7 things to do in Anchorage without a car that’s so-very-Alaska!

Hi there!

Anchorage is the big city of Alaska, and it’s the location of the major airport of Alaska.

If your flight into Anchorage is the one and only time you’re going to be in Alaska and you really want to see Alaska, then you really need to get outside of downtown Anchorage.

There are ways to see Alaska without a car from Anchorage. But it is not exactly cheap to do so. The best ways will be by tour and/or by train! And, this is what the list below will include.

 

 

There are partner websites listed below.

 

 

I’ve been to Anchorage to start a cruise, to end a cruise, and as a “land” trip without a car!

Here are the things you must consider when you are planning a trip to Anchorage!

 

 

1. Matanuska Glacier

The Matansuka Glacier is the popular glacier to go to from Anchorage if you want to go hiking on a glacier!

This is located a bit outside of Anchorage, and there are a bunch of glacier hiking tours to Matanuska Glacier.

 

2. Portage Glacier

Going to the Portage Glacier is another popular glacier to go to from Anchorage.

The popular way to see the Portage Glacier is through a boat tour.

This is a different type of amazing glacier experience to have in Alaska. The boat will take you up close to the glacier!

This is also located outside of Anchorage, and there are Portage Glacier tours that also include some wildlife viewing at a conservation center.

 

3. Alaska Railroad + glaciers

If you’ll be traveling to Anchorage without a car, then the best way to get around to see more of Alaska is by train!

 

👆 The best way to travel in Alaska without a car is by train!

 

The best Alaska train trips to do from Anchorage are to Seward and/or to Whittier, because… glaciers!

You can make your trip to Alaska all about seeing as many glaciers as you can!

You can also go to Denali National Park from Anchorage by train, and you can go to Fairbanks by train. But Denali and Fairbanks are not day trips from Anchorage. You’ll want to add in some nights there.

 

Although you have a chance to see northern lights all across Alaska (if it’s northern lights season in Alaska), Fairbanks is where you want to go if you want a dedicated northern lights viewing experience in Alaska!

There are epic northern lights tours in Fairbanks. (There is also an airport in Fairbanks if that is your main goal.)

 

The company that operates these train rides from Anchorage is Alaska Railroad. I’ve done 3 Alaska Railroad train rides, and I’ve always booked direct through them.

You can check the Alaska Railroad website for the schedule and ticket cost of these train routes.

The Anchorage to Whittier route is the Glacier Discovery Train.

The Anchorage to Seward route is the Coastal Classic Train.

The Anchorage to Denali to Fairbanks route is the Denali Star Train.

 

Anchorage to Whittier

Most people go to Whittier as a day trip from Anchorage.

You can take the train from Anchorage to Whittier in the morning, do the 26-glacier tour in Whittier so you can see 2 glaciers up close (and sail by a total of 26 glaciers?!), and then take the evening train back to Anchorage! The train timings line up to make this happen. Lots of people do it this way.

If you’re not interested in the train ride, you can also do the 26-glacier tour by shuttle instead of the train.

 

👆 How to see glaciers in Alaska: You can make it a day trip from Anchorage to Whittier to do the 26-glacier tour!

 

Anchorage to Seward

Take the train from Anchorage to Seward, and you can go to Kenai Fjords National Park.

You can go to Seward as a day trip, but I think it’s better to have at least a night or 2 in Seward so that you can go to Kenai Fjords National Park on land and by boat!

On the day you arrive by train from Anchorage, you can take the Exit Glacier shuttle to do the short hike to Exit Glacier. The next day, you can do a boat tour through Kenai Fjords National Park so you can get to see at least one glacier up close! There are boat tours of varying length.

There’s a 6-hour glacier tour, a 7.5 hour glacier tour, and an 8.5-hour glacier tour to the remote Northwestern Fjords.

The 6-hour glacier tour will allow you to do Seward as a day trip from Anchorage. You can go by train both ways. Or you can also go by train one way, and find a shuttle to go the other way.

