Day 1 – Fly into Anchorage, Get Settled & Enjoy a Quick Hike in the Early Evening

If you have good views on your flight into Anchorage, look for a view of Denali out the window. It was really neat to see it all on its own in the distance. This mountain is huge!

The check-in process for picking up my rental car was easier than renting from a known agency. This was a pleasant surprise. I showed up and was simply handed the keys. When renting from Turo, I made sure to scan the car thoroughly before taking off. I also took a video of the vehicle. I’m very happy I did this. When returning the vehicle, I did have a moment of panic with thoughts such as “was this rock chip here when I picked up the car?” or “did the side mirror have this piece missing?” When I checked my video, I was pleased to find my answers.

We grabbed lunch & headed out to grab groceries for our trip to Denali National Park. Since we knew we wouldn’t want to eat out every meal, this turned out to be a good money saving decision. We stocked up on ice at our hotel in Anchorage the next day.

We also grabbed a few items at the local Cabela’s in Anchorage. Items such as bear spray & bug spray.

After grabbing the essentials, we drove to Flattop Mountain. Flattop Mountain trail is located in Chugach State Park. It costs $5 to park and you can easily purchase a parking pass at the trailhead. The trail was gorgeous!

Flattop Mountain Trail

Length: 3.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1,430 feet

Loop trail

We ended the night with pizza at Moose’s Tooth. Many of the locals rave about this restaurant & we waited over 1 hour to be seated.

Day 2 – Matanuska Glacier tour then drive to Denali National Park

We hit the road early to arrive at Matanuska Glacier. The drive was beautiful. It takes almost two hours to get to Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage. Since we did have to drive to Denali National Park, this was considered a detour and added an additional two hours of driving for the day.

Perks: we considered this the “activity” of the day and I do not regret it. Also, driving on the Glenn Highway is scenic and worth it.

Matanuska Glacier tips – 

We booked a few days before our date. I am not sure if we were lucky there was availability or not. Cost was $65/person. When checking in, I was told this tour was 1/2 off normal price.

Your ticket includes a guide. In the past, they used to allow self-guided tours but it isn’t allowed anymore. With your ticket, you are given microspikes & a helmet. We spent close to two hours with the guide.

We packed our own lunch from the grocery store & enjoyed the view of Matanuska Glacier after the tour.

The drive to Denali National Park from Matanuska Glacier was about 4.5 hours, but you get to enjoy beautiful scenery of the Glenn Highway, Wasilla, Willow and more.

We took photos at Denali South Viewpoint and Denali North Viewpoint. We enjoyed Denali South Viewpoint much more!

Day 3 – Guided tour in Denali National Park

This was considered our full day activity. I highly suggest booking your tour several weeks to months in advance. Due to COVID-19, there were simply less bus tours running. Our guide said they normal have over 100 drivers. This year they only had 40 drivers.

The highlights of this tour was getting a close up view of Denali from Stony Hill Overlook & wildlife viewing. For a full recap of our time in Denali National Park, read here.

Day 4 – Flightseeing tour in Denali National Park, Hike Mount Healy Overlook trail

This was a great day! We did the flightseeing tour in the morning and hiked in the early afternoon. We were torn between hiking the Savage River Trail or Mount Healy Overlook. We weren’t blown away by Mount Healy, but it was enjoyable.

Day 5 – Drive to Seward, Alaska. Drive Hatcher Pass. Lunch in Girdwood. Hike Crow’s Pass. Arrive late in Seward, AK.

We left Denali in the morning and slowly made our way to Seward, Alaska. We made many stops along the way. We had heard great things about Hatcher Pass from our guide at Matanuska Glacier so we decided to take a slower route to Seward to hit this along the way. Instead of going through Willow & Wasilla, we cut across & drove to Hatcher Pass. At first, we were wondering if we were going the right way. It wasn’t as scenic as I was hoping in the beginning, but it sure paid off once we got closer to Hatcher Pass. This was lush and green. There are plenty of hikes to do in this area, but we passed and headed to Girdwood.

Lunch: The Bake Shop

This place was busy & we could tell could be a local favorite. Many pre or post hikers were patiently waiting for their food. After lunch, we hiked Crow’s Pass. The clouds cleared up and it ended up being a great hike. This was my second favorite hike in Alaska we did. We finished around 5 PM and headed towards Seward. After a quick trip to the grocery store, we settled into our hotel.

