Alaska's Northern Route | 4x4

Anchorage is not the capital of Alaska (that’s Juneau), but it’s by far the biggest city in the state, and home to about half of the population. If you arrive early in the day, consider a visit to either the Anchorage Museum of History and Arts, or the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Other good options include a walk along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, or – if you’re not too tired after a long flight – a hike up the popular trail to Flattop Mt.

Most car rentals companies offer airport pickup, with the exception of some local agencies who are located a short taxi ride away.

Overnight: Anchorage, AK

This morning you’ll head north towards one of Alaska’s most well-known attractions, Denali National Park. The park is named after the highest mountain in North America (20,320 feet), located within its boundaries. Along the way, consider a stop at Talkeetna, famous for its vibrant social life and for being the logistical center for mountain climbers attempting to summit “The Big One”. Talkeetna is located 2.5 hrs north of Anchorage, and the park’s entrance is about three more hours further north.

Overnight: Denali National Park, AK

Denali National Park spans over 6 million acres; this is probably the most accessible place in the state to meet Alaska’s famously charismatic wildlife. The park is crossed by one gravel road, and today’s plan is to use it to get a deep look into the park. The Park’s system of tours and shuttle buses allows for great chances of spotting bears, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, wolves, and more. The dramatic mountain views and the chance to see Denali’s peak, provide superb photo-ops.

Overnight: Denali National Park, AK

The Denali Highway is actually not within the boundaries of Denali National Park. To be honest, it’s not a real highway, either – it’s a 135-mile long, isolated and very scenic road. This used to be the main access road to Denali National Park before the construction of the Parks Hwy in the 1970’s. These days it’s not used much, and most people that drive it are either outside visitors or locals using the road as basecamp for hunting trips.

Leaving Denali Park and heading east, the road parallels the steep Mountains of the Alaska Range, winding next to huge rivers scattered trees and open tundra. Keep your eyes open: this road offers countless chances for wildlife encounters, most commonly caribou, moose, bald eagle, swans and beavers.

The road is not perfectly maintained and it could get a bit rough in places, especially after long rainy spells, but overall it’s not a difficult drive and it’s arguably one of the most scenic roads in Alaska. A few isolated lodges located not far from the east end of the road offer the only accommodations options in this remote corner of the state.

Overnight: Paxson, Alaska

Your destination today is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park – a huge park that forms a part of the largest natural reserve complex in the world (along with adjacent parks in Canada and Alaska). The Park contains some of the tallest mountains in North America, the highest of them all being Mount St. Elias (18,000 feet).

The town of McCarthy and the ghost town of Kennicott, only five miles apart, are located in the heart of the park and getting to them is an adventure in itself.  The only road into the east side of the park is the Mccarthy Road, a scenic and narrow gravel road with a rather rough reputation. That reputation is not always deserved (it used to be much rougher in the past), and the drive to the town of Mccarthy typically takes about 2.5 hours. The road offers some fantastic views, especially when following the immense Copper River and crossing the super-deep Kuskulana Canyon.

McCarthy is a tiny outpost that developed alongside the Kennecott mines, super-rich copper mines which operated here in the early 20th century and eventually abandoned in the 1930s. The difficult access prevents this area from becoming a big-numbers tourist attraction, which is exactly how the locals want to keep it.

The afternoon hours will be dedicated to exploring Wrangell St. Elias National park from the air. Since the park is so huge, the only way to properly see it and understand the landscape is flying over it. Fortunately, the local air taxi offers some incredible flightseeing trips. If you wanted to see glaciers and mountains, this is your lucky day.

The flight is 50 mins long (upgrades are available), and it ends at the Mccarthy airport.

Overnight: Kennicott / McCarthy, AK

A short walking distance from the deserted ghost town of Kennicott lays the white ice of the Root Glacier. This will be your playground for the first half of the day: The local guides will meet you in the morning, and lead you on the 2 mile hike along the glacier to the access point. You’ll spend the next few hours hiking, observing and photographing the glacier’s unique landscape: waterfalls disappearing into the ice, ice caves, turquoise pools and super-clear meandering streams. You’ll get the professional gear (crampons and gloves) from the guides; the physical challenge is not more extreme than a regular hike and the whole experience is a true highlight. The tour ends back in Kennicott around 2-3 pm; group size is typically 8-10 people. Extended tours and / or privately guided departures are available at an extra cost (and if you truly feel adventurous, ask us about the ice climbing option).

