72 hours in Alaska: Rainforests, Glaciers and fresh salmon
Alaska is a magical weekend travel destination. Here is why I think it's the next travel hot spot for the wanderlust 20 something year old and DINK's in their 30's.
In my head, Alaska was always Iceland’s American cousin.. out of reach, complicated, freezing, barren and only for bucket-list cruises. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I imagined overcast skies, icy waters, and retirees with binoculars bundled on cruise decks. Instead, I found lush rainforests, glass glacier waters, and the freshest salmon I’ve ever tasted all in just 72 hours.
The ultimate weekend adventure for the West Coast
I’m based out of San Francisco, and even though there is so much to do in the city I still love to get out of it to explore. Yosemite or Tahoe were always my top contenders for weekend escapes if I was feeling adventurous. This is because I always built up Alaska in my head to be a place where you go for complete solitude, soul-searching due to it’s remote location. BUT flying to Alaska will take less than 5 hours, goes nonstop and is easy to get around once you’re there.
Getting there: fly into Anchorage
Anchorage gets a lot of mixed reviews. I suggest flying into Anchorage but you aren’t going to use it as your home base. Instead, you are going to be staying 40 miles away at Alyeska Resort which is in Girdwood, Alaska. You’ll be able to get an Uber to take you to Alyeska. It’s also close enough where you can land, take a car to the hotel and grab dinner before bed.
Activities to do in 72 hours
You’ve made it to Alaska! Now what’s on the agenda? Here is my quick debrief but I also have a full day-by-day itinerary that goes into specifics including cost breakdown and specific tours and companies I have used and recommend.
Helicopter tour. One of the most surreal experiences was taking helicopter from Girdwood to Spencer Glacier. On a beautiful day, we flew through the mountains side by side with bush pilots, getting views of the rivers and after 20 minutes in flight we eventually LANDED ON A GLACIER. Once we touched down, our private guide took us on a mountain hike with views of the glacier until we eventually made it down to the lake.
Raft among the icebergs. After our hike, we made it down to the lake where we got to go rafting next to the glacier in Spencer Lake. I got to sit back and enjoy the scenery while my tour guide did the rowing (vacation mode= activated). This was one of the highlights of the trip because of how wild the whole experience felt. There were NO OTHER TOURISTS because we had to helicopter in and it was fully remote. You get an entire lake, glacier.. honestly an experience with this whole new world to yourself. In the water you can pick up fallen chucks of the glacier ice and see how crystal clear glacier water can be. It’s too bad you can’t take any home with you.
Nordic Spa. Visiting a Nordic Spa in Alaska was not on my bucket list, simply because I did not know they exist, but since I am telling you about it- it should be on yours. There’s a Nordic Spa in Girdwood that has an exfoliation room with Alaskan sea salt scrub, multiple wooden barrel private sauna “huts”, cold plunges (SF people are gonna love this), multiple heated jacuzzi’s, steam rooms and massage rooms. I visited in August so it was still warm but this looks EPIC in the wintertime. I will attach a photo of the multiple heated jacuzzi’s below. This had a whimsical, romantic vibe and I loved that everything was co-ed so you could spend the afternoon with your partner.
Go white water rafting. Stillwater rafting not exciting you? There’s Sixmile Creek which has class IV–V rapids (serious whitewater, not beginner-friendly), so it’s for thrill-seekers who want more adventure.
Take a boat cruise. I think this is a must-do and one of my favorite things I did over the weekend. Aboard one of Alaska’s famous boat cruises you can see 26+ glaciers, jumping salmon, lazy sunbathing seals, fishermen, multiple JAW DROPPING waterfalls and rainforests in the comfort of a large boat with A/C and a full bar available. If you’re lucky, you can spot a bear with or without binoculars. They will also serve salmon chowder while you take a scenic tour next to one of America’s biggest salmon hatcheries.
Alaska Railroad train ride. I say this with my chest, this is the coolest train ride you can take in America. The train will physically stop for riders to get the most scenic photography spots. It feels like the ultimate adventure since you get amazing views of the glaciers, a guide who narrates what you’re looking at from the windows, and a relaxed ride. I suggest sitting in the A car since there is an upstairs with glass window ceilings, booths instead of chairs and a snack/drink bar downstairs (get the Mac n cheese).
Dog sledding. I decided to do the helicopter to hike to raft to train day trip instead of dog sledding but this is still an option. You can take a helicopter to a remote part of Alaska to go dog sledding. I visited in August and the weather was impeccable but if I were to visit in the wintertime I would’ve chosen to do this.
Ready for the full itinerary?
I wrote out an hour by hour playbook on how to spend 72 hours in Alaska covering lodging, specific tour companies, logistics and what to pack for your trip etc. PLUS, I decided to share my itinerary for FREE here:
Below are images from some of the activities mentioned:
Rafting through icebergs and up to Spencer Glacier.
Helicopter to hike and over Spencer Glacier.
The boat tour offered binocular rentals for $5 if you forgot yours at home.
PLENTY of seal watching near the salmon hatchery.
Watching the fishermen work in the height of salmon season.
Pieces of the glacier would break off and it sounded like thunder.
The Alaskan Railroad.
One of the Alaskan Railroad stops were for the Grand View station. You’ll have around 45 minutes to explore here. I suggest taking the left path to see the waterfall and have an intermediate, short hike.
One of many barrel saunas available to relax in at the Nordic Spa.
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