Crow’s Pass Stats

Distance: 6.2 miles

Elevation Gain: 1,958 feet

In & Out trail

Hotel accommodations: Spruce Lodge. This was recently remodeled and was like a studio apartment. It is outside of town & closer to Exit Glacier. You are also given your passcode for your door so check-in was easy & appreciated.

Day 6 – Cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park

There are several cruises to choose from and we ended up doing the 8.5 hour Northwestern Fjord Cruise with Major Marine Tours. Lunch is provided and you can purchase alcoholic beverages on the cruise. There are several cruises to choose from in Seward so I don’t think you can go wrong. I liked our tour & would recommend it to anyone visiting Seward. On a return trip, I would schedule another cruise, but would try the Kenai Fjords National Park for different scenery.

Day 7 – Hike Harding Icefield Trail

This was what I was looking forward to the most when it came to hiking in Alaska. Luckily, the snow had melted & we didn’t have to deal with any on the trail. I enjoyed several viewpoints on this hike. Marmot meadows, Top of the Cliffs and of course, the end of the trail where you get to see the entire landscape of the Harding Icefield.

Expect a good workout throughout the whole hike.

Stats of Harding Icefield Trail

Distance: 8.4 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,500 elevation gain

After finishing the hike, we relaxed the rest of the day. I walked over to The Salmon Bake for dinner and enjoyed a nice grilled halibut dinner.

Day 8 – Visit Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. Visit Homer, AK.

This was our free day. I could have easily booked another cruise, but not many were available the day of. I also really wanted to kayak to Bear Glacier, but there wasn’t any availability for that either. We decided to check out the Alaska SeaLife Center and this was surprisingly really neat & exceeded expectations. I enjoyed seeing the Puffins up close. You’ll learn fun facts about the marine life in Seward.

There isn’t a ton to do in the town of Seward unless you are exploring Kenai National Park via cruise or trails. We had time to spare so we drove to Homer. We heard fantastic things about the drive to Homer so we were excited to see it. I wasn’t impressed with the drive except when we rolled right into Homer. It is a long drive from Seward (3 hours), so I wouldn’t recommend visiting Homer in such a short time frame.

We walked the town of Homer and enjoyed a great dinner. I highly recommend trying AK Fish Fryers for fish and chips. It was the first restaurant on Google I have ever seen with a 5 star rating. It lived up to the hype. As a bonus, anyone who catches halibut on a fishing trip can drop off their fish to get fried.

Day 9 – Visit Whittier, AK. Hike Portage Pass. Visit Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. Sleep in Anchorage, AK.

On our way back to Anchorage, we stopped in Whittier. This was just short of a two hour drive from Seward. Whittier is famous for their tunnel, Whittier Tunnel. It is considered the longest highway tunnel in North America. It’s important to note this tunnel is on a time schedule. Cars leave on the half hour from 5:30 AM to 10:30 PM. It is also tolled so be expected to pay around $13 round trip.

When we arrived in Whittier, we hiked Portage Pass. This gives you a closer view of Portage Glacier. You can hike to a viewpoint or hike to the lake beneath the glacier. You can also get a view of the Prince William Sound from the other direction if you hike high enough up.

After the hike, we explored Whittier. There are a few cute shops, a few restaurants and a beautiful marina to enjoy. Many people will book day cruises, sea kayak or jet ski at Whittier.

After hearing great reviews about the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, we headed there. It is a short drive once you leave Whittier. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is home to several rescues. What I enjoyed most about this center is learning the story of how the animals were rescued. Each animal has a story. While you can drive a loop and get out of your vehicle to explore, many people simply walk throughout the entire center.

Price is $17 per person.

We headed back to Anchorage, settled in our hotel then grabbed dinner at Kinley’s.

Day 10 – Fly to King Salmon

You can fly on as little as 5,000 miles to King Salmon on Alaska Airlines. This is exactly what we did. A short flight from Anchorage gets you into King Salmon. This is a hub for fishing and bear viewing.

We stayed at the King Salmon Lodge for two nights with the purpose of viewing the grizzly bears at Katmai National Park.

Day 11 – Visit Katmai National Park

We spent a full day at Katmai National Park. To learn all about our day trip, click here.

Day 12 – Fly home