SOUTHEAST
While Alaska’s “panhandle” might seem remote because much of it lies off the road system, it’s not to be missed. Southeast’s larger communities are easily accessible and offer connecting flights and ferries to outlying destinations.
4. JUNEAU TO HAINES
Okay, we’re cheating a little on this one because the route includes jumping on the Alaska Marine Highway, but since it’s called a highway, we figured, why not? Fly into Juneau, the capital of Alaska, and rent a car. This allows you to explore the 40 miles of road system in and around Juneau at your leisure. Downtown, you’ll find the Alaska State Museum with fine art and historic exhibits that rival that of any major metropolitan city, and the Sealaska Heritage Institute allowing an in-depth look at Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures.
A quick walk around town and along the marina gives you ample opportunities to grab a bite to eat (Tracy’s King Crab Shack, Sandpiper Café, The Rookery), shop, or imbibe at a saloon. It’s absolutely worthwhile, one might even say required, to take the Goldbelt Tram from the cruise ship dock up 1,800 feet toward the top of Mount Roberts, where adventurous souls can continue onward and upward on trails leading to the summit. Without hiking, soul-arresting views of the area reward tram riders, and even a few steps onto the trails allow access to the Tongass National Forest, the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. Another fun way to access the forest is to take a Rainforest Adventure Tour with Glacier Gardens.
After leaving downtown, the next mandatory stop is Mendenhall Glacier, a 13-mile river of ice terminating at Mendenhall Lake. Adjacent to the parking lot, you’ll find a small bridge overlooking Steep Creek, a salmon-filled buffet frequented by black bears. A short walk leads to the visitor center where you can learn more about the retreating glacier before hiking the two-mile roundtrip trail to stand beneath the spray of Nugget Falls. Returning to the main road north-west a few miles, you’ll find the holy and peaceful haven of the National Shrine of St. Therese. The grounds allow for silent reflection among the beauty of the rosary trail, stone chapel, circular labyrinth made of flowering plants and boulders, and a causeway opening to Lynn Canal with the Chilkat Mountains in the distance.
In the morning, motor onto the ferry for a 4.5-hour cruise up the famed Inside Passage. Whales, waterfalls, lighthouses, and deep water make time pass quickly—especially when the boat is doing the driving for you. In downtown Haines, park the car and take a walking tour of the town, exploring the nooks and crannies of this quirky, fairytale hamlet. A few stops of note: Haines Sheldon Museum, The American Bald Eagle Foundation headquarters, Fort William H. Seward and Alaska Indian Arts, The Hammer Museum, The Rusty Compass, Haines Brewing Company, Port Chilkoot Distillery, Fireweed Restaurant, Mountain Market, and on Saturdays in summer months the Haines Farmers Market.
Back in the car, you can take a short drive south to Chilkat State Park, which offers a series of exceptional hikes and views of a hanging glacier with twin waterfalls, then double back and split off to Battery Point Trail along the Lynn Canal coast to look for whales, seals, and sea lions. In the opposite direction, north of town on Lutak Road, find a place to park near the ADF&G salmon-counting fish weir on Chilkoot River for bear viewing and photography. Doubling back again, catch the Haines Highway west and north for jaw-dropping natural beauty (braided rivers, cathedral-spired peaks) in the 48,000-acre Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. You can raft the preserve in the summer, but the late fall months bring thousands of eagles soaring and fighting over the last of the chum run before freeze-up. The Haines Highway continues north where you can stop for a bite at 33-Mile Roadhouse before continuing onto the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center, dedicated to preserving Tlingit culture with state-of-the-art exhibits and collections. A side trip to the Kroschel Wildlife Center offers a unique opportunity to learn about and view orphaned and rescued wildlife at Steve Kroschel’s animal sanctuary. If you want to keep driving, you can go into Canada. Just have your passport ready.
