ADJENTURING

| Travel Blog

, , ,

Ten Days in Alaska: Anchorage, Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell-St. Elias

14–21 minutes

Overview

  • My trip dates: Thursday, June 12, 2025 – Monday, June 23, 2025
  • Main areas visited:
    • Anchorage
    • Whittier
    • Denali National Park
    • Kenai Fjords National Park
    • Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

My overall thoughts

  • Alaska is absolutely awesome – Very wild, very beautiful, some of the coolest mountains, lakes, and glaciers in the U.S. in my opinion.
  • I got insanely lucky with the weather this trip – It was sunny pretty much the entire time while we were there – but I’m told that weather can usually be a bit volatile (often rainy) even during the summer.
  • Alaska hikes are very steep, but most are also pretty short. Some of them can get pretty slippery with loose dirt and rocks, so shoes with good traction are a must.
  • Food was decent, but as expected, there’s not a lot of variety in the parks outside of Anchorage. I ate a lot of burritos, and they were good burritos, but sometimes you want to eat things that aren’t burritos. Food was also pretty expensive.
  • In my opinion, Anchorage as a city was a bit of a snooze. There wasn’t a ton to do in town, but there were a lot of great hikes a short drive away.
  • This trip was very expensive. Renting a car was by far the biggest expense (over $1,000 for 10 days), but housing, especially in more remote areas, was pretty expensive as well, although I found prices in Anchorage more reasonable. I spent over $2,000 USD total on my trip.
  • I thought 10 days was a pretty good length of trip for an initial visit – There’s so much more to see in this state! I would love to come back to Alaska when I have more money so I can take a helicopter tour or visit some of the even more remote National Parks (Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley, Katmai, etc.)

My 10-day trip breakdown

Day 0: Travel day

  • Evening flight to Anchorage.
  • Arrived late, picked up the car, and headed straight to sleep.
  • Stay: Grandpa’s Cabin
    • Cute basement unit, very big with a whole kitchen, bedroom, couch bed, etc. This part of town feels slightly sketchy but the house is on a pretty peaceful street. Heard their kids running around upstairs at night but pretty quiet otherwise. They have a cat and chickens in the backyard.

Day 1: Anchorage

  • Coffee at Kaladi Brothers – Popular coffee roaster & supplier in Alaska, lots of local coffee shops use Kaladi Brothers beans.
    • Cold brew with oat milk: Expensive ($6) but huge, good, and oat milk was included in the price.
  • Lunch at Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria – Well-known and highly recommended local pizza shop – I personally did not enjoy it at all.
    • Half mac n’ cheese reindeer sausage & half Thai chicken pizza: Props for being creative, but the pizza tasted mediocre. The heavy American cheese on the mac n’ cheese pizza made me nauseous and the reindeer sausage had a weird taste & texture (I’ve had reindeer before and liked it, so it wasn’t just that I wasn’t used to the meat). The Thai chicken half of the pizza was better, but not great.
  • Stopped by Alaska Pacific University to rent bear spray for the trip. I highly recommend them, as it was only $10 for the entire trip!
  • Rented bikes from Anchorage Bike Rental and biked the Tony H. Knowles Coastal Trail to Kincaid Park.
    • This was the longest bike ride I’ve done since my impromptu 50-miler in Connecticut five years ago, and it was much hillier than I’m used to as a very casual road biker. The trail had decent views of the coast and forest and it took us to a spot where we could stand right underneath planes flying out of the airport. We also saw a moose!
  • Dinner at MyThai – This was a decent meal for filling my perpetual Asian food craving, but I thought the pad thai was pretty middling.
    • Pad thai with chicken: Not bad, but not super authentic in my opinion.
  • Stopped by the Iditarod booth in nearby downtown, where we met the guy who ran the first Iditarod and learned about the history of the Iditarod.
  • Headed out around 8pm to make the long drive to Denali (4h30).
    • Stopped by the Denali South & Denali North Viewpoints – I thought the South Viewpoint was better. Both are very buggy and it’s hard not to get bit.
  • Stay: Yurt
    • Very nice hosts. It’s located in an RV park, so bathrooms are outside the yurt but very clean and easy to get to. The yurt gets hot in the day and cold at night. Skylight at the top doesn’t close. Thought this was a good place to stay, as it’s as close to Denali as we could get without paying insane prices.

