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Anchorage, Alaska, US

Anchorage: Alaska's Urban Gateway, the Chugach Mountains, and the Last Frontier

Anchorage is Alaska's largest city, home to nearly 40 percent of the state's people, on a peninsula between two arms of Cook Inlet with the Chugach Mountains behind it. Moose and bears are regularly seen inside the city limits, so keep a good distance from any you meet.

Downtown Anchorage reflected in the still water of Cook Inlet beneath the snowy Chugach Mountains.

Photo: Quintin Soloviev · BY-4.0

More views of Anchorage, Alaska, US

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What Cruise Travelers Should Know About Anchorage

Cruise calls billed as Anchorage do not all use the same port, so check which one your itinerary names. Some ships dock at the Don Young Port of Alaska, a cargo port about 2 miles north of downtown, where passengers cannot walk out through the port and are shuttled to the downtown mall instead; most large ships use Whittier or Seward, far to the south and east.

  • Whittier sits on Prince William Sound, southeast of Anchorage, and the only land route in is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the longest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America.
  • In summer the Alaska Railroad runs passenger trains between Anchorage and Whittier, and between Anchorage and Seward.

Anchorage on Your Own

If your ship docks at the Port of Alaska, the shuttle drops you downtown, and a museum, the start of the coastal trail and the visitor center are all within walking distance. If your call is at Whittier or Seward, Anchorage is a separate trip by rail or road, and the road from Whittier runs through the tunnel.

  • Start at the log cabin: Pick up maps at the visitor information center, a sod-roofed log cabin at 4th Avenue and F Street.
  • The museum: The Anchorage Museum, downtown, covers Alaska's art, history, cultures and science. Check opening days before you go.
  • The trail: The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail starts from Second Avenue downtown and runs 11 miles along the coast to Kincaid Park; walk or cycle as far as you like and turn back.
  • One short ride: In summer, the Alaska Native Heritage Center runs a free shuttle from downtown, picking up at West 4th Avenue and E Street, for the 15-minute trip to its campus. Check the season dates before you go.
  • Stay off the mudflats: The shore along Cook Inlet is fine glacial mud that can trap people as the tide comes in, so never walk out onto it.
  • Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own, so allow for the shuttle back to the port.
  • Watch the clock: All-aboard is given in ship's time, which may not match Alaska time or your phone.

Getting Around Anchorage

Downtown Anchorage is compact enough to walk, and free shuttles and the People Mover bus system extend your range. Rental cars, taxis and ride-hailing cover the rest of the city.

  • People Mover buses leave from the Downtown Transit Center on 6th Avenue between G and H streets.
  • Taxis and ride-hailing reach the Alaska Native Heritage Center in about 10 minutes from downtown; give drivers the exact address, 8800 Heritage Center Drive.
  • Only two highways leave Anchorage: the Seward Highway south to the Kenai Peninsula, and the Glenn Highway northeast.
  • The Whittier tunnel carries both cars and trains through Maynard Mountain, so road traffic runs to a schedule.

What to Eat in Anchorage

Alaska's seafood, above all halibut, salmon and king and snow crab, leads restaurant menus here. Reindeer sausage is a breakfast standby, and fireweed honey and spruce tip syrup make good small gifts.

  • Halibut and salmon: Restaurants near the coast serve fresh halibut and salmon during the season, fried, grilled or roasted.
  • King crab: Alaska is known for king and snow crab, much of it boiled at sea soon after it is caught.
  • Reindeer: Selling wild game such as moose or bear is illegal in Alaska, so the reindeer sausage on breakfast menus comes from farmed animals.
  • Fireweed and spruce: The honey and the syrup both come from plants that grow throughout Alaska.
  • Local beer: Anchorage has many microbreweries, and all its bars and restaurants are non-smoking.

Tipping in the United States

Tipping is expected in the United States, and some restaurants add an automatic gratuity or service charge, so check the bill before you add more.

  • Foreign currency is almost never accepted, so bring US dollars.
  • Tour and activity guides are usually tipped $5 to $10 per person per day.

Museums, Native Heritage, and the Gateway to Wilderness

Anchorage is Dena'ina homeland, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center lies in the traditional territory of the Native Village of Eklutna, a Dena'ina Athabascan tribe. The city's two big cultural institutions present Alaska's peoples, past and present.