The shuttles tend to serve cruise passengers, so the shuttle days will reflect that. Although you may see them referred to as cruise shuttles or cruise transfers, you can book these shuttles even if you aren’t a cruise passenger. I’ve taken one of these when I didn’t have a cruise. You can also look for these cruise shuttles for Whittier.

 

👆 How to see glaciers in Alaska: You can go from Anchorage to Seward to do a Kenai Fjords National park glacier tour by boat!

 

👆 You can go hiking on your own to see a glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park! The short hike is the Exit Glacier overlook trail, possible as a day trip. The longer hike may be better to have an overnight in Seward if you won’t be renting a car. That’s the Harding Icefield Trail. You can do that on your own, or you can do it as a guided Kenai Fjords National Park hiking tour.

 

 

More national parks from Anchorage

Another national park that people often do as a day trip from Anchorage is to Katmai National Park.

This is the place people go in July and September to see bears catching salmon at the river.

Maybe you’ve seen the iconic pictures of Brooks Falls.

This is an expensive national park to visit. Like $1,000+ because of the transportation required to get there.

See the bear viewing guide pdf from the National Park Service.

 

Lake Clark National Park is another expensive-to-visit national park from Anchorage, but people do it as a bucket list epic Alaska experience.

 

Your intro to national parks in downtown Anchorage

You must go to Alaska Public Lands Information Center in downtown Anchorage! This will give you tons of inspiration to plan your return trip to Alaska! 😁

There are lots of brochures about public lands in Alaska, and you can learn a lot about Alaska’s wilderness too!

Also, if you are a national park stamp collector, then you can get some Alaska national park passport stamps here.

This information center is also near the starting point of the Anchorage trolley tour if you want to get an intro to the city.

 

Alaska cruises to Anchorage or from Anchorage

One of the best types of Alaska cruises you can do are one-way 7-day cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage.

Well, more specifically these types of 7-day Alaska cruises to or from “Anchorage” are actually to or from the small Alaskan towns of Whittier or Seward.

And if you start or end a cruise in either of these towns, you can do the train + glacier tour combo before your cruise or after your cruise!

I’ve been on Alaska cruises that started in Whittier and ended in Whittier, and both times, I did both the train and glacier tour before a cruise from Whittier and after a cruise to Whittier!

See more about things to do in Seward without a car.

For more about what you need to know before booking an Alaska cruise, have a look at Cruise Alaska 101 and/or read the homepage on the blog!

 

4. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Seeing wildlife in Alaska is a thing. But, wildlife sightings in the true wild are never a guarantee.

If you want guaranteed wildlife sightings, the next best thing is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. You can think of it as a zoo that feels like it’s out in the wild!

As a conservation center, the animals here aren’t truly out in the wild, but if you can ignore the fences, it can feel like you’re really out in the nature!

If you’re in Anchorage without a car, the way to get to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is through a tour.

There are wildlife center tours from Anchorage.

 

👆 You can go to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center during your stay in Anchorage to definitely see animals in Alaska.

 

 

5. Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

If you have a day (or even half a day) to spend around downtown Anchorage and you want to do something outdoors-related without a car… the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail it is!

This is a paved trail, and you can walk it or bike it. Biking the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is the thing to do!

Yes, it is a trail that goes along the coast so that means the trail includes some scenic coastal views! It also goes through a forest.

You can bike it on your own by renting a bike in downtown Anchorage, or you can make it a guided coastal biking tour.

Apparently there’s a chance that you can see moose while out on the trail over towards Kincaid Park, although I didn’t see any.

 

👆 You can bike the Anchorage coastal trail from downtown Anchorage on your own, or you can do a guided Tony Knowles Coastal Trail biking tour.

 

👆 An information sign along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail about what to do if you see moose is a good indication that it’s not uncommon to see moose!

 

There are a few bike rental companies in downtown Anchorage. From downtown Anchorage it’s a short bike ride to get to the start of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

I ended up going with Downtown Bicycle Rental because I saw that they offer luggage storage if you rent a bike. Even though I didn’t end up needing the luggage storage, I decided to rent a bike there anyway. All was well!

I recommend that you get the helmet and bike lock. (When I rented the bike, I was asked if I wanted these things.)

