Explore Alaska’s Destinations
Explore Alaska Beyond the Tourist Version
We’re here to help you explore Alaska and all it has to offer. From remote fishing villages and glacier towns to wildlife hotspots and epic national parks, these are the places we know firsthand after years of living and filming across the state.
One day you could be eating fresh halibut on the Homer Spit. The next, you might be flying into a tiny coastal village where there are no roads and the post office floats on a dock. Some parts of Alaska feel polished and accessible. Others still feel completely wild.
We’ve spent years working across Alaska on shows like Deadliest Catch, Life Below Zero, and Port Protection. This guide is built from those experiences — the towns we kept returning to, the places locals actually love, and the corners of Alaska most visitors never get to see.
Whether you’re planning a road trip through Southcentral, chasing the northern lights near Fairbanks, or exploring remote coastal communities, this is where to start.
Explore Southcentral Alaska
Home to Alaska’s biggest city and some of its most iconic landscapes, Southcentral is where most adventures begin. You’ll find massive mountains, tidewater glaciers, world-class fishing, and easy access to the wilderness — all connected by some of the state’s best road systems. Whether you’re chasing salmon on the Kenai Peninsula or watching bears near Katmai, Exploring Southcentral is classic Alaska.
Anchorage
Alaska’s largest city and the gateway to the state. Anchorage blends urban comforts with quick access to mountains, glaciers, wildlife, and some of the best road-trip routes in Alaska.
Homer
Known as “The End of the Road,” Homer is an artsy fishing town with incredible halibut fishing, ocean views, and a laid-back vibe that feels completely different from the rest of Alaska.
Seward
A dramatic coastal town surrounded by mountains and Resurrection Bay. Seward is famous for glacier cruises, kayaking, fishing, and access to Kenai Fjords National Park.
Hope
A tiny historic town tucked along Turnagain Arm on the Kenai Peninsula. Hope is quiet, beautiful, and known for gold rush history, great hiking, and one of the most relaxed small-town vibes in Southcentral Alaska.
Girdwood
A mountain town tucked into the Chugach Range, known for skiing, hiking, waterfalls, and year-round adventure. Home to Alyeska Resort.
Kenai Fjords National Park
A dramatic coastal park filled with glaciers, fjords, whales, and rugged cliffs. Most visitors explore Kenai Fjords by boat from Seward, where massive tidewater glaciers crash into the ocean.
Lake Clark National Park
A stunning mix of volcanoes, turquoise lakes, salmon streams, and coastal wilderness. Lake Clark is famous for bear viewing, fishing, and remote Alaska lodge experiences.
Palmer
Located in the Mat-Su Valley, Palmer is known for massive vegetables, local farms, and easy access to hiking, glaciers, and the surrounding mountains.
Soldotna / Kenai
Famous for massive salmon runs, river fishing, dip-netting, and easy access to outdoor adventure, the area blends small-town Alaska culture with some of the state’s most accessible wilderness.
Wasilla
Surrounded by lakes, mountains, and easy highway access, Wasilla offers quick trips to hiking, fishing, glaciers, and nearby towns like Talkeetna and Hatcher Pass.
Explore Southeast Alaska
Southeast Alaska is a misty coastal world of rainforests, islands, fishing towns, and glacier-fed fjords. This is the Alaska most people imagine from cruise brochures — but it’s also one of the wildest and most beautiful parts of the state. Bald eagles outnumber people in some areas, humpback whales are common sightings, and nearly every town feels tucked into the edge of the wilderness.
Juneau
Alaska’s capital city is only accessible by boat or plane. Surrounded by rainforest and mountains, Juneau offers whale watching, glaciers, and a surprisingly vibrant food and beer scene.
Ketchikan
Known as the “Salmon Capital of the World,” Ketchikan is packed with fishing culture, colorful waterfronts, Native history, and endless rain.
Petersburg
A working fishing town with strong Norwegian roots. Petersburg offers authentic small-town Alaska vibes without the heavy cruise ship crowds.
Haines
A laid-back adventure town known for bald eagles, rafting, hiking, and easy access to some of Southeast Alaska’s wildest landscapes.
Sitka
A stunning island community blending Russian history, Native culture, and wild coastal scenery. Sitka feels quieter and more remote than most cruise destinations.
Prince of Whales Island
One of the largest islands in the United States, Prince of Wales Island is packed with remote fishing towns, old-growth rainforest, wildlife, and winding coastal roads. It’s one of the best places in Alaska to truly disappear into nature.
Glacier Bay National Park
One of the most breathtaking marine wilderness areas in the world. Glacier Bay is famous for enormous glaciers, humpback whales, sea otters, and untouched Southeast Alaska scenery begging to be explored.
Hyder
A tiny border town near British Columbia that feels completely cut off from the rest of Alaska. Hyder is famous for bear viewing at Fish Creek and its rugged, end-of-the-road atmosphere.
Wrangell
One of Alaska’s oldest communities, Wrangell is rich in Native history, wildlife, and access to remote wilderness areas.
Kake
A quiet Tlingit village on Kupreanof Island surrounded by dense rainforest and rich fishing waters. Kake offers a slower, more authentic side of Southeast Alaska far away from the cruise crowds.
Skagway
A historic Gold Rush town where wooden boardwalks and old saloons meet dramatic mountain landscapes and popular cruise excursions.
