Brian Adams/Alaska Travel Industry AssociationWhat's New
• Saltery Lodge: Offering a selection of day tours to both cruise passengers and FITs including the Saltery Lodge Wilderness Tour, Saltery Lodge Kayaking Tour, and Photography and Hummingbird Tour. Ketchikan.
• Talkeetna Air Taxi: A guided Ruth Glacier trek for all ability levels on the slopes of Mt. McKinley, North America’s tallest mountain.
• Anchorage Museum: Museum’s size has doubled and now includes the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center and Imaginarium Discovery Center.
• Northwest Arctic Heritage Center: Provides visitors a new destination for information, trip planning and cultural events. Serves as the hub for the four park areas in Northwest Alaska: Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and Noatak National Preserve. Kotzebue.
Attractions
• Denali National Park and Preserve: Complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves and moose.
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve: 1.3 million-hectare park has 12 tidewater glaciers plunging into icy fjords.
• Anchorage Museum of History and Art: Alaskan and northern art ranging from prehistoric to contemporary times.
• Great Alaska Lumberjack Show: Log rolling, greased pole climbing, log chopping demonstrations. Ketchikan.
• White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad: International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark offering several scenic excursions from Skagway.
• The Hammer Museum: This small, quirky museum is the world’s only museum dedicated to the hammer. Houses over 1,500 hammers from Roman times to the present. Haines.
• Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum: More than 60 eye-popping carriages, steam cars, brass-era autos and luxurious 1930s sedans are on display along with oddities such as early electric cars, midget racers, and cycle cars. Fairbanks.
Events
Brian Adams/Alaska Travel Industry Association• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (March), Anchorage to Nome.• World Ice Art Championships (February/March), Fairbanks.
• Kodiak Crab Festival (May), Kodiak Island.
• World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (July), Fairbanks.
• Alaska State Fair (August/September), Palmer.
• Alaska Bald Eagle Festival (November), Haines.
Places
• Fairbanks: Highlights include the University of Alaska Museum of the North, gold mine tours, river cruises aboard a sternwheeler and Pioneer Park with several museums, shops and authentic turn-of-the-20th-century cabins.
• St. Lawrence Island: Two communities, Gambell and Savoonga, have preserved traditional lifestyles of the inhabitants of this Bering Sea Island for thousands of years.
• Sitka: The Russian capital of Alaska from 1808 to 1867 still boasts an active Russian culture. Highlights include St. Michael’s Cathedral, Russian Bishop’s House, Sheldon Jackson Museum and totem poles at Sitka National Historical Park.
• Skagway: The gold rush era of the late 1890s is preserved in old town storefronts and on the 53-kilometre Chilkoot Trail. Visit Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park or travel on the vintage White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.
• Nome: The access point for more than 500 kilometres of roads that offer access to the pristine wilderness of the Seward Peninsula. Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum houses more than 14,000 photos and exhibits on the gold rush and Native culture and art.
• Kodiak Island: Features traditional Alutiiq villages and museums documenting local Native history and culture. Also has an extensive Russian history: the Baranov Museum and Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
Brian Adams/Alaska Travel Industry Association• Ketchikan: The largest collection of totem poles in the U.S. can be found in Saxman, Totem Bight State Park and the Totem Heritage Centre. Incredible wildlife viewing at Misty Fjords National Monument.• Juneau: The gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Local attractions include St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Mount Roberts tramway.
• Anchorage: Alaska’s largest city offers luxury hotels, fine dining and shopping just minutes from state parks, an extensive trail system and several historic sites.
• Prince William Sound: Rivals the Inside Passage for the steepest fjords and the most spectacular coastlines and glaciers. Home to abundant wildlife. Access the Sound from Whittier, Valdez or Cordova, by state ferry or private day excursion boats.
Hidden Gems
• Valdez Museum and Historical Archive: Provides a window into the early history of the town, from a short-lived gold rush in the early 1900s to the devastation wreaked by the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964. Valdez.
• Farmer’s Markets: Numerous farmer’s markets in towns statewide allow visitors the chance to sample produce, handmade crafts and other treats, like honey, jams, candles and soaps.
Did You Know?
State Flower: Forget-Me-Not
State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
State Motto: North To The Future
Fast Facts
Region: NORTHWEST
America’s Byways: Alaska’s Marine Highway, Dalton Highway, Glenn Highway, Haines Highway, Parks Highway, Richardson Highway, Sterling Highway, Steese Highway, Alaska Railroad.
Direct Flights: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, United.
Cruise Lines: Carnival Cruise Lines, Cruise West, Crystal Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Majestic America Line, Silversea Cruises.
Sales Tools: Alaska Certified Expert program; image library; marketing collateral; trade newsletter; sample itineraries
Info: Alaska Vacation Hotline (800) 862-5275
travelalaska.com