Day 2: Denali

  • Woke up early to drive to the Denali Visitor Center (30min)
  • Took the 6am East Fork Shuttle to see the park.
    • This was a really cool experience for wildlife viewing and to see more of the park, as a substantial portion of the park roads were closed to the public.
    • The East Fork Shuttle was $34, compared to over $100 for the comparable “wildlife tours,” and it made frequent stops for wildlife spotting and for enjoying the scenery. We saw a grizzly, caribou, fox, hare, dall sheep, moose, ptarmigans, ground squirrels, and a golden eagle.
  • Hiked the Savage River Loop. We got dropped off at the trailhead by the shuttle. It’s a chill walk along the river, very scenic and easy, definitely worth it.
  • Hiked the Savage Alpine Trail and returned to a park shuttle pickup point. This hike was hard / steep and had nice views of Denali, very windy at the top.
  • Stopped by the Denali Visitor Center for some souvenirs and drove back towards the yurt.
  • Dinner at Parks Hwy BBQ – This was delicious, and I don’t even like BBQ.
    • BBQ plate (Ribs, chicken salad, pea salad): Ribs slid right off the bone. Chicken salad was nicely smoked. Overall very good, a bit salty. The guy working the truck is really nice!
    • Peanut brownie: Insanely good.
  • Went to sleep at 6pm to catch up from last night.
  • Stay: Yurt

Day 3: Denali

  • Breakfast at The Black Bear – Cute if pricey breakfast spot, food is alright.
    • Breakfast “bearrito”: Too much egg, but otherwise not bad.
    • Buckwheat brownie: Maybe it’s the buckwheat, I thought this brownie was pretty bad, very dry.
    • Banana bread: Pretty good.
    • Iced coffee with oat milk: Decent.
  • Attended the Denali sled dog kennel visit and demonstration – One of the highlights of my visit to Denali! The dogs are really cute (especially the puppies!) and it’s pretty cool to learn about the history of sled dogs.
    • There are a few sessions a day, and a free shuttle that goes from the Visitor Center to the kennel. We drove there directly and got there early to ensure parking, I appreciated driving because we got to stay a bit later to hang out with the dogs after the shuttle left.
  • Hiked Mount Healy Overlook – The way up is a slog (with very little wind or sun cover), but the views and wind at the top are great.
  • Began a long drive back to Anchorage (4h30) with a short pit stop in Talkeetna (2h), a small, dusty town, seemed like a common tourist stop on the way to / back from Denali.
    • Salmon Spot – Fantastic food truck featuring local salmon!
      • Salmon cake: Expensive and small, but it was so good that I went back and got another. The teriyaki sauce and salad worked really well with the salmon.
    • There are also viewpoints in Talkeetna but we didn’t stop by because Denali got cloudy in the afternoon.
  • Dinner at Everest Restaurant – Really good Indian / Nepalese food!
    • Cheese naan: Nice, but I wish it had slightly more cheese and some of it was a bit burnt.
    • Momo: Fantastic.
    • Aloo paratha: Enjoyable, although I got bread fatigue from the meal as a whole.
    • Yellow daal: Delicious.
  • Stay: Mallars House – Room 3
    • Such a nice place, probably my favorite on the trip. Space is pretty roomy and there was a kitchen with lots of snacks. Very comfortable and quiet. Convenient parking and didn’t need to walk up or down any stairs to access the room.

Day 4: Whittier

  • Worked from 5am-1pm.
  • Drove to Whittier (1h).
    • To get to Whittier, we went through the Whittier Tunnel ($13). It only opens once every hour from each end, which we didn’t know, so we got pretty lucky with our timing.
  • Hiked the Portage Pass Trail.
    • This hike was tougher than expected for a moderate hike (very steep on both ends), but the view by the lake was phenomenal and we spent over an hour at the end of the hike.
  • Dinner at Wild Catch Cafe – The food is decent but overpriced, and the people working there are nice, but they seemed confused.
    • Salmon fillet burger: Not bad, but to be honest it kind of tasted like a $30 fish fillet. They mislabeled the price on the menu and gave me the wrong side.
  • Drove to Seward (2h30) – This is a ridiculously scenic drive with tons of mountains and lakes.
  • Stay: Compass Inn Room 3
    • Super nice host couple. Great location, walkable to the coast, downtown, visitor center, etc. They also let us rent bikes for free. The room is a bit small, but they gave us chairs to sit on the patio during the day.

