Hi,

we are two experienced Scandinavians planning a road trip in Alaska. Previously we've explored most coastal roads and mountain passes there are in Norway, Iceland and Sweden. Plus some work driving arctic trucks off-road. Born and raised north of the arctic circle we've seen our fair share of reindeer (heck, our city's town sign is a reindeer!), northern lights, whales, fjords and such.

But still, we love the arctic nature, and want to experience Alaska by road (plus maybe from the air?). With this in mind: where should we ideally drive? Are there any hefty mountain passes and/or gravel roads fitting for a week long road trip with a rental car?

So far I've come to understand this:
There isn't a lot of roads in Alaska, and the one that goes to Prudhoe bay is normally not open to drive with a rental car (on the rental car owners discretion). I've seen some pictures and it looks quite... bland. After a lot of driving in Iceland and crossing the arctic circle xxxx times - I feel it isn't a must.

Driving to the Kenai peninsula - looks very beautiful. Something worth two days of the itinary maybe? We're not interested in long hikes or any ocean kayaking, are there any short 1-2 hour hikes of extraordinary wonder here?

Anchorage - Fairbanks via Denali - how much of Denali national park can one see on open roads? I've heard about this lottery, but I guess it is impossible to "count" on winning these. We're not very interested in staying in Denali, we just want to drive and see the nature + maybe stop for a 1-2 hour hike if there are any. Do we have to look into the buses to enter the national park?

Driving to Skagway via Yukon - the most popular drive? Are there any mountain passes here? How long a time should we count on spending? Are there any ferries going from the Skagway area back to Anchorage? Should we try to catch a ferry/boat to Juneau?

Or should we cut down on the driving and try to catch a flight to any of the west coast cities? Unalakleet is famous from the tv-series. Flying to Barrow - something most people do just to have been north of the arctic circle? Anything worth seeing there for someone who's been to 80 degrees north?

Any other thoughts? I want to see glaciers, sharp mountain peeks, red forests and maybe a grizzly! THANK YOU for any suggestions!:-:

EDIT: Sorry, we are planning on flying in during late August, to catch those red/yellow/brown amazing autumn colors. Can't get enough of 'em back home