Harding Icefield Trail (~8 mi roundtrip). The Exit Glacier is the ONLY part of the national park that is accessible by road. It is impressive to see the signs that tell you how far the glacier extended, and how much it has receded over the years.

We finished the day back at our AirBnb with a home-cooked meal. End of Day 2.

Day 3: Drive up North to Palmer

Mermaid Grotto Cafe was probably our favorite spot for breakfast in Seward. After some food and coffee- we started to drive back up to Anchorage. Initially, we had a helicopter tour booked, which was rescheduled to the next day due to -yes, you guessed correctly- the weather. Given this, we stopped at Potter Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary to stretch our legs half-way to our plan B site.

If you continue to drive, ~1 hr north of Anchorage and past the Chugach State Park, you will reach Palmer. You will exit at mile 26.5 at Eklutna and take a beautiful 10 mile drive through the mountains. Fall was in full splendor, and the drive was beautiful. We then parked at the Twins Peak Trail trailhead, and hiked up ~3 miles roundtrip to the Eklutna Lake overview (the hike actually has a couple of overlooks, before you make it to the final "bench" - so you can hike as far or as short as you wish) and if you are adventurous enough, you can continue to hike East Twin Peak or Pepper Peak.

After the hike, we headed back to Anchorage (pit stop at REI -because why not?- and so one of our friends could buy a bathing suit she had forgotten to bring) and then to our AirBnb for the night.

End of Day 3.

Day 4: Knik Glacier

Today was a LUCKY day! and our helicopter tour was not cancelled! We booked with Alaska Helicopter Tours a 60-minute landing ride to the Knik Glacier. This glacier is MASSIVE, spanning 25 miles out of the Chugach Mountains. The views from above are a never-ending sea of black moraine lines and -mostly- bright blues & whites. The tour lands atop the Glacier and provides crampons so you can safely walk in the ice. Make sure you take an empty water bottle so you can collect and drink some of the glacier water. I really have no words to describe the experience of walking on top of a glacier like this, and pictures don't do it all the justice it deserves. But I will leave some for you non-the-less!

We then drove 2 hr further north to the town of Talkeetna (fun fact- this town elected a cat named "Stubbs" as its mayor for 20 years), and stayed at what is possibly my favorite inn of all times. The Denalai Overlook Inn is managed by the MOST amazing people. Tim (your host) has incredible stories, and will set up a campfire and s'mores for you every night. The view from the inn overlooks the Alaskan Range (featuring Mount Denali and the surrounding high peaks) as long as weather permits it, and has a double swing chair out in the lawn for you to enjoy sunsets and sunrises.

We went out to dinner at the Denali Brew Pub, had some s'mores back at the inn and called it a day!

End of Day 4.

Day 5: A stroll around Talkeetna

Woke up to another rainy day in Talkeetna. We had booked a Denali Flyer with Glacier Landing tour with K2 Aviation which we were not able to do on either Day 5 or Day 6. We had allowed time for rescheduling, but the weather was simply not in our favor. This was probably the biggest disappointment of the trip, since it was the experience I wanted to do the most. The tour is meant to fly over Mount Denali - the tallest mountain in the American Continent - and then land on a glacier atop. It will definitely be easier to rely on weather during the summer months, and I would still recommend adding this tour as part of your trip (even when we weren't able to do it!). It is my #1 reason to go back to Alaska (as well as to visit the other national parks).

Tim, our host, was kind enough to provide a list of "rainy day" recommendations which you can find here, along with his 8-11 day Alaska itinerary. We decided to take a stroll in Talkeetna's Historic Downtown, and then hike the ~4.5 miles that encompass X-Y Lake Trails.

We finished with some pizza from Mountain High Pizza Pie and round two of S'mores at the inn, which turned into dinner followed by ice-cream and wine with amazing company! Overall, it was a day to rest and unwind.

End of Day 5.

Day 6: Denali National Park & the Aurora Borealis

Early breakfast at Denali Overlook Inn, followed by a 2.5 hr drive up north to Denali National Park. We made a quick stop at the sign and visitor center and then headed inside the park. Private vehicles are allowed until mile 15, then you can continue only if you have special permits or with the park shuttle/bus (currently, there is a landslide on mile 43 and it is as far as the shuttles/busses are operating). At mile 15, you can walk around the Savage River and hike up via the Savage Alpine Trail for a view of the mountain range. The 15 miles of drive inside Denali allow the opportunity to experience the vastness of this National Park, as well as spotting some wildlife if you're lucky!

There was not much to do in the immediate area outside the entrance to Denali National Park. The park's entrance is located at mile 237 of the George Park's Hwy, and by the time of our visit (mid-September) most restaurants, inns and hotels were already closed for the season.

Day six was a LONG day. After our visit to Denali NP, we continued our drive even further north to Fairbanks (two more hours!), where we stopped at Lemon Grass Thai Cuisine for some Pad Thai with Alaskan King Salmon. And then KEPT ON driving ~45 more minutes until we reached the Chena Hot Springs Resort, our hotel for the next 2 nights.

We had two good reasons for staying in such a remote area. The first one, this resort is set up right by a natural hot spring. And, second, Chena is world-renowned for being one of the BEST places on Earth to see the Aurora Borealis.

We took a quick nap until midnight, and then headed out -literally- to the parking lot (while freezing and drinking some wine in the car). One, two, and three in the morning came and went - and we were all just exhausted. Closer to 4 AM, and right when we were about to call it a night, a faint arch appeared in the sky. It was a cloudless, dark night, and all of a sudden that arch started shimmering and dancing, and divided into multiple green curtains and rays. And we cried, and screamed in our excitement, and laughed and danced with them. It was beautiful. Anywhere you looked the show just kept going. It has been one of the best experiences I have had - and was well worth the late night and lack of sleep.