  • Alaska Native Heritage Center: Run by Alaska Natives, the center shares the heritage of Alaska's eleven major cultural groups, with dance, Native Games demonstrations and storytelling on its Gathering Place stage, and six life-size village sites around Lake Tiulana.
  • Anchorage Museum: Its Alaska Gallery shows more than 1,000 objects from the state's first peoples through Russian settlement, the gold rush, World War II and statehood in 1959.
  • Arctic studies: The Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center has its Alaska office at the museum and lends it Alaska Native objects for long-term display.
  • Painting the North: The museum's art galleries give a whole gallery to the paintings of Sydney Laurence, alongside landscapes, drawings from early expeditions and contemporary work.

Earthquake, Pipeline, and the Making of Modern Alaska

Anchorage is young as cities go: it began as a railroad tent camp in 1915 and grew with aviation, military bases and oil. Alaska Natives had lived and traded around Cook Inlet for thousands of years before that.

  • First peoples: Waves of Alutiiq people lived around Cook Inlet from about 5,000 years ago, and around 500 AD Dena'ina Athabascans arrived through the mountain passes.
  • 1778: James Cook anchored near a creek he called Ship Creek and sent William Bligh to explore Knik Arm; finding no passage, Cook named the other arm Turnagain.
  • 1867: The United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, a purchase its critics mocked as Seward's Folly.
  • 1915 to 1923: A tent city grew at the mouth of Ship Creek as the Alaska Railroad was built, Anchorage was incorporated in 1920, and the railroad was completed in 1923.
  • 1940s: Elmendorf Air Force Base and the Army's Fort Richardson were built, and they drove the economy for the next two decades.
  • 1964: The Good Friday earthquake of March 27, 1964, measured 9.2, killed 115 people and lasted nearly five minutes. In the Turnagain neighborhood, homes slid as the silt beneath them liquefied.
  • 1968 to 1975: The discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 brought a boom, and in 1975 the city merged with the surrounding borough to form today's Municipality of Anchorage.
  • To learn more ashore: The Anchorage Museum at 625 C Street has a full gallery of Alaska history, from the first peoples to statehood, along with Alaska Native objects from the Smithsonian.

Anchorage with Children and Families

Anchorage's two main cultural sites both welcome children, and the coastal trail offers an easy way to stretch your legs. Plan for cool weather and rain gear, even in summer.

  • Younger children: The Anchorage Museum's Discovery Center has hands-on science exhibits about Alaska's natural world.
  • School age: At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, guided outdoor tours of the village sites, led by Alaska Native culture bearers, take 60 to 90 minutes, and summer stage programs include Native Games demonstrations. Children 3 and under enter free.
  • Teenagers: Rent bikes downtown and ride part of the paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which locals use for walking, running, skating and cycling in summer.

Accessibility in Anchorage

At the Port of Alaska, everyone reaches downtown by the port shuttle, so ask your ship whether it can carry a wheelchair, and confirm the arrangements for a Whittier or Seward call well before you sail.

  • The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is fully paved and closed to motor vehicles.
  • The Alaska Native Heritage Center's village tours are held outdoors, in all weather, on a wooded 26-acre site.
  • Ask the Anchorage Museum and the Heritage Center about wheelchair access and seating before your visit.

Shopping in Anchorage

For Alaska Native art, the Alaska Native Heritage Center is the place to buy directly: its Ch'k'iqadi Gallery sells work by Alaska Native artists, and Native artist vendors sell on site in summer.

  • The Heritage Center is a nonprofit operated by Alaska Natives.

Coastal Landscapes and Wildlife Near Anchorage

Anchorage's shoreline is not a beach but treacherous mudflats, so enjoy the coast from the trail. Good views come from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and from the Seward Highway along Turnagain Arm.

  • Never walk on the mudflats: the tide changes are extreme and the fine glacial silt can trap anyone who steps onto it.
  • Turnagain Arm, south of the city, has some of the world's highest tides.
  • Beluga whales are often seen in Turnagain Arm from the Seward Highway.
  • Dall sheep are often seen close to the highway at Windy Point.
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