In response to the many requests I get on where to go and what to do on a trip to Alaska, here is my quick-and-dirty Alaska itinerary column (printed in Alaska magazine in February 2003) reproduced here in full. Print it out and start planning.

JUST DO IT YOURSELF, OKAY?

To begin with, plan on a minimum of two weeks. Here’s an exercise in geographical perspective for you: Lay a transparent map of Alaska over a map of the South 48 to the same scale. See, the map of Alaska overlays both borders and both coasts of the South 48. You wouldn’t plan on touring the continental United States in two weeks, now, would you?

So here is one possible, admittedly quick-and-dirty, summer and Southcentral specific itinerary just for you. I’ve personally experienced most of the recommendations I make, and the books came right off my shelf.

Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage. Alaska Airlines can’t be beat for frequency of Alaska-West Coast flights, and nowadays they’re flying to Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Denver, too. As for where to stay, if you like B&Bs, call Tony at the Copper Whale Inn (907 258-7999). If you’d rather have your own bathroom, we have everything from Day’s Inn (907 276-7226) to the four-star Hotel Captain Cook (907 276-6000).

Day 2: Visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Shop for Native arts and crafts at the gift shop at the Alaska Native Medical Center on Tudor, but call first to see if they’re open (907 729-1122) because a lot of the time they aren’t. Rent a bike and ride the Coastal Trail to Kincaid Park. Watch out for moose and the occasional bear.

Day 3: Drive to Seward for a trip with Kenai Fjords Cruises. I have never been skunked on this cruise, I’ve seen killer whales and humpbacks and Steller sea lions and finback whales and puffins and porpoises and otters and seals and pretty much anything marine you can name at this latitude. And I haven’t even mentioned the glacier.

Stay the night. Dine at Ray’s in the boat harbor and then walk it off looking at Seward’s collection of murals, featuring the famous Fourth of July Mt. Marathon footrace, the Iditarod Trail, Rockwell Kent, and Alaskan wildflowers. You could always hike Mt. Marathon yourself if you’re feeling frisky. You could, but I’d recommend the Godwin Glacier helicopter/dog sled tour instead.

Day 4: Visit the Sealife Center, shop at Bardarson’s in the boat harbor and stop at Exit Glacier on the way out of town to hike up to the glacier’s face. Drive to Homer, stopping at Espresso to Go in Cooper Landing for an americano grande with room. Stay at the Driftwood Inn on Bishop’s Beach. Shop at the Bunnell Street Gallery, Ptarmigan Arts, and the Fireweed Gallery. Walk the Facing the Elements trail in back of the Pratt Museum and visit the sperm whale exhibit at the high school. Take Mako’s Water Taxi on a tour of Kachemak Bay with a visit to Seldovia. Dine on clams at Land’s End. End the day with a walk and a driftwood fire on the beach. Don’t worry, in summertime we have nineteen-plus hours of daylight, you’ll fit it all in.

Day 5: Pick up lunch at the Sourdough Express, which you remembered to order the night before. Take Bald Mountain Air’s bear flightseeing trip to Katmai. Dine at the fabulous Homestead Restaurant out East End Road and pour a libation in honor of the wonderful tour guide who recommended it to you.

Day 6: Get your morning coffee and breakfast pastry at Two Sisters Bakery down the street (the best brownies in the known universe, no lie). Drive to Anchorage. Stop at Summit Lake Lodge for ice cream, and in Girdwood to pan for gold at the Crow Creek Mine and eat the best pepper steak of your life at the Double Musky Inn.

Day 7: Another day in Anchorage (You can drive direct to Talkeetna, if you’re the road warrior type.). Visit the Anchorage Museum, especially the Alaskan exhibit upstairs. Shop at Cabin Fever at 4th and G. See if the gift shop at the Alaska Native Hospital is open today. Go to the Fly By Night Club to see the Whale Fat Follies. Visitors tell me that it is best not to go to the Follies until you’ve been here at least a week, otherwise you don’t get the jokes.

Day 8: Drive to Talkeetna. Stay at the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge. If you can tear yourself away from the view, take the Hurricane Turn, Alaska Railroad’s six-hour flagstop service to Hurricane, which has great characters and great scenery in equal proportion.

Day 9: Take a flightseeing trip to Denali out of Talkeetna with K2 Aviation, or go rafting with Mahay’s. Or both.

Day 10: Drive to Denali and take the bus into the park. Your butt will hurt, you’ll choke on the dust and the mosquitoes will eat you alive, but you’ll see grizzlies, caribou, moose, marmots, eagles, and maybe even wolves. Oh yes, and then there is The Mountain.

Day 11: Drive to Fairbanks. After seeing the Whale Fat Follies, you’ll of course want to stop at Skinny Dick’s on the way.

Day 12: Take the paddlewheeler down the river.

Day 13: Go for a hike and a dip in Chena Hot Springs. If you come back in the wintertime, you can stay in the ice hotel, and see the northern lights.

Day 14: Fly home and get some sleep.

Mind you, this is the easy way to see Alaska, from road and rail and river. If you want to visit the carving shed in Ketchikan, you’ll want to take one of the many cruise ships plying the Inside Passage, or the ferry, which I think is way more fun, but that’s just me. If you want to fly into some of the remoter locations like Nome or Barrow, get out your wallet as the farther away you get from the road system the more expensive everything is. Why do you think so many of us practice a subsistence lifestyle?

You could also backpack into the Gates of the Arctic National Park or kayak Prince William Sound. You go right ahead. Me, I like a pint of Alaskan Amber, a hot shower and clean sheets at the end of the day.

Some suggested reading before, during and after your trip:
Always and ever The Milepost, which has maps, routes, places to eat, stay, sightsee, and opening hours and seasons. We buy it, too. If you’re interested in flowers, it has to be the Field Guide to Wildflowers by Verna Pratt. If you’re interested in birds and you should be because Alaska is where it seems like some of every species spend their summers, invest now in Robert H. Armstrong’s Guide to the Birds of Alaska. I have one on the living room bookshelf and one in the back of my car, and binoculars both places, too.

If you’re interested in readable Alaskan history, try Confederate Raider in the North Pacific by Murray Morgan, The Klondike Rush by Pierre Berton, Good-Time Girls by Lael Morgan, and The Thousand-Mile War by Brian Garfield. Try the Alaska Almanac for historical and geographical facts and wisecracks by Mr. Whitekeys. Read How to Speak Alaskan by Mike Doogan if you want to come in disguise.

What else? My friend Rhonda says you should come for the Iditarod, beginning in Anchorage for the ceremonial start on the first Saturday in March and flying to Nome for the grand finale beneath the burlwood arch. My friend Pati says you haven’t really been here if you haven’t been kayaking, salt water or fresh. My friend Sharyn says no trip to Alaska is complete without driving the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxon, and then driving Paxon to McCarthy to tour the Kennecott Mine.

Me, I think if you go home without going to Seldovia, why did you bother coming at all?