Anchorage Travel Guide — Best Time, Things to Do & Where to Stay

Why Anchorage

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, located in the southcentral portion of the state at the terminus of Cook Inlet. Situated on a peninsula bounded by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm to the south, the municipality spans nearly 1,961 square miles, making it the fourth-largest U.S. city by land area. Despite its expansive municipal borders, the majority of its population resides within a 100-square-mile urban core known as the Anchorage Bowl. The broader municipality includes outlying communities, military facilities, and vast natural territory.

The city's landscape transitions from coastal lowlands to the lower slopes of the eastern Chugach Mountains. The surrounding geography features treacherous coastal mudflats created by fine glacial silt and dramatic tidal shifts, particularly along Turnagain Arm, which experiences some of the highest tides in the world. Large protected natural areas, including almost the entirety of Chugach State Park and portions of Chugach National Forest, fall within the city limits. These wild spaces allow local wildlife, such as moose, black bears, and grizzly bears, to regularly roam in and around the urban area.

Human history in the region dates back 5,000 years, beginning with several waves of Alutiiq people followed by the Dena'ina Athabaskans around 500 AD. British explorer Captain James Cook navigated and mapped the inlet in 1778, bestowing names on several local waterways. Following a period of Russian fur trading and the 1867 U.S. purchase of Alaska, an 1888 gold rush along Turnagain Arm brought prospectors to the area. Anchorage itself was established in 1915 as a tent city serving as a construction port for the Alaska Railroad, achieving formal incorporation in 1920. The city subsequently grew into an aviation and military center, survived a devastating 9.2-magnitude earthquake in 1964, and experienced further expansion following the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968.

Today, Anchorage serves as a central hub for Alaska. Due to its position in the high northern latitudes, the city sits roughly equidistant from New York, Tokyo, and Murmansk, placing it within a ten-hour flight of nearly 90 percent of the inhabited northern hemisphere. Consequently, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport operates as a primary global air cargo and refueling stop. Visitors to the area can explore the surrounding wilderness parks, historic sites along Ship Creek, and outlying communities such as Girdwood and Eklutna.