Day Trips from Anchorage: Seward, Girdwood, Whittier and Talkeetna

The morning starts with a thermos of coffee and a highway that hugs the water, with mountains pressing in on one side and the mudflats of Turnagain Arm on the other.

What are the best day trips from Anchorage?

The best day trips from Anchorage head south along Turnagain Arm toward Girdwood, Whittier and Seward, or north toward Eklutna and Talkeetna, with Homer as the long outlier. Each one trades the city for something quite different: mountains, glaciers, a harbor town or a river village.

• Girdwood, a mountain village where the Alyeska Resort sits under the Chugach Mountains and the road runs beside the world-class tides of Turnagain Arm.
• Whittier, a port reached through a tunnel, with water that is surrounded by tidewater glaciers.
• Seward, a harbor town at the head of Resurrection Bay, with an aquarium, Mt. Marathon behind it and the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park.
• Talkeetna, a river town at the foot of Denali, small and quirky, with a cat as its honorary mayor.
• Eklutna and Chugach State Park, a lake, a long trail toward a glacier and a Dena’ina village close to the city.
• Homer, the end of the Sterling Highway, with Kachemak Bay, halibut boats and the jumping-off point for bear viewing.

Seward, Whittier and Girdwood share the same first stretch of road out of town, so it is possible to picture two of them in a single outing. Talkeetna and Eklutna head the opposite way, and Homer asks for most of a day on the road.

The best day trips from Anchorage

Girdwood and Turnagain Arm

Girdwood sits about an hour from Anchorage by car, reached from the Seward Highway at Milepost 90. The drive is part of the outing. Turnagain Arm has the largest tides in the United States, and the flood tide often arrives as a wall of water called a tidal bore. Pull-offs along the road give you a place to watch the mud, the water and the mountains change with the hour.

In the village itself, the Alyeska Resort is the anchor. It is home to Alaska’s largest ski area, and in summer the mountain stays a destination for views and for walking among the spruce and the alder. Girdwood has a small-town feel, with lodges, cafés and trails that fan out into the valley. The village sits at the end of the arm, so the scenery wraps around you.

Plan an unhurried day here, with the highway stops on the way down and a meal in the village before you turn back. It suits travelers who like mountains and views more than a packed schedule. In summer the evening light lasts long enough to make the drive home pleasant.

Whittier and Prince William Sound

Whittier lies about 58 miles from Anchorage by road, and the last stretch goes through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which connects the Portage Glacier area to the town. Vehicles are limited to 25 miles per hour inside, so the passage takes about ten minutes. Coming out the other side, you are at the head of the Passage Canal, with mountains rising straight from the water.

The reason to come is the water. Prince William Sound has the world’s largest concentration of tidewater glaciers, and day cruises from the harbor head out among them. The 26 Glacier Cruise carries a no-seasickness guarantee, which says something about the open water on the route. Along the way you may see otters, seabirds or whales, though none of that is a promise, and the glaciers themselves are the main event.

The town is nicknamed The Town Under One Roof because almost all of its residents live in the Begich Towers Condominium, an odd and memorable sight. Whittier is a place for a boat day, not for wandering, so it suits travelers who want glaciers from the water. A warm layer is a sensible companion on a boat, since glaciers make their own weather.

Seward and Resurrection Bay

The drive to Seward takes about two and a half hours along the Seward Highway, which is designated a National Forest Scenic Byway, a State Scenic Byway and an All-American Road. In summer the Alaska Railroad also runs daily passenger service between Anchorage and Seward, which makes the town reachable without a car. Seward is the southern end of that railroad, and the line gives the town its long relationship with Anchorage.

Seward sits at the head of Resurrection Bay, between the Kenai Mountains and the waters of Kenai Fjords National Park, with Mt. Marathon rising steeply behind the town. The Alaska SeaLife Center is the state’s only public aquarium, a good stop when the weather turns. The boat harbor, established in the 1960s and a certified Alaska Clean Harbor, is the place to watch fishing boats and visiting vessels come and go.

Boat tours into the fjords are the classic way to use the bay, and you may see whales, puffins or sea otters on the water. A walk along the waterfront, a seafood lunch and an hour at the aquarium fill the day nicely.

Talkeetna and the foot of Denali

Talkeetna is about two to two and a half hours from Anchorage by car, halfway between the city and Denali in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. The town sits where the Chulitna, Susitna and Talkeetna Rivers meet, and it lies at the base of Denali, North America’s tallest peak. Whether the mountain shows itself depends on the clouds, so treat a view as a bonus.

Talkeetna is not legally a town or city but a historic district, with older buildings, vacation homes and no local government other than a cat mayor who lives in the general store. Its population is just over a thousand, and the main street has the feel of a frontier village with galleries, cafés and a river landing. Walk the streets, look into the shops, and settle in for a meal.

It suits travelers who want a small-town afternoon with a view of the Alaska Range, a place to wander without a plan. The town is closer to Denali than the park entrance is, which is part of why climbers and sightseers pass through. It also makes a good half-way point for anyone later continuing toward Denali National Park.