NORTH OF ANCHORAGE
5. TALKEETNA
113 miles from Anchorage
If seeing the High One ranks high on your bucket list, you don’t necessarily have to drive all the way to Denali National Park, especially since ongoing landslide road reconstruction has limited access to the park beyond Mile 43. That said, on a clear day, Denali overlooks Talkeetna, a small community with a summer mountaineering vibe that’s actually closer to North America’s highest peak than the park entrance. On the 2.5-hour drive to Talkeetna, we recommend a few detours. The first: the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer because there’s truly nothing cuter than a baby muskox or softer than the qiviut undercoat of the magnificent creatures. The second: Hatcher Pass with its historic Independence Mine State Historical Park and abundant berries and wildflowers.
Back on the Parks Highway, keep an eye out for moose, bears, porcupine, fox, and other critters. Talkeetna Spur Road off the Parks Highway leads to the town where you can take a flight-seeing plane or helicopter tour to get close views of Denali and land on a glacier. Mushing tours, fishing, rafting, and one of the state’s best breweries (Denali Brewing Company) are here, along with the historic Talkeetna Roadhouse and the iconic Nagley’s Store, founded in 1921. Considering that Talkeetna consists of a handful of streets, the place packs in a plethora of galleries, restaurants, lodges, music, and enough outfitters and tour operators to keep you on bikes, hiking trails, ATVs, jet boats, skis, snowmachines, kayaks, pack rafts, boat charters, and ziplines. But you came to see Denali, and if you didn’t spot her on the drive up, you won’t find a better setting than the edge of town with the Alaska Range and the High One towering over the confluence of the Susitna and Talkeetna rivers.
WRANGELL MOUNTAINS
Head out the Glenn Highway, then south on the Richardson Highway and beyond for a taste of rugged mountains, no crowds, and unparalleled natural beauty. This is the place to get lost, in a good way.
6. KENNICOTT & MCCARTHY
314 miles from Anchorage
Mining culture abounds in McCarthy, as well as scenic wonder. The drive to McCarthy isn’t for the faint-hearted, because a good chunk of the drive slows drivers to five or 10 miles per hour with sharp rocks and narrow sections and wheel-gripping roller-coaster curves. The Glenn Highway runs into the Richardson Highway and the trans-Alaska pipeline. Go south on the Richardson past Copper Center and stop at the Alyeska Pipeline Interpretive Area across from Willow Lake. Hop out of your vehicle to marvel at a feat of engineering—800-miles of pipeline carrying crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. At the viewpoint, you can stand beside and beneath the elevated, eight-foot-diameter metal tube while oil flows over your head in real time.
After gawking at one of the state’s major industrial accomplishments, take the Edgerton Highway to the rough-shod McCarthy Road until it dead ends at a pedestrian bridge. You’ll park and walk .6 miles to McCarthy where you’ll step back into pioneer times with a restored boarding house, saloon, and general store. McCarthy sprung up after copper was dis-covered in 1900 to house and appease min- ers with a proclivity toward strong drink, gambling, pool halls, and visits to the red-light district. Many of the buildings are still in use, though they tend to cater to adventurers and history and geology buffs and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Up the road, you enter Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and encounter astounding views of Root and Kennicott glaciers and the preserved mining buildings of Kennecott Mine, which operated from 1911-1938 and made more than $200 million. The mining buildings appear to teeter off Bonanza ridge as if they’re considering a dip into the icy moraine-created rivers below. Building tours of this national historic landmark give visitors a glimpse into 1900s ore extraction and the difficulty of transporting riches from a remote and harsh landscape to the civilized world. After working up a sweat touring the facilities, take in a meal and the views of 14 of the highest peaks (16,000-feet-plus) on the continent from the deck of the Kennicott Glacier Lodge. Before leaving the area, book a tour for glacier hiking or ice climbing on Root Glacier, an unforgettable experience in one of the most spectacular areas of Alaska.
Alaska magazine senior editor Michelle Theall has traveled to all but one of the state’s national parks, Kobuk Valley, and is hopeful to get there this year. She runs wildlife tours throughout Alaska and around the globe through Wild Departures. wilddepartures.com.
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