Are you in relatively good shape, love to hike, and have a couple of days to spare? If so, consider the Crow Pass Trail. It’s a well-traversed hike that starts in Girdwood and ends in Eagle River (or vice versa if you fancy), and offers some of the best backcountry scenery in Alaska. Here are some fun facts and helpful info about Crow Pass to get you prepared: Crow Pass is about 21 miles long and takes on average 2 days to finish Which means: bring camping gear, food, ample water (or water purification tablets) and mosquito repellant. If you’re super ambitious, you can hike the entire way in ..read more

Happy New Year and welcome to 2020! This is our last blog post of 2019 and we just want to express some serious gratitude for the great, vast beauty that Alaska offers those lucky enough to visit here: Vast, empty space Alaska truly is “The Great Land.” People from around the world come here to get truly “lost” in the boundless space of wilderness, seeking: ultimate solitude (or the intimate company of good people) to be instantly humbled by power of Mother Nature to push themselves to their physical, mental and emotional limits Clear winter nights When I was 14 and growing up in Eagle Riv ..read more

Of the 5 or so years I’ve been writing this blog, the biggest challenge I’ve faced is finding excellent photos of Alaska with a budget of $0. It’s not easy. Sometimes the search for great pics takes longer than the writing itself. I’ve even gotten in a little trouble. Until now. Unsplash is a community for photographers to post their work and allow end-users to download and use these photos however they want, or as they say, “The internet’s source of freely usable images.” The site has grown over over the years, and there are now over 500 photos of Alaska. In this photo series, I handpicked s ..read more

Thanks to Instagram, anyone can appear to feel fabulous. Thanks to Alaska, you actually can feel fabulous. Put both together and you have some very promising bragging potential that actually feels great! Denali National Park Imagine stepping foot into 6 million acres of pure, pristine wild land. You are completely surrounded by rivers, mountains, glaciers, valleys, forests, tundra, bears, caribou, moose, foxes, wolves, eagles — and Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. You made it this far…how can you resist The Gram?   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by National Pa ..read more

A few weeks ago, our marketing associate Charles — who grew up in Anchorage but now lives out of state — took a trip to Alaska to visit family and enjoy life. Here are photos and descriptions of his top 7 destinations and adventures! “Catching” fresh fish at New Sagaya City Market So here’s a “secret” if you really want to enjoy some fresh salmon while you’re in Anchorage: Buy it from the supermarket. In the summer, fish at the markets in Alaska is super fresh, abundant and affordable. Also, it won’t cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in fishing gear, a fishing license, and hiring ..read more

Fresh off the heels of Part 1 of our “adventure series” series — which includes hiking to a glacier, wildlife viewing, berry picking and more — are 5 more amazing adventures waiting to be experienced. The best part? All this fun is just a 1-hour drive from Anchorage, at Portage Valley and the small but gorgeous coastal town of Whittier, about 55 miles south of Anchorage. Once again, here’s the map of the area we’re talking about It includes all of Portage Valley over the mountain above  Portage Lake to Whittier, which you can drive to via a super-long tunnel (see below). And here 5 more ..read more

Did you know that you can experience Alaskan wildlife, a glacier, epic fishing, rivers and ocean, berry picking, open-ocean kayaking, whale watching, camping and so much more — just a mere hour drive out of Anchorage? Yes, it’s true. Portage Valley and Whittier are about about 55 miles south of Anchorage as you head towards Seward, just past the breathtaking ski town of Girdwood (another great day trip destination). In fact, there’s so much to do you will have to decide what not to do! Here’s a map of the area we’re talking about As you can see, there’s Portage Valley, and at the end of the ..read more

Do you ever dream about: …waking up to Denali at your doorstep? Denali National Park …admiring  fjords from the sky? Misty Fiords National Monument near Ketchikan …catching your dinner? Togiak River …seeing colors shimmering across the night sky? Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) near Willow Aurora Borealis near Portage …a front-row seat to a calving glacier? South Sawyer Glacier in the Tracy Arm near Juneau …whale watching under the midnight sun? Humpback whales at Point Adolphus near Gustavus in Glacier Bay Humpback whales at Hoonah near Juneau …witnessing art in nature ..read more

On November 30, 2018 at 8:29am, a massive earthquake struck South Central Alaska. The epicenter of the quake was located near the military bases Elmendorf and Ft. Richardson on the northern end of the city. Road damage from the 2018 Alaska earthquake The earthquake was the largest since the infamous 9.2 quake of 1964, which is the largest on record ever in North America, as well as the second largest ever recorded in the world. It resulted in 139 deaths, with remnants of the damage still visible today. Damage from the 1964 Alaska earthquake Thankfully, no lives were lost in the 2018 Alaska ..read more

The summer growing season in Alaska is short and produces an abundance of oversized vegetables that look like this: But when winter comes, the land is frozen and unusable. According to the Alaska Food Policy Council, about 95% of all the food Alaskans eat comes from somewhere else. So…how do Alaskans eat in the winter? To answer this, it’s important to understand that Alaskans are incredibly self-sufficient. We do what it takes to survive. In the case of eating during the winter months, we’ve cultivated a lifestyle that embraces austerity, resourcefulness and creativity. Here’s are some of th ..read more