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Great Adventure Day Trips for the Family from Anchorage
How would your kids like to scramble up a huge dune of cool, clean sand? Nap in a groove carved by a glacier? Watch scores of salmon spawn? Here are family adventures within an hour’s drive or less from Anchorage. They offer amazing sights, fun activities ¬— and the option to return home in time for dinner.
South Fork Eagle River Falls
This hidden, little visited waterfall feels immense as it fills its small canyon with a roar that can be heard during the approach. Tucked into a gorge where the South Fork of Eagle River takes a 25-foot-plus plunge, the falls split into two channels as they cascade over a giant bedrock outcrop and are very photogenic. One of the Chugach’s secret places. The surrounding access More...
Kincaid Beach: Anchorage’s Big Secret Sandy Beach
A short drive from downtown Anchorage will land you in the middle of Kincaid Park, the jump-off point for this moderate two-mile out and back hike to Anchorage’s only big, sandy beach. If not for the cool Alaska temps, it'd be easy to think you were in Southern California. The sand is fine and very little mars its surface other than the occasional piece of driftwood. More...
Spencer Glacier
Spencer Glacier rises 3,500 feet in a stunning, natural ramp from a lake of royal-blue icebergs in the Chugach National Forest just 60 miles south of Anchorage. It’s a family-friendly recreation destination featuring camping, hiking, glacier exploration, nature walks, paddling and sightseeing. Maybe best of all: You have to take a train to get there!
Little Campbell Lake
This is a great pocket of wilderness right in Anchorage: easy to get to, quiet and pretty idyllic. Set in the northeastern section of Kincaid Park, Little Campbell Lake is packed with lily pads and surrounded by a thick forest lined with trails. Spend the afternoon hiking, swimming, fishing, or paddling around the lake.
Goose Lake
Goose Lake is located in central Anchorage, near the university district. You'd never know you're in the heart of Anchorage as you view Pacific loons nesting at the far end of the lake from mid-May to mid-September. Rent a paddleboat from the Paddleboat cafe (certain days of the week) to get a closer view of the loons. Obey the signs, and don't get too close. More...
Penguin Peak Flyover
It’s impossible to drive Turnagain Arm without noticing the massive green mountains on both sides of the Inlet. The hulking mountain which dominates this stretch of road between Bird and Girdwood is Penguin Peak.
In early Spring, avalanches thunder down its slopes. Most years, the deposits are deep enough to shut down the highway for hours, frustrating motorists. In More...
Kincaid Beach Walk
Anchorage families might sometimes forget we live beside the Pacific Ocean. But a very walkable sandy beach stretches along Anchorage’s southwest coast at Point Campbell in Kincaid Park. The area offers families an intimate look at some of the highest tides in the world along with stunning views of vast mudflats and snowy mountains. It’s a beachcombing delight.
Lake Hood Swimming Beach
Don’t be fooled by the name of this park—you can’t actually swim here. The beach was once a place for aquatic recreation, but now serves as a nice place to enjoy afternoon picnics and watch the airplanes takeoff and land at Lake Hood, the world busiest float plane base. These floatplanes can take you into remotes parts of Alaska to experience fishing, bear viewing More...
Campbell Beach
It's a stretch to call this a 'beach'. It's more like an oversized gravel bar on the edge of Campbell Creek. But you can drive to within 100 yards and hang out by the water. Park at the lot off Campbell Airstrip Road, walk to the bridge on the downstream side. It's a fun place to skip rocks, wade, and hang out to the relaxing sound of the creek More...
