Itinerary
Day 1: Anchorage, Alaska
Depending on when you arrive in Anchorage, you may want to walk the Tony Knowles coastal greenbelt trail, visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center or Anchorage Museum, or consult your personal OBP Journey Guidebook for other ideas on shopping, attractions, and dining.
Day 2: Kodiak, Alaska
From your downtown hotel overlooking the St. Paul Harbor, you can walk the docks, visit the Russian cemetery or Baranof Museum, explore historic ruins of a World War II coastal defense installation, or find other ideas in your OBP guidebook.
Days 3-6: Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska
Catch a 45-minute floatplane ride to Katmai Wilderness Lodge for four extraordinary days of being with bears. You will see bears right from the lodge, but each day you’ll set out on short boat rides with your guide to look for bears on beaches and in meadows around the bay. In addition to bears, you might see bald eagles, sea otters, seals, and seabirds, as well as occasional whales, moose, and wolves.
Day 7: Anchorage, Alaska
A floatplane takes you back to Kodiak to hop a jet for the hour-long flight back to Anchorage. Depending on your timing, you can catch some of the sights you missed the first time around.
Day 8: Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
A breathtaking small-plane flight through Lake Clark Pass delivers you to the park and your fabulous backcountry lodge. Choose your joy here: hiking, kayaking, fishing, or even helicopter-in bear viewing.
Days 9-11: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve
Wake up on the shores of Lake Clark this morning, and two flights and a drive later, you’re in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. On your spectacular first day, you jump in a bush plane and land with your guide on a tiny dirt airstrip right next to Kennicott Glacier. The flight is spectacular, and the hiking is even better, with wildflower meadows and panoramic views. Climb the mountainside, or cross the moraine to explore the glacier. On your amazing second day, learn all about glaciers as you trek on Root Glacier. You’re back in plenty of time for a fascinating afternoon prowl through the Kennecott ghost town (spelled with an “e” instead of an “i” after the Kennecott Mining Company), where you can go inside historical buildings still strewn with remnants from the copper mining heyday—including the 14-story concentration mill. Ready to tackle some stairs?
Day 12: Anchorage, Alaska
In reverse of what you did coming in, catch a small plane to Chitina and drive back to Anchorage. The pleasant 5.5-hour drive takes you through the farms and gardens of the fertile Matanuska Valley, settled in the 1930s by farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl. Stop in at the Musk Ox Farm to learn about qiviut, the finest wool in the world, eight times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere.
Day 13: Departure home
It’s never easy to leave Alaska, but you’ll be taking the sense of space, and thrill of true wilderness, home with you. You can always come back.
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