QDDawg

Hello All,

I too will be traveling to ANC, but in October, arrive Friday afternoon and leave 6 a.m. on Sunday.

I'm trying to finalize the "what do in 36 hours" part of the trip and after reading above would like your input.

Originally, as of now, I have a room in Anchorage for Friday and Saturday night, figured land, see some sights around Anchorage, dinner, and then Saturday a.m. get up early and drive to Whittier, take a glacier cruise, walk around town and head back that afternoon.

Now I realize there are no Glacier cruises after September 30th

Any other suggestions - should we stay both nights in Anchorage or drive someplace Friday afternoon - we land at 3 p.m. - stay there and see another area, maybe with a glacier or 2 and then drive back to Anchorage late Saturday afternoon and do some exploring there and a good nights sleep before the 6 a.m. flight.

We would like to see something "Alaskan", be that glaciers, animals, hike a trail, stop in a small local town, etc.

All suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

fti

You can see Matanuska Glacier, about a 2 hour drive northeast of Anchorage just off the Glenn Highway. You can also drive south of Anchorage along Turnagain Arm to the Portage Glacier area. You can take the easy 1 mile walk to Byron Glacier. On the way you can stop by the Wildlife Conservation Center and look for moose along Turnagain Arm, especially near Potter Marsh.

Girdwood is a good place for a meal - lots of options there.

Unfortunately though as you see, October is definitely off-season.

QDDawg

Thank YOU for this info, I like the idea of Portage Glacier, the hike and wildlife conservation center, sounds like a fun filled day.

Many thanks

CPRich

My kids loved hiking the Matanuska glacier, but iirc, it was a 2 hour drive out then 2 hour drive back to Anchorage. Driving south towards Seward there were many more things to do.

There are multiple hikes in addition to the Portage glacier, on either side of the tunnel. The conservation center was mentioned, there's the tram at Alyeska, kayaking in Resurrection Bay, the Sea Life Center, Harding glacier, Idita-ride (if you have kids along), and just the scenery/towns of Seward and Alyeska.

fti

Just note that some of the activities, like Seavey's Iditaride, is closed by the time you will get there in October.

QDDawg

Thanks all for the info, we had a great quick weekend in the Anchorage area.

Hiking up and around Byron Glacier was fun and a bit of an adventure crossing the stream and back, glad we had a change of shoes and socks in the car.

We actually went through the tunnel to Whitter, the tunnel is kind of cool - with it being one land and shared with train.

Whitter does NOT play around about closing down after the season, we thought we'd grab a bite or drink but EVERYTHING was closed, and I mean closed with ply wood over the windows and doors. But we saw it and some otters playing out in the water, then headed back through the tunnel at the next top of the hour passage time.

The drive is beautiful, Girdwood was cute and Double Musky Inn was a nice place to grab a bite and drink.

We went to Humpys in Anchorage for a drink and some live music - good crowd, great selection of local brews and ciders.

All in all a weekend well spent in Anchorage.