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The Purpose
This was a multi-purpose trip. We have been wanting to get our family to Alaska for a long time, but it’s a big trip, and so when I started to suspect my cousin might be getting married this summer, I started scouring points sweet spots and collecting points for when we knew the date and could book. This allowed us to be around for my cousins wedding, have some family time, and give our family time to explore this beautiful state.
Flights
I knew our best bet to get to Alaska from Denver would be either via United or Alaska Airlines. Denver is a United hub and Alaska Air is (obviously) Alaska’s biggest carrier.
I looked at getting an Alaska Airlines card, however, I settled on utilizing United or Star Alliance partners to book a United flight.
Star Alliance Partners that Transfer from my Cards
United Airlines
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
Thai Royal Orchid Plus
TAP Miles & Go
Singapore Airlines
EVA Air
Avianca Lifemiles
ANA Mileage Club
Air Canada
As soon as we got the wedding date, I searched and found Air Canada return flights for 15k per person, direct from Anchorage back to Denver. There were unfortunately no flights from Denver to Anchorage, so I booked absurdly priced United flights at 42,700 points per person (ouch!). You can imagine my extreme joy when the points prices dropped a month prior to the trip for 19,800 points per person.
Hotels
Points hotels in Alaska are few and far between. In the smaller tourist destinations, there are not points options. Your best bet to pay with points in places like Denali and Seward, would be to pay for a hotel with your Capital One Venture or Venture X and erase the purchase.
Your points choices in Anchorage span Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG.
While there are many options with points, Hyatt hotels only has two options- a Hyatt House and a Hyatt Place. We chose the Hyatt Place, because there was free breakfast and more room ultimately than the Hyatt House. However, if you need a kitchen you could pay an updated points fee for the Hyatt House and get a room with a kitchen. We paid 18,000 points per night for this hotel.
Adventures
There are so many adventures to be had in Alaska! After living there for 6 weeks one summer when I was young, I had a hard time picking which adventures to have the family join me on. I used my own memories, as well as a lonely planet book, and Erin Kirkland’s book Alaska on the Go to find all the best choices.Here is my VERY exhaustive list of all the things we COULD do.
Anchorage – To Do
- Anchorage Zoo
- Anchorage Railroad Depot
- Alaska Museum of Science and Nature
- Anchorage Museum at Rasmosen Center
- Alaska Aviation Museum (also has space shuttle simulator)
- Alaska Lands Public Information Center (in the Federal Building)
- Flattop Mountain Trail Hike – great anchorage hike with great views (you will have to boulder a bit near the top)
- Frontierland Park – Large playground downtown
- Tony Knowles Coastal Trail – Paved trail from downtown, great for biking
- Potters Marsh Wildlife Viewing Area – Nice boardwalk over marshlands – bird watching
- Fairview Indoor Playground – open in the afternoons
- Campbell Creek Science Center and Campbell Tract – Science center and easy hikes for families
- Kincaid Park – lots of trails, large green space
- The Bait Shack and Ship Creek Viewing Platform – fishing supplies, and watching ship creek fishing
- Goose Lake – Outdoor swimming with lifeguards
- Wildberry – Chocolate waterfall, ulus, chocolate and jam
Anchorage – To Eat
- Moose’s Tooth Pizza (Downtown Anchorage) – the BEST pizza
- Arctic Roadrunner (Cash Only) – inexpensive burgers and outdoor eating by the river
- Yak and Yeti – Inexpensive rice bowls and gyros
- International House of Hot Dogs
- Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop
- Uncle Joes Pizzeria
- Pil’s Deli – Sandwiches
- Pita Pit
- Pho Lena
- Hula Hands – Hawaiian food, moderately priced
- Red Umbrella Reindeer
- Glacier Brewhouse – Upscale, house brewed Rootbeer, good kids menu