The afternoon could be spent in a number of ways: you could tour the remnants of Kennicott’s deserted buildings independently, or you could do it as a guided tour (*not included). Tours are about 2.5 hrs long and are well worth the effort and the minor extra cost. Another great option is to take the shuttle down to Mccarthy and visit the local bar for an evening of live music and loud locals.

Accommodations in Kennicott or McCarthy.

Overnight: Kennicott / McCarthy, AK

This morning, drive the Mccarthy Road back from McCarthy to Chitina. Once reunited with firm pavement, keep west towards the Richardson Highway, the scenic road that connects Fairbanks in the north to Valdez in the south.

The road takes you south along the mountain views of Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier, then into the steep and narrow Keystone Canyon, where huge waterfalls come down crashing the canyon walls. Valdez itself is located at the east side of Prince William Sound, a gorgeous bay full of glaciers and wildlife.

The sound earned some unwanted international attention in 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez caused a catastrophic oil spill and an environmental disaster that lasted for decades. Today the damage is not visible to the eye and most of the wildlife is back to pre-1989 population size, but in a community where most folks work either in the oil industry or as commercial fishermen, this is still an open wound.

Overnight: Valdez, Alaska

Located in the northeast corner of Prince William Sound and not too far from Valdez, Columbia Glacier is one of Alaska’s biggest tidewater glaciers. This impressive giant has been receding rapidly in recent years, leaving behind a narrow bay choked with blue ice.

Today’s tour departs Valdez before noon. The destination is the humongous face of the Columbia Glacier, where one can witness some impressive (and sometimes outright crazy) calving activity. The captain will maneuver the boat as close as possible to the glacier’s face (safety first, of course), allowing for some fantastic photo ops. Occasionally the ice in front of the glacier can become too thick to go through, but the scenery is wonderful nevertheless. The boat is quite spacious (two decks, covered and heated), light lunch is included, and the tour is about 6 hours long.

During the morning or the evening hours, consider a quick drive from Valdez to the opposite side of the bay, where the Salomon Gulch Hatchery is located. The hatchery itself, producing millions of salmon annually, is interesting enough; that said, the major attraction is often the wildlife exploiting the situation. Have fun, take lots of photos and keep your eyes open – bears are often seen here, along with otters, sea lions, seals, bald eagles and many other birds, mostly gulls and kittiwakes.

Overnight: Valdez, AK

A day of scenic driving, first north along the Richardson highway and then west along the beautiful Glenn Hwy in the general direction of Anchorage. Multiple view points and hiking trails wait along the way, most notably around the Matanuska Glacier area.

The day starts with a drive west along the Glenn Hwy, which quickly becomes a winding, mountainous and super-scenic road. Your first destination is the Hatcher Pass area, where you’ll find a variety of hiking trails.

The road is rich with little gems; you can stop at the Hatcher Pass area, a beautiful off-the-beaten-track alpine area in the Talkeetna mountains close to the town of Palmer. Surrounded by green tundra and overlooked by impressive granite peaks, this is a great area for a short (or long) hike. Also in Hatcher Pass is the Independence Mine Historical Site, where you can visit the remains of an interesting deserted gold mine from the 1940’s.

For other fun and scenic detours consider a visit to the nearby Eklutna Lake, or visit the Eagle River Nature Center.

Overnight: Anchorage, AK

Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks lay on the west side of the Cook Inlet, across the bay and south of Anchorage. These two wild parks are arguably two of the best locations in the world to view bears in the wild. Today’s plan is to go on a day trip to one of these parks and spend a few hours with the furry giants also known as the coastal brown bears of Alaska.

The brown bear is not a social animal by any mean, but every summer, when the salmon begin moving upstream, big concentrations of bears are formed along the rivers. These bears will spend most of the summer fishing and competing for fishing and mating rights. Busy with their fishing agenda and concerned mostly with the presence of other bears, the bears are generally very tolerable of human presence. This does not mean you should approach them too closely, of course – these are still very wild and very big animals – but it allows for an unforgettable wildlife viewing experience.

The exact destination of the trip will be determined based on seasonal bear activity. Both Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks are not connected to the road system, so arrival at the bear viewing location is done using a variety of small aircraft, including floatplanes and wheeled planes capable of beach landing during low tides. The super-scenic flight will take you over some serious mountains, glaciers and active volcanoes, and is a highlight on its own right.

The tour is usually led by the pilot or by a professional guide, unless the destination is Brooks Camp, where park rangers oversee the site and direct the visitors.

Once the tour is over, you’ll fly back to Anchorage.

Overnight: Anchorage, AK

This is the final day on your Alaska adventure. The trip ends at the Ted Stevens International Airport in town, where you return your rental car and begin the journey back home.