Anchorage Is Americas Most Nature-Accessible City

In Anchorage, wild Alaska starts right in the middle of the city.

Natural beauty isn’t just a backdrop in Anchorage—although the triple-header of the Chugach Mountains, Cook Inlet, and Denali in the distance certainly provides that. Instead, nature is a vein that runs directly through most parts of the city, meaning that residents and visitors are never very far from undisturbed natural spaces and the wildlife that inhabits them.

Anchorage’s Easily Accessible Nature Spaces

Visitors to Anchorage can take advantage of a multitude of right-in-the-city spots, so convenient that city residents often drop in on lunch breaks. And they do it year-round, from the endless, sunny days of June to the midday hours of twilight in December. You might run into locals going for morning runs on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which begins right in the heart of Downtown, and winds along the bluffs overlooking the tidal flats of Cook Inlet, ending at Kincaid Park. Here lies 1,500 acres of coastal marsh and wooded trails, perfect for quick runs or nature walks from the hilltop chalet with commanding views of the ocean and the surrounding mountains. 

Along the trail, visitors might ponder the phrase Dena’inaq ełnena ch’tiyux (You are walking on Dena’ina Land) while they enjoy any of the city’s nature trails. Alaska native culture is omnipresent around Alaska—and Anchorage had long functioned as a meeting place and hub for Alaska Native peoples from around the state, but Anchorage itself is also an Indigenous place.

Keep an eye out for markers calling out the original names of the places treasured by the area’s original inhabitants, the Dena’ina people, who have lived here since time immemorial. Along the Coastal Trail, find markers naming Nen ghiłgedi (Earthquake Park), where vast sections of land liquefied and dropped into the ocean during the 1964 earthquake; the land left behind has a “wrinkled” appearance to this day. 

Other markers explain the names behind Nuch’ishtunt (Point Woronzof) and Nutuł’iy (Fire Island), which can be seen from the trail across a narrow channel of the water. From Earthquake Park to Kincaid Park, visitors should also remain vigilant for the presence of moose on the trail. In Anchorage, moose are like neighbors, appearing right in local neighborhoods, and even wandering the sidewalks downtown, peering into the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts or downtown’s many eateries, art galleries, or the log cabin Visitor Information Center. 

It’s estimated Anchorage’s moose population is more than a thousand; they’re more common in the winter when deep snows in the mountain valleys drive them into the city in search of more accessible food—often tree branches from an obliging neighbor’s front yard. In the spring, cows will typically remain in the city to give birth to their young, as the city is also largely devoid of predators. 

But Anchorage’s outdoor spaces are much more numerous than the Coastal Trail. The city has over 220 parks and 250 miles of multi-use trails—many of which are also groomed during the winter months for skiing or other snowy sports. Connecting to the Coastal Trail at Westchester Lagoon is the Chester Creek Greenbelt, which runs through the heart of the city to Goose Lake in East Anchorage. 

In addition to moose, the city’s parks and green spaces are also home to numerous migratory and resident birds, including trumpeter swans, snow geese, mallards, and terns. One of the better birdwatching spots in the city is Potter Marsh, with over a thousand feet of elevated boardwalk over the marsh. In addition to bird life, it’s also common to see moose and, on occasion, brown or black bears during the summer months. 

Convenient Day Hikes in Chugach State Park

Anchorage’s nature spaces and trails aren’t all on flat land within the city, either. Flattop Mountain is a popular day hike, accessible from the Glen Alps trailhead by road, around a 20-30 minute drive from downtown. The hike to the top of the mountain is approximately three miles over 1,500 feet of elevation gain, making it accessible for beginning hikers. For non-hikers, the Glen Alps Trailhead offers a shorter paved trail for visitors who simply want to take in the magnificent vistas of the entire Anchorage Bowl and the green mountain valleys of Chugach State Park. 

Hikers don’t necessarily need to climb a mountain, either. There are other overland routes available from the Glen Alps Trailhead, including the one-way Powerline Pass Trail (which is good for moderately experienced hikers) at 11 miles, which traces a mountain ridge to the community of Indian on Turnagain Arm to the south of the city. Hikers who want to make a round trip can hike a portion of the trail before turning around. The Williwaw Lakes Trail is longer, some 16 miles, at a similar difficulty. On both trails, keep watch for moose, Dall sheep, mountain goats, and the Willow Ptarmigan—Alaska’s state bird. 

Another popular entry into Chugach State Park is the Eagle River Nature Center, with trails ranging from an easy 0.75-mile loop to the 23-mile Crow Pass Trail, ending in Girdwood. 

Accessible Glaciers

Glaciers are abundant in and around Anchorage (more than 60 glaciers lie within the city limits). The most accessible is Portage Glacier, an hour south of the city, where visitors can take a day boat on the Alaska Native-owned Portage Glacier Cruises, with five daily hourlong departures during the summer months that get up close to the glacier to witness calving from the glacier, plus wildlife and waterfalls on the journey to and from the ice. 

To the north of Anchorage, visitors can reach Knik Glacier by helicopter year-round, including tours that land directly on the glacier so they can step out onto the ice (landing spots are thoroughly vetted by staff before each landing for safety). Because glaciers are so dynamic, changing from one moment to the next, no two tours of the glacier are the same, and viewing experiences differ between summer and winter—during the short days of Alaska’s winter, the glacier ice often appears more vibrantly blue in dramatic dawn or dusk light.

For softer glacier adventures, trek no further than Girdwood’s Alyeska Resort and take a ride up the Alyeska tramway to the Seven Glaciers Restaurant, so named because there are no fewer than seven glaciers (Crow Glacier, Raven Glacier, Eagle Glacier, Clear Glacier, Goat Glacier, Milk Glacier, and Alyeska Glacier) visible from the restaurant, which also turns out cuisine that has earned it the AAA Four Diamond Award. While taking