Here’s a rough outline of what my friend and I did during our week in Anchorage! Pictures and more in-depth details to follow!

Itinerary:

Friday – Bush flight cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday.

Saturday – On the evening jet from Kotzebue to Anchorage, they pass by Nome. The first weekend of spring break just happened to take place during Sections for Basketball and the end of the Iditarod. Where does the great dog sled race end? Nome. No flying standby during this time of the year!

Sunday – To Anchorage we go! Escape Room/Walmart Trip!

Monday – Skiing/snowboarding at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, AK.

Tuesday – Running errands: GCI, UPS, Best Buy. Dinner at E’s cousin’s house.

Wednesday – Day trip to Seward!

Thursday – Brunch with a friend from college who is from Alaska and lives outside of Anchorage, more errands (DMV, Walmart again), Kincaid Park and walking the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, return rental car, hotel night in.

Friday – Early jet out to Kotz, bush plane home.

Places to Go:

1. Seward – DEFINITELY WORTH THE DRIVE and the day trip to look around. There aren’t many shops open in the winter season, but on the bright side there isn’t as many people. The drive itself is gorgeous and not too long (2.5 hours…ish). There are whale spotting tours in the spring/summer, outdoor activities, and an aquarium. (We also saw a seal and otters in the bay!)
2. Kincaid Park – Tons of options for outdoor activities in both winter and summer! It is also connected to the larger Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which is a beautiful 11 mile trail connecting downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park. (You have to rent bikes/snowshoes/cross country skis somewhere like REI first, unless you just want to walk!)
3. Alyeska Resort – If you like snowboarding/skiing, this place was a great time! (Not a lot of options for beginning beginners, but plenty of trails aside from that.)
4. JUST DRIVE. We drove south on Seward Hwy a couple times and the view itself is worth it. (There are plenty of trails and stop offs along the way, you could make more days out of it.)
5. Alaska Escape Rooms – The escape room was fantastic and worth the hour we spent there! If you like escape rooms, give it a try! If you have a few people, you’ll be put with another group, and that was a great experience too!
6. Denali – If it had been in the summer, the trip to Denali by train would have been worth it (or just driving to Denali) for our day trip we chose Seward instead.

Places to Eat:

1. Moose’s Tooth – Best pizza in Anchorage. Although, we didn’t get a chance to try that because we ended up having pizza on a few separate occasions, but that is a MUST from what I’ve heard and is on my Anchorage bucket list.
2. Glacier Brewhouse – Located in downtown Anchorage near the Escape Room (and Uncle Joe’s Pizzaria – also good cheap pizza by the slice) it has a nice atmosphere and delicious food with a pretty diverse menu. The staff was great and the food was good. Perhaps a little pricey for some, but a nice stop altogether.
3. Snow City Café – Also in downtown Anchorage, this place had a stellar brunch/lunch menu and a casual diner feel. The service was great as was the food! Prices were reasonable as well!
4. Chinooks (Seward) – Located right on the marina, the view of the mountains and the water is spectacular and worth the cost of the meal. There weren’t other places we could eat (seasonally closed) so there wasn’t much to compare the prices to, but the Salmon was delicious as were the fries, rice, and everything else we had! The staff was personable and the service was great!

 

 

More to be added someday, my Anchorage “Things to See/Do” list keeps growing! (Also, for anyone living in the villages…Walmart and Costco are a must!)

 

((Also, for all of you that have been to/live around/know more about Anchorage, PLEASE SEND ME MORE THINGS TO DO AND SEE! 😀 ))