Day 5: Kenai Fjords

  • Worked from 5am-1pm.
    • Breakfast at The Porthole – Food truck with a fantastic breakfast burrito.
      • Breakfast burrito: So good. They put hashbrowns in it for a nice crunch and flavor.
      • Nutella french toast: Pretty bad. Literally hard to eat.
    • Lunch at Rowdy Radish – Cute cafe, food is a big hit or miss.
      • Breakfast sandwich: Overall really good, but I feel like the extra sauce and the cucumber are a bit overkill / would work better on the side.
      • Carrot cake: Best carrot cake I’ve ever had, highly recommend.
  • Walked to the Kenai Fjords Visitor Center – It’s a nice scenic walk!
  • Drove to the Exit Glacier area and hiked the Harding Icefield Trail.
    • Weather was very variable, it was buggy and hot on the way up, and freezing and windy by the glacier.
    • The trail was closed beyond Marmot Meadows in June, but we headed down an unmarked / unofficial trail to get to Exit Glacier. Saw people ice climbing on the glacier and got to walk on the glacier a bit.
  • Hiked Exit Glacier Overlook Trail.
    • Pretty nice view and an easy trail, but definitely doesn’t compare to standing on top of Exit Glacier!
  • Dinner at Primrose Provisions – The food is pretty mid but the cafe is cute.
    • “Raclette My World” sandwich: Too cheesy (that’s my fault for ordering a sandwich named for cheese), I didn’t find it satisfying after a long hike.
    • We got takeout and ate at the Seward waterfront, which I highly recommend.
  • Dessert at Sweet Darling – Shockingly good gelato. They also sell chocolates.
    • Coffee gelato & taro gelato: Delicious!
  • Stay: Compass Inn Room 3

Day 6: Kenai Fjords

  • Worked from 5am-1pm.
    • Coffee and a snack from Resurrect Coffee Art House – Coffee shop inside a historic church. The space is really beautiful, with stained glass and massive windows overlooking the ocean. It also has cute local art. The line is always 15 minutees long and stretches all the way to the back of the store.
      • Cold brew with almond milk: Not bad.
      • Chocolate chip cookie: Really good!
    • Lunch at Rowdy Radish – Reran the same order as yesterday with a couple additions that weren’t as good.
      • Sourdough cinnamon roll: Really dry, kind of disappointing.
      • Sourdough banana bread: Not good, I think I dislike sourdough pastries.
  • Biked around Seward waterfront – There’s a very short bike path (a couple miles), but this was a nice relaxing way to spend the afternoon after several days of hiking.
  • Dinner at Lone Chicharron – Nice fast casual Mexican spot, not too expensive.
    • Chicken burrito: Fire, but at this point I was sick of eating burritos.
    • Chicken taco: Not as good as the burrito.
    • Strawberry kiwi paleta: Pretty good, but I didn’t love it.
  • Hiked Tonsina Creek Trail to Tonsina Point – Most of the trail was in the forest and not that scenic, but the end of the trail was really surprisingly pretty with the mountains reflecting in the water.
  • Second dinner at Woody’s Thai – Really really good, but super busy with insanely long wait times.
    • Basil rice: Delicious, but about 30-40% more expensive than the average Thai spot. The spice is no joke.
  • Stay: Compass Inn Room 3

Day 7: Kenai Fjords

  • Coffee at Nature’s Nectars – Convenient coffee stop, but not amazing.
    • Iced americano: Decent, but I wish they had cold brew instead.
  • Took the Kenai Fjords Classic Cruise.
    • This was a really expensive experience ($230), but probably the only way to really see Kenai Fjords, which is mostly on the ocean.
    • There were lots of wildlife sightings! We saw humpbacks, fin whales, common myrrh, puffins, steller sea lions, otters, porpoises, harbor seals, and a black bear.
    • They do serve lunch on board but really late, kind of small, and not very good (the chicken burrito barely has any chicken in it, but the chocolate chip cookies are warm so pretty good).
  • Hiked Slaughter Ridge Trail – Very steep and slippery. Construction going on towards the start of the trail.
    • I only went up part way because the view got as good as it was going to get about a mile in.
    • Very buggy, nice view of Kenai Lake and the surrounding mountains.
  • Drove back to Anchorage (2h).
    • Stopped at Beluga Point and a couple other viewpoints along the bay.
  • Dinner at Mandala Restaurant – Very expensive (four items, two of which were an app and naan, were $70) and slow (45+ min) Indian restaurant, it’s run by nice people but the food was disappointingly mid.
    • Butter chicken: Not bad, but barely any chicken.
    • Dal makhani: This might be the only dal makhani I’ve had that I didn’t like.
    • Papdi chaat: Pretty good.
    • Cheese naan: Very burnt.
  • Stay: Hanna’s House Room
    • Quiet residential location, pretty nice and a very large space. Easy to get in.

