diburning

A couple friends and I decided to book a trip to Anchorage in October, and I have a few questions:

1. What is the weather like in mid to late October?
2. Is there any good fishing in or near Anchorage? Although I'd love to catch a salmon, I'd be happy catching a large rainbow trout or a Dolly Varden.
3. Which cell/mobile provider is the most prevalent or has the most/best coverage? We'll be considering a day trip to Fairbanks and a drive to Whittier is in the plans. I'd like to have decent and plentiful data coverage (and usage). I currently have T-Mobile which will limit my roaming.
4. I have a couple museums (Aviation museum, Anchorage museum) on the list. What else is there to do or see in or near Anchorage?

Gardyloo

My son's birthday is October 21 and there was almost always snow on the ground in Anchorage by then. I believe the "average" first sticking snow on the flats (as opposed to the Hillside area of town) is October 16. Of course what "average" means these days is anybody's guess.

I'd imagine there are some (very) late silver salmon here and there around then, but they'd be hard to access and you'd have pretty cold feet by the time they're landed. Apart from the stocked lakes in town, I'm sure there're still wild trout and Dollys to be caught, but again, accessing them might be dicey.

By a "day trip" to Fairbanks I assume you mean flying? And a drive to Whittier is always nice, but weather and daylight can become an issue, especially around then when conditions in Whittier can be fairly miserable. As far as "other things" to do is concerned, a lot of it will be weather dependent. I'd check to see if the Alyeska tram is working at Girdwood - you might be caught in the "in-between" period between summer access and skiing, but if it's available it's terrific. Also if there's any fall color left, Mirror Lake (at Mile 23.6 of the Glenn Hwy) can be spectacular; or a visit to the Eklutna village cemetery with its colorful "spirit houses" over the graves is also fascinating. It's at Mile 26.5. I'd be surprised if the Hatcher Pass road is fully open to cars without traction equipment (studs or chains) but it can also be terrific in the fall. Snow's likely, however.

I can't comment on cellular coverage. I use AT&T and haven't had big problems but I haven't tried all that much outside the Anchorage bowl.

Edited to add, if the day trip to Fairbanks is just for recreation, maybe give a thought to swapping Kotzebue instead. The airfare is a hundred bucks more (but it's a good use of Alaska miles) and you'd be able to cross the arctic circle, visit a native community, and stand on the edge of (an inlet of) the Arctic Ocean. There are a couple of flights a day, and there still will be enough daylight in mid-late October to make it worth your while. Just a thought, anyway.

TBD

T-Mobile roams on local Alaskan carrier GCI without issue in cities (towns?). Coverage is, admittedly, better than I expected.. You'll hit some areas without data coverage in between cities. And some of those areas just don't have signal at all.

Fairbanks is a 6h drive from ANC and even longer by train. Some areas toward the Kenai peninsula are in "day trip" range - including the Alyeska mentioned above.

Can't comment on fishing.

I didn't spend any time in Anchorage to see their museums - I went to Denali, Alyeska, and Seward instead.

diburning

T-Mobile limits my data usage while roaming domestically with no option to purchase more. I might get an AT&T sim for my needs.

My friends and I will decide on whether we want to fly to Fairbanks or Kotzebue when we get there as we want to see what the weather will be like first.

Thanks for the tips!