Alaska Excursions

Alaska Excursions

Wide range of glorious day trips throughout Southcentral Alaska.

Anchorage: 18°/32°/Cloudy

Fairbanks: -3°/14°/Cloudy

Juneau: 38°/43°/Showers

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About Alaska

History & culture

A statue of a gold miner stands near the Old St. Joseph's Church in Nome. The church was built in 1901 and was later used as a storage building for a mining company.

Although Alaska's statehood is relatively brief, the state's history is long and colorful.

Shopping

Authentic arts and crafts created by Alaska Natives often are marked with a Silver Hand tag.

From T-shirts to salmon-skin wallets, from picture books to diamond-willow walking sticks.

Moving to Alaska

Container ships bring vehicles and goods to the Port of Anchorage.

Moving to Alaska can be a big adventure.

Education in Alaska

The Great Room at the new Consortium Library at the University of Alaska Anchorage features a ceiling almost 35 feet high. Now it houses a computer lab, but in the future it will be an open study area.

Alaska has a public university system, with three main campuses and 15 local branches across the state, and a vo-tech school.

Alaska FAQs

Alaska.com's users have asked many good questions about life and vacations on the Last Frontier. Here are some of them.

Alaska by the book

The dangerous life of fishermen, part of the Alaska legend, appears in many books about the state. Here, crewmen work a crab pot as the Aleutian Mariner takes a wave in the Bering Sea.

What's a vacation without a good book to read? When vacationing in Alaska, it might be a good idea to do some reading before arriving in the Great Land.

Weather & climate

Alaska's long, cool summer days are great for vegetables, such as this 85-pound cabbage being entered in the state fair at Palmer. (It finished in second place.)

Alaska is legendary for its winters -- but most visitors come in the summer, when the days are long and the temperatures are moderate.

Places in Alaska

National Parks

Mount McKinley is reflected in a pond just east of Wonder Lake in Denali National Park. The 20,320-foot mountain is the tallest in North America. One of the best ways to get to Wonder Lake is to ride one of the park's buses.

Alaska regions

Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America, is seen just before sunset on a late March flightseeing trip. The south peak, right, is the summit at 20,320 feet; the north peak stands 19,470 feet high. Climbing season on the big mountain is May through July.

Alaska can be divided into five broad regions.

The Interior

The Alaska Range is the Interior's defining feature. In Denali National Park, Wonder Lake reflects Mount McKinley reflects at sunset.

This vast area is alive with gold mining and plenty of outdoor activities.

Alaska Photos

Northern Lights

The northern lights dance across the sky and are reflected in Potter Marsh.

Mt. McKinley

Scattered clouds can't hide Mount McKinley in this view from an Alaska Airlines flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage recently.

Hiking and Biking

Snow began to gather on Flattop Mountain in Chugach State Park, but that didn't deter hikers from climbing it to take in the sunset.

Fall colors

Fall colors and no snow in Turnagain Pass on Friday, September 18, 2009.

Public gardens

Weeding between the rows of head lettuce is done by hand in a field in Palmer, Alaska. A succession planting of lettuce is done once a week for eleven weeks through the summer for continuous harvests that find their way to grocery stores and Farmer's Markets.

Alaska produces spectacular gardens with many plants that will grow successfully in our cool climate. Public gardens, garden tours, festivals, the Alaska State Fair and Farmer's Markets throughout the summer are all places to view the many and varied horticultural wonders of our state.

Alaska headlines

Bears strand hunters by destroying their raft

State says it's keeping close eye on gas line project

Two-wheeled light for days of darkness

Fairbanks marathoner tops among Alaskans in New York

AFN convention to touch on village issues

Long autumn means more choices

Barrow 9-year-old may be youngest to harvest a whale

ANWR debate will heat up as caribou herds dwindle

Dead beluga aground on Inlet mud near downtown Anchorage

Heavy flatfish nets hefty purse