Just as a tip, make sure you check the weather forecast and track the aurora in advanced so you can plan accordingly. There are a few websites that track the northern lights activity, one of which can be found here.

End of Day 6. :)

Day 7: Around Chena Hot Springs

We started with an early dip in the Hot Springs. The later in the day you go, the more crowded it gets, and we really wanted to experience the warm water and relax the most we could.

Chena Resort also offers massages and spa services. If you are interested in adding any special packages to your stay, make sure you book them in advanced.

For those not wishing to stay at Chena Hot Springs Resort, they do offer a daily pass of $15 p/p to use the hot springs, as well as transportation from Fairbanks, and Aurora Borealis tours. From our experience, while staying at the Resort we found that taking a tour was not needed. In fact, the tour arrived back at the resort before the light show started.

We proceeded to have some breakfast at the Resort's restaurant - which is the only place to eat in the vicinity. It was still fairly priced and the food was quite frankly delicious. No reservations needed for either breakfast or dinner, but do head earlier in the dinner time since the restaurant gets very busy with the tour visitors.

Afterwards, we took a day trip to the North Pole! This is a tiny city that is known for year-round Christmas decorations. It was a cute, quick visit. We had really good crepes at the North Pole Crepery, and headed back to Chena for dinner and a repeat Northern Light show. We were more aware of the timing on the second night, so we woke up at 3 AM just in time for the lights to come out again!

There are a couple of other tours out of Fairbanks that you can add to you itinerary if interested. The two most popular are the drive to the Arctic Circle (12-16 hr long) and Polar Bear Excursions to the Inupiat Eskimo villages of Barrow and Kaktovik (these were not operating due to the pandemic). You can also book a plane tour at night to see the Aurora Borealis from the sky, and dog-sledding tours if you visit late in the fall or winter.

End of Day 7.

Day 8: The Drive Down South

This was our last full day in Alaska. Honestly, I do not think we planned the drive south back to Anchorage appropriately. It takes seven hours to get back to Anchorage from Chena, plus stops. We departed very early in the morning, and took the scenic route down George Parks Hwy which allowed us to stop at the Denali View North (north to mile 162.7) and Denali Viewpoint South (Mile 135.2 Parks Hwy) for - FINALLY - some amazing views of Denali Mountain and the Alaskan Range. The drive also offers perfect views of the Talkeetna Mountain Range as well, and several other minor overlooks where you can stop to appreciate them.

There is another detour you can take before getting back to Anchorage. Set in the Talkeetna mountains, between the towns of Willow and Palmer, you will find Hatcher Pass. If you thought the other drives in Alaska were scenic, you are in for an unbeatable treat! Hatcher pass is accessible from two main entries, and if roughly located ~60 north of Anchorage. The pass is open in the summer time, depending on snow (although signs say pass is open July 4th - October 1st). The easiest and shortest way is taking the road from Palmer (you could add this when driving north via the Fishhook-Willow road). The road from Willow is only paved the first 10 miles and then turns into 22 miles of unpaved gravel, turning this into a much longer trip with stunning mountain views.

At the pass, you can stop all the way up at the summit, and also don't miss a chance to stop at the Hatcher Pass Lodge. You will feel like you were transported into The Sound of Music!

We then drove to the airport to drop off one of our friends. The drive to Anchorage was complicated by road closure which had us sitting in traffic for 3+ hours. She almost missed her flight, I'm still unsure how she didn't!

Later, we went to dinner at Glacier Brewhouse and stayed at the Lakefront Anchorage hotel close to the airport. Breakfast was included and delicious! Transportation to the airport is also available if needed.

End of Day 8.

Day 9: Flight back home

This was another incredible trip! So many things to look back on and many different experiences you can add on during the summer months!

September was a great "mix" of activities, although the weather was a little for the worse.

You can probably decide to do full on winter vs summer activity trip, or take a chance like we did and attempt to enjoy both!

There are many ways you can modify this trip. If going during summer, you can probably skip the drive up north to Fairbanks and Chena, since you will not be able to see the Northern Lights. If you do this, stay a few more days in Seward, and even venture out to Homer and Valdez. This way, you can enjoy ice climbing and camping in the Matanuska Glacier.

If you do not wish to deal with the hassle of driving a car, you can always relay on the Alaska Railroad, which has stops in Seward, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks (amongst others). You could also backpack and stay for days at Denali National Park. Again, it will all depend on your itinerary.

Now, what to pack for the fall?

As you could see, the weather was extremely erratic! But I will leave you a list of the absolute essentials:

Waterproof pants are a must for boat rides, kayaking and hiking (if rain forecasted or river crossings involved). Mine are from REI Co-Op, affordable and practical.
Rain jacket / ski jacket (depending on weather) and windbreaker of choice.
Layers, layers and MORE layers! Merino wool if you can afford it, specially for socks!
Please, don't be like our friend and forget your bathing suit! We also always cary sandals / flip flops.
Gloves and a warm hat.
Water bottle and/or reservoir
Hiking boots (if hiking is in your plans - which it should always be!)
A microfiber hand/small towel - came in handy multiple times!
Sunglasses and sunscreen always!
Waterproof backpack or dry sacks. We use sea-to-summit bags, and I also love my Aloha splash-proof bags for travel!

As always, reach out if you need any extra help!

Cheers! And keep on vacationing!