Excellent suggestion - one I have personally used at least twice in the past using DL and AA miles. But NW (still different rules than DL until at least Oct) and CO do not allow stopovers on domestic award tickets, even though they allow flights with AS.

I am looking at an award ticket next year using DL to fly to ANC and AKN (King Salmon, the jumpoff point for Brooks Falls in Katmai NP)

John

I knew you'd get lots of expert opinions by posting here!

I think most of your bases have been covered. At the least, you've been given a lot of choices to pick from. There's some great advice (thanks especially to John!) given here already.

I'll just add a couple of my views and tidbits that might help:

1) I've found--even as a local working in and exceedingly familiar with the Alaska travel and tourism industry--http://www.alaska.org as a very helpful resource for certain things. If you're wondering what amenities or activities are available in a given place or what transportation options are available between places or anything like that, I'd recommend searching their website for help. (The guy who runs it is very cool, too.)

2) The Lake Hood Inn looks like a good option, especially if you're interested in aviation (Lake Hood is the busiest seaplane port in the world). If that doesn't work out, however, and you're looking for something other than the typical chain hotel, there are a couple of bed and breakfasts that are simply gorgeous: the Alaskan Frontier Gardens B&B (gorgeous, lush setting with thousands of flowers) and Highland Glen B&B (English elegance). Both are located on the Hillside area of residential upper-class South Anchorage, surrounded by great views (the lush trees may block the view from the Alaskan Frontier Gardens, but I'm pretty sure you can see the entire Anchorage bowl from Highland Glen). And both are, I believe, cheaper than most downtown hotels (actually, pretty competitive with the midtown Motel 6, which goes for $149 per night in peak summer season).

3) You'll have access to the phenomenal back country of Denali should you choose to go hiking there. But some nice, very accessible day hikes exist around Anchorage (even I've only done a fraction of them). A hike up Flattop Mountain is probably the quickest (it can be done in a couple of hours) and, while it can get crowded, rewards you with sweeping views of Southcentral Alaska, from Denali (on a good day!) all the way south to St. Augustine volcano across from Homer. Hikes up O'Malley Peak's "Ball Park" or to Hidden Lake or Williwaw Lakes or (if you want a bit more of a challenge and a bit less of a crowd) up Wolverine Peak aren't terribly difficult and can easily be done in half of a day. (Most of these hikes start at a trailhead not far behind the two Hillside B&Bs I mentioned.) I mention these not to suggest you delay the rest of your trip for one of these but simply as options that get you away from the tourist trail--most tourists (especially because a large portion of the tourists to Alaska are older and are not up for much physical activity) skip these, but such things are very popular with local residents. Extended and much more rural hikes are available down on the Kenai Peninsula (e.g. around Resurrection Pass) or up in Denali. If your family is really into hiking, I'd suggest purchasing some books on the subject to help you locate trails: I recommend 55 Ways to the Wilderness in Southcentral Alaska (and its more detailed companion guides to the Kenai Peninsula and Chugach State Park as well as other related books). The Alaska Department of Natural Resources's trails web site is a good resource, too.

4) Alaskans don't display their money through cars or nice houses like people in the Lower 48 do. Although there are a lot of very wealthy people living in Alaska (a surprising number of tech-bubble executives maintain permanent residences here and commute to work on private jets), you won't find many Ferraris or even BMWs here (the most you'll see is a tricked-out GMC Denali). Alaskans with money show it through their toys--boats (more the river/lake kind, not the ocean kind, as there isn't really a marina near Anchorage, four-wheelers, snow mobiles (called snowmachines up here), and the like. A backwoods four-wheeling trip or boat trip (such as through the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area network) is a very local thing to do. And especially once you get out of the yuppie Seattle suburb of Anchorage and into real Alaska, you find a much higher proportion of people interested in what you might term redneck activities: hunting, fishing, etc. (Finding moose or caribou meat is not uncommon in Alaskan freezers--and it will have been shot by that person or their friends, as you can't really get it at the supermarket.) Another insight into what the locals do, should you want to eschew touristy things in favor of that.

5) Speaking of food, there are some surprisingly fine restaurants in Anchorage and Fairbanks (and even some hidden gems in small towns), especially considering the relative size of the cities. It'll be hard for your mom to indulge her obsession with "local foods" if she defines local as things like game meat, since you can't find that in restaurants or grocery stores, but if she wants to eat where the locals do, there are plenty of places to enjoy some nearly-world-class food. In Anchorage, I particularly enjoy Orso's, Glacier BrewHouse, Simon and Seafort's, Moose's Tooth pizzeria, and Bear Tooth Grill, among others, and Fairbanks has some gems, too (Lavelle's Bistro in Fairbanks is fabulous, but the cream of the crop is, IMHO (and that of other discriminating FlyerTalkers like monitor), Two Rivers Lodge on the way to Chena Hot Springs. If you'd like us to expand on this advice, please let us know, and I and many other FTers would be happy to make sure you're fully informed.

6) Day-trips on boats are, as has already been indicated, available out of both Whittier and Seward. I've only done a trip out of Whittier, but the general consensus is that Whittier's trips feature more glacier views and Seward's trips feature more wildlife experiences. The full-day (9-hour) trips out of Seward are actually the best, though, as you get both the diverse wildlife of Resurrection Bay and the glacier views found further out of Seward (the half-day, 3-5 hour cruises only circle the bay itself and miss the more spectacular glaciers, whereas the full-day, 6-8 hour cruises [which can't be done in a day-trip paired with the train, if you choose to do that] get all the way out into Kenai Fjords National Park and up to its glaciers). That's not to say you won't see wildlife if you choose to do Whittier (you'll invariably see a bird rookery, otters, and possibly even some whales)--just that Seward and Resurrection Bay is known for better animal-watching. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Prince William Sound's waters are protected and calmer, whereas Resurrection Bay opens up into the open ocean and can be choppier.

7) I don't know much about whitewater rafting in Alaska, but just from hearing people talk, I do know that Six Mile Creek (near Hope on the northern edge of the Kenai Peninsula) has some Class V rapids. I know there is rafting near Denali and also at Lion Head (near the Matanuska Glacier between Palmer and Glennallen). Perhaps that'll provide you with some leads to Google.

8) I've never done it (I really almost abhor fishing), but speaking with people who have done it, I recommend looking into a fishing charter--especially if you can do deep sea halibut fishing (especially if you can do it out of Homer, the halibut capital of the world!). I've heard they're incredible fun (Chuppi mentioned Captain Bob being a hoot--I'd believe it).

9) I would not expect to duplicate fti's experience with rental car rates. He has a magic gift for finding the mistakes (and yes, John, that's what they are ). In peak summer season, which you're on the beginning edge of, expect to find rental car rates starting at $60 per day for an economy car (and possibly higher--there were some points where even economy cars were starting at $200 per day this last summer). I'm not trying to scare you, and if you come in earlier (especially the earliest of the dates you posted), you have a chance at catching the pre-season rate war (which means rates of $35-40 per day)--I'm just trying to make sure your expectations are reasonable. Since rental car reservations are non-obligatory, you can always make a reservation now and then keep checking (I'd re-check once a week)--if you find a better rate, cancel your old one and rebook at the lower rate.

Other than that, I think you've got a very good bit of information to go on here. I always like to tell people to read some of the other pertinent threads on this same subject on FlyerTalk, and so below is my assembled list of threads I've found helpful. Enjoy, and please do continue to ask questions! (I find a lot of joy in helping others have a great time, and I'm pretty sure there are at least a couple of other people here who do, too! )