Bring a small daypack with you so you can carry that bike lock, and also to bring along water and snacks! I like to wear bright clothes to be better seen by cars. I brought along rain gear as well.

 

Anchorage mud flats

One of the first very-Alaska things you’ll see after starting the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail from mile marker 0 is the mud flats! I got here about 20 minutes after starting the bike ride. And I learned… mud flats are dangerous! (That’s what the signs say.) Don’t go walking out onto mud flats. Bad things can happen.

 

👆 You can take in the views of Anchorage mud flats along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

 

Point Woronzof

I think you can have a good bike ride if you bike the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail to Point Woronzof.

This is a beach that gives you views of the downtown Anchorage city skyline.

This can be your landmark and turnaround point if you want to keep it on the shorter side! (It’s still not that short. It took me around 1 hour one way. I was biking at a leisurely pace and I was making a bunch of stops along the way.)

The State of Alaska wildlife department has Point Woronzof wildlife viewing tips.

 

👆 Anchorage beaches: You can make a stop to walk down to the beach at Point Woronzof.

 

 

Kincaid Beach access

It took me just under 2 hours to bike to the Kincaid Beach access, one way. This can make another fine turnaround point. This is just an empty shoreline, which makes for a peaceful beach walk in Alaska!

This also gives you access to the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge.

 

👆 Anchorage beaches: You can make a stop at the Kincaid Beach access along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

 

👆 This is part of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge.

 

6. Chugach State Park

The most popular hike near downtown Anchorage is the Flattop Mountain Trail in Chugach State Park.

You can’t get to the Flattop Mountain Trail by public bus, but in the summer there is a shuttle to the trailhead. This is just a shuttle, which means once you get dropped off, you hike the trail on your own.

Bring a daypack with water and snacks, and wear good hiking shoes!

You can also do a guided Chugach State Park hiking tour.

 

7. 49th State Brewing + more restaurants (Alaskan food)

In my search to find Alaskan food in Anchorage, I ended up eating at 49th State Brewing (reviews), Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse (reviews), and White Spot Cafe (reviews). White Spot Cafe is more of a lunch spot. They close early.

These restaurants all have locations in downtown Anchorage. 49th State Brewing and Humpy’s also have restaurants at Anchorage Airport.

 

👆 I had halibut fish tacos at 49th State Brewing. They have many more Alaska food items on the menu.

 

👆 Some of the very-Alaska food items on the 49th State Brewing restaurant menu.

 

👆 I had halibut fish and chips at Humpy’s.

 

👆 I had the halibut sandwich at White Spot Cafe. Alaskan halibut is a thing, and I had a lot of it! 😆

 

For food during your Alaska cruise, see my post about the best restaurants in Alaska cruise ports.

 

Public bus in Anchorage

There is a public bus that goes around downtown Anchorage. This bus also goes to the airport.

I’ve taken the bus to get to and from the airport with luggage. It was a normal public bus experience!

Be sure you have dollar bills so you can pay with exact change. See the current bus fare.

I used the google maps public transit option to navigate Anchorage by bus. This will tell you where the bus stops are located and the timings of the bus.

 

Uber in Anchorage

There is also uber in Anchorage. I’ve used uber to go to the airport. It did take a few extra minutes to get a driver, but otherwise it was a typical uber experience!

If you want to take uber from the airport, there’s a specific spot to go for ride share pick-ups. I recommend you go to the information desk at the airport and ask where that is, and/or follow the signs.

 

Places to stay in Anchorage

Cheap place to stay: As a solo traveler, I’ve stayed at Base Camp Anchorage. This is a dorm-style hostel. People of all ages stay here. I’ve even met 2 grandmas who were traveling alone when I was staying there! One was from Australia, another was from Tennessee!

Place to stay near the train station: I have also stayed at the Arctic Fox Inn when I had an early morning train ride from Anchorage. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the train station.

Alaska cruise people: A popular place to stay in the cruise community is the Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage.

 

If you’re on a one-way cruise between Anchorage and Vancouver, also see things to do in Vancouver without a car!

 

HAPPY PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO ANCHORAGE!