Day 8: Anchorage

  • Worked from 5am-1pm.
  • Hiked Flattop Mountain – Short, iconic hike just outside of Anchorage.
    • It’s nice how close this is to Anchorage – Just a 20 minute drive.
    • Trail is a bit muddy with a little bit of snow in short stretches in mid-June, also generally quite slippery with a lot of loose rocks and dirt. The way down felt pretty sketchy.
    • The view of Anchorage is just alright (I’m not generally a big fan of city views from a mountain unless the skyline is really nice), but the view of the mountains behind Flattop is good.
  • Snack from Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop – I will dream of this bakery for a long time (see repeat visit below).
    • Chocolate chip cookie: Fantastic, so good.
    • Peanut butter cookie: Not as good compared to the chocolate chip (texture was a bit hard), but nice flavor.
    • Maple shortbread: Vegan, a bit expensive for what it was, but decent.
  • Dinner at El Green-Go’s – Mexican food truck, kind of slow but the burrito is top tier.
    • Chicken burrito: Wildly good, and a pretty large portion.
  • Dessert at Wild Scoops – An Anchorage institution with a well-deserved rep.
    • Vanilla bean with chipotle birch nuts: The vanilla bean is insanely good, especially with the birch nuts added for crunch and flavor. I didn’t like any of the other flavors I sampled.
  • Drove from Anchorage to Chitina (4h).
    • Saw the Matanuska Glacier from a few different viewpoints – The Glacier is insane and the icefield is massive. However, there aren’t a ton of great vantage points where you can park.
    • Also saw Mt. Drum, Mt. Wrangell, and Mt. Sanford as we were approaching Glenallen – They’re a pretty iconic group of mountains and there’s a nice viewpoint at a lake to stop at.
  • Stay: Wrangell Mountain Homestead
    • Pretty off-grid place, it’s a farm stay (with chickens and all) with a shared bathroom. Comfortable stay, very quiet – We were the only guests that night, so using the bathroom wasn’t an issue.

Day 9: Wrangell-St. Elias

  • Woke up early and drove to Chitina Wayside (30 min) to take the Kennicott Shuttle (4h) to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
    • This is the recommended way to get to the Kennicott area of the park, since the road is in pretty bad shape after Chitina and most rental car companies prohibit driving beyond Chitina. The shuttle costs about $120 per person, round-trip.
    • We had to cross a footbridge to catch another shuttle to go from McCarthy to Kennicott.
  • Hiked the Root Glacier Trail.
    • This trail is pretty sick. It goes right up to the glacier, and you can walk on top of it by yourself, without a guide. We got to see “blue Gatorade in the wild” (a deep blue pool of water on the glacier). I thought the hike was worth the long drive to get there.
  • Visited the Kennicott Exhibits.
    • There are a bunch of historical exhibits around Kennicott, since it’s a former mining town. It was pretty cool to learn about the history.
  • Lunch at Meatza Wagon – Shockingly good for a place in the middle of nowhere.
    • Salmon BLT: Delicious and filling.
    • Peanut butter brownie: Good, a bit sweet.
  • Took the Kennicott Shuttle back to Chitina (4h).
  • Drove from Chitina to Anchorage (4h30).
    • Ernesto’s – Roadside / gas station Mexican restaurant in Glenallen. They were very nice to keep the place open long enough to take our order.
      • Chicken quesadilla: Hefty, way too much cheese compared to chicken.
  • Stay: Magdalena’s House Room
    • Room with shared bathroom in a very nice house. Pretty spacious, the basement area that we stayed in is huge. Quiet and easy to find.

Day 10: Anchorage and travel home

  • Returned the bear spray to Alaska Pacific University.
  • Pastries from Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop – We came back for round two because it was so good.
    • Monkey bread (x2): I went back for a second one after eating the first. Best monkey bread I’ve ever had. Not too sweet.
    • Lemon poppyseed muffin: Not bad, nice texture, flavor’s just not entirely my thing, very heavy on the lemon.
    • Brownie: So fudgy, very good.
    • Salami pepper croissant: Delicious. Was shocked to find a full pepper inside.
  • Coffee from That Feeling Co – A cute plant shop x coffee shop.
    • Cold brew with oat milk: Good!
  • Tried to go to Anchorage Pel’meni, but they were closed because someone had run their truck into the side of the shop. I hope they can open back up!
  • Headed to the airport to travel home.

My Favorite Hikes in Alaska

Food: Biggest Hits and Biggest Misses

Final Thoughts on Alaska

The good:

  • Beautiful nature, lots to do.
  • Decent food.
  • Not as crowded as other national parks.

The bad:

  • Expensive.
  • Not much food variety.
  • Locations are far / difficult to get to.

Final recommendation: Highly recommend! Hoping to return soon.

Subscribe to my newsletter!