- Snow City Cafe – kid friendly breakfast with lots of eggs bennys
- Brown Bag Sandwich Co. – inexpensive, good sandwiches
Girdwood – To Do
- Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
- Alyeska – Lift to the top of the mountain
- Alyeska Glacier View Trail – 1 mile loop from top of the tram to see glaciers
- Hiking Trail – Winners Creek
- Crow Creek Gold Mine – See historic and current mine, and panning for Gold
Girdwood – To Eat
- Chair 5 – Grilled cheese, pizza, burgers, fun, casual, jukebox
Palmer – To Do
- Musk Ox Farm – tours and picnic grounds
- Reindeer Farm – handfeed animals, hay ride, kids play area
- Independence Mine State Historical Park – old abandoned goldmine atop hatcher pass – beautiful alpine location
- Dream a Dream Sled Dog Tour (Wasilla) – sled dog pulled ATV ride, tour kennels, play with puppies, presentation of Iditarod – $887 for family of 5
- Pyrah’s Pioneer Peak Farm- pick your own veggies farm in the valley
- Reflections Lake
Palmer – To Eat
- Turkey Red – Urban Alaskan cafe with large kids menu
Seward -To Do
- Train to Seward? Coastal Classic Train arrives @11:20 and leaves @ 6 from Seward
- Sea Life Center in Seward
- Seward Community Playground
- Two Lakes Trail – easy 1 mile loop
- Exit Glacier and Kenai National Park Visitor Center – art in the parks backpacks for kids (FREE) – nature center trail or glacier overlook trail
- Cruise National Park Tour @11:30 A(6 hours w lunch) – $682 for family of 5 (could enter rougher waters)
- Cruise Resurrection Bay Tour w/ Lunch on Fox Island – $540 for family of 5
- Turnagain Pass – Milepost 70 has clean bathrooms but lots of mosquitos – also the beginning of a 20 mile dead zone for cell phones
- Kenai Lake – milepost 23 – ice blue water
- Seward is Milepost 0 on the highway
- Seaveys Ididaride Sled Dog Tours – $346 for a family of 5 – mush on wheels, see kennels, play with puppies, try on race gear
- Seward Community Library and Museum – Iditarod and Russian exhibits- adults $4, kids free
Seward – To Eat
- Exit Glacier Salmon Bake
- The Smokehouse/The Shack – comfort food in railway cars
- Zudy’s – Breakfast and lunch w/ view of the bay, signature pastry – the “duffin” (donut muffin)
Kenai – To Do
- Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
- Portage Glacier Cruise – $49/adult, $29/kid – 1 hour cruise to portage glacier and back
- Begich Boggs Visitor Center- National Forest – life sized dioramas, entrance to glacier cruise
- Kenai River Festival?
- Russian River Ferry for Fishing
Whittier – To Do
- Whittier Tunnel
- Phillips Cruises – Glacier Quest Cruise (5 hours) – includes hot meal, drinks, and 10 glaciers – $565 for family of 5
- Glacier Discovery Train
Whittier – To Eat
- Lazy Otter Cafe – near the water
Denali – To Do
- Visitor Center, Junior Ranger, Science Center
- Hike at Front of Park
- Sled Dog Kennels
- Stop in Talkeetna
- Drive to Denali stops –
- Wasilla – Iditarod HQ – 2100 S. Knik-Goose Bay Rd., open 9-5 M-F, dog sled rides $10pp
- Talkeetna (see below) – riverfront park
- Denali Viewpoint South – Mile 135.2 Parks Highway
Denali – To Eat
- Prospector’s Pizzeria and Ale House
- Moose-AKas – European food – Greek, Russian, French, etc.
Talkeetna
- Talkeetna Riverfront Park – great views of Denali, public bathrooms
- Hurricane Turn Train – 1pm-7:15pm – $418 for family of 5 – great wildlife viewing/backwoods areas
Eklutna
- Eklutna Lake and Thunderbird falls – very buggy hike – wear long sleeves/pants
- Eklutna Village Historical Park – “spirit houses” created by orthodox for dead
- Bike around Eklutna Lake (rent from Lifetime adventures) – small shoreline for wading/rock throwing
- Small store with snacks/milkshakes
- Rent Kayaks/paddle boards for the lake at shack near the lake
- $5 daily parking
Fun Fact: Eklutna Lake and Ship Creek(Anchorage) provide 90 percent of Anchorage’s water supply
The Trip
Want to learn all about what we actually did on this trip and how you can recreate it? Check out the next post about what we did, where we stayed, and all the best food we found!