Eklutna Lake and Chugach State Park

Eklutna lies 24 miles from Anchorage, near Mile 26 of the Glenn Highway, and it is the quickest of these trips to reach. The village of Eklutna is part of the homeland of the Dena’ina Athabascan people, and the Native Village of Eklutna still lives on this land. Chugach State Park, with about half a million acres, is just beyond, and the lake is its easiest-to-reach showpiece.

At Eklutna Lake, the Lakeside Trail follows the shore for 12.7 miles to the start of a glacier trail that leads to the moraines at the foot of Eklutna Glacier. In summer, travelers go on foot, by mountain bike, ATV or on horseback along the largely flat Lakeside Trail.

You do not need to go the whole distance. Turning around when the view of the lake and the mountains has had its fill makes a good outing.

The lake works for anyone who wants mountains and water without a long drive, and it fits into a morning with the afternoon left for something in the city.

Homer and Kachemak Bay

Homer is roughly a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Anchorage, and the Sterling Highway is the only road into town. That makes it the most ambitious day trip here, a day that is mostly on the road. The town sits at the end of the road on Kachemak Bay, known as the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World and the City of Peonies.

Homer is the gateway to bear viewing and the closest town to Katmai National Park & Preserve and Lake Clark National Preserve. Bear viewing runs from June through September, when brown bears gather on coastal sedge flats and streams. Across the bay, Kachemak Bay State Park has a large trail network, and you can hike to Grewingk Glacier and see its lake.

Homer fits travelers who want the end-of-the-road feeling more than an easy outing, and it often works better as a stay than a day. If you do go for the day, spend it on the waterfront, a halibut lunch and a look at the bay. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is headquartered in town.

Day trips from Anchorage compared

To choose, start with what you want to look at. Glaciers from the water point to Whittier or Seward, mountains and a ski village to Girdwood, a river town under Denali to Talkeetna, and a lake with a trail to Eklutna.

Homer belongs to travelers who accept a long road in exchange for a bay and a harbor at the end of it. Because Girdwood, Whittier and Seward share the first part of the highway, they are the natural group if you are weighing a south-bound day, and the north-bound pair of Talkeetna and Eklutna goes the other way.

Daylight helps all of these. In summer Anchorage receives up to nineteen and a half hours of sunlight, with the sun setting just before midnight, so a late return is part of the plan. The best time to visit Anchorage is between May and early September, and that is also when most of these outings have the most to offer.

Tour or on your own?

A tour makes sense when the point of the day is something you can only reach with an operator, such as a glacier cruise out of Whittier, a boat among the fjords near Seward or a flight to see bears. These outings have a boat or a plane at the center, and the tour is simply the ticket. The same is true of the flightseeing tours that leave Anchorage by floatplane, fixed wing or helicopter, offered year-round.

The places where the road is the main thing, Girdwood, Eklutna and the stretch of the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm, reward a driver who can stop where the view appeals. You choose your own pace, stay as long as the lake or the trail deserves and move on when the weather changes. A day like that has no fixed schedule, which suits anyone who likes to improvise.

Seward has a choice built in. The road runs along the byway, and in summer the Alaska Railroad offers daily passenger service between Anchorage and Seward, so the trip can be made without driving. Talkeetna and Homer are about distance: they are reached by road, and each asks for a long day, so think about who is driving and for how long before you set out.

Whittier has its own rhythm, because the town is reached through a tunnel where vehicle speed is limited. A cruise there is a fixed block of the day, so build everything else around it. For Homer, bear viewing runs from June through September, and Kachemak Bay State Park offers hiking, so the activity you want shapes the timing.

Before booking anything, check three things with the operator: what the tour covers, which season it runs and where it starts. Many of these services have their own season, so confirm the one you want matches your dates. Bring a layer for the water and let the day have some slack. A day trip works best when it leaves room to stop for an unplanned view.

Good to know before you go

The long summer days give you room to go far and return late, while the months outside the best window, from May to early September, call for more care with the daylight. The Anchorage Local E-newsletter and the free Official Anchorage Visitor Guide list local businesses and events if you want ideas for what to add. Keep the moose, bears and tides in mind wherever you stop, and follow the guidance of park and wildlife agencies when you are outdoors.

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To plan your stay

• Best Time to Visit Anchorage: Long Summer Days, Northern Lights, Weather by Month and Festivals
• Where to Stay in Anchorage: Downtown, Eagle River, Girdwood and Lodging Types
• Anchorage from the Lower 48: Flights, Roads, Ferries and Trains Once You Arrive
• Know Before You Go to Anchorage: Weather, Wildlife, Getting Around and Local Habits

Nearby places

• Girdwood Travel Guide: Alyeska Resort, Winner Creek Trail and Turnagain Arm
• Wasilla and Palmer Travel Guide: Hatcher Pass, the Alaska State Fair, Iditarod Country and Glacier Day Trips
• Whittier Travel Guide: Tunnel Access, Glacier Cruises, Hiking and Getting There