Gustavus
The quiet gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Gustavus is peaceful, remote, and surrounded by incredible wildlife and scenery.d
Explore Prince William Sound
A maze of fjords, glaciers, islands, and remote coastal towns, Prince William Sound is one of the most breathtaking parts of Alaska to explore. Massive tidewater glaciers spill into icy blue water while whales, sea otters, puffins, and bald eagles thrive in the protected bays. Much of the region is only accessible by boat or plane, giving it a wild, untouched feeling that’s hard to find anywhere else.
Whittier
A tiny harbor town hidden deep within Prince William Sound. Whittier is one of the best jumping-off points for glacier cruises, kayaking, and marine wildlife tours.
Valdez
Surrounded by towering peaks and waterfalls, Valdez is one of Alaska’s most scenic coastal towns and a favorite for fishing, snow sports, and glacier adventures.
Cordova
A remote fishing town known for wild salmon, incredible bird migrations, and easy access to untouched wilderness. Cordova feels authentic, isolated, and deeply tied to the ocean.
Chenega
A small Alaska Native village tucked deep within Prince William Sound, surrounded by rugged mountains and protected waters.
Explore the Alaska Interior
The Interior is Alaska at its most rugged and untamed. Vast forests, winding rivers, midnight sun summers, and brutally cold winters define this enormous region. It’s the gateway to Denali and some of the best northern lights viewing on Earth. Life moves slower here, but the scale of the landscape feels almost impossible to comprehend.
Denali
Home to North America’s tallest mountain and some of Alaska’s most iconic landscapes. Wildlife viewing here feels almost unreal.
Fairbanks
The Interior’s largest city and one of the best places on Earth to see the northern lights. Summers bring endless daylight, while winters deliver true Arctic conditions.
McCarthy-Kennicott
A tiny off-grid town hidden deep inside Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve. McCarthy feels frozen in time, with old mining buildings, rough dirt roads, and some of the most jaw-dropping mountain scenery in Alaska.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
The largest national park in the United States, Wrangell–St. Elias is a massive wilderness of glaciers, towering peaks, abandoned mines, and remote backcountry roads.
Talkeetna
A quirky small town with historic charm and unbeatable views of Denali. It’s also the main basecamp for climbers attempting the mountain.
Delta Junction
The official end of the Alaska Highway and a quiet Interior community surrounded by farms, forests, and mountain views.
Tok
A remote highway town near the Canadian border that acts as a major crossroads for travelers entering Alaska by road.
Chitina
A tiny historic town at the edge of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve known for dipnetting, salmon fishing, and rugged Alaska history. Chitina feels dusty, remote, and deeply tied to the old railroad and mining days of the Copper River region.
Explore Kodiak, Unalaska, and the Far Islands
Remote, windswept, and deeply tied to the ocean, Kodiak and Alaska’s far-flung islands feel like another world entirely. These islands are home to giant brown bears, massive fishing fleets, isolated villages, and some of the harshest weather in North America. It’s a place for true adventure. To explore this part of Alaska, you’ll likely start with a bush plane or ferry ride.
Kodiak
Famous for giant brown bears, rugged coastlines, and a massive commercial fishing industry. Kodiak blends wild landscapes with deep maritime culture.
Unalaska/Dutch Harbor
A windswept Aleutian community with dramatic volcanic scenery, rich history, and a deep connection to the Bering Sea fishing industry.
Katmai National Park
Best known for the legendary brown bears of Brooks Falls, Katmai is a raw and remote wilderness shaped by volcanoes, salmon runs, and some of Alaska’s most incredible wildlife viewing.
Adak
One of the most remote communities in the United States. Adak feels abandoned, eerie, and wildly beautiful all at once.
Explore the Great North
The Great North is raw Arctic wilderness — a land of tundra, caribou, polar bears, and endless horizons. This is Alaska at its most remote and extreme. Tiny communities dot the landscape far above the Arctic Circle, where life revolves around subsistence, weather, and the rhythms of the land. Exploring this region of Alaska feels less like a vacation and more like stepping into another reality.
Nome
A historic Gold Rush town on the Bering Sea famous for dog sledding, harsh weather, and rugged frontier history.
Utqiaġvik (Barrow)
The northernmost city in the United States. Utqiaġvik offers a rare glimpse into life above the Arctic Circle, where the sun disappears for months each winter.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Often called simply “ANWR,” the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the last truly untouched wilderness areas in North America. Stretching from the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean, this massive refuge protects caribou herds, polar bears, grizzlies, wolves, and endless tundra landscapes.
Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse
The industrial heart of Alaska’s North Slope oil fields and the endpoint of the Dalton Highway.
Gates of the Arctic National Park
A true Arctic wilderness with no roads, trails, or infrastructure. Gates of the Arctic is one of the least visited national parks in America and offers pure, untouched backcountry adventure.
Kotzebue
A coastal hub above the Arctic Circle with strong Indigenous culture and access to vast tundra landscapes.
Kobuk Valley National Park
An isolated Arctic park known for its massive sand dunes, caribou migrations, and remote tundra landscapes far above the Arctic Circle.
Coldfoot
A tiny outpost along the Dalton Highway that serves as one of the last stops before entering true Arctic wilderness.
Never Stop Exploring
Planning a Trip to Alaska?
Now that you’ve got a better idea of where to explore in Alaska, it’s time to figure out the details. From what to pack and when to visit, to road trips, wildlife seasons, and travel tips, these guides will help you plan the Alaska trip that actually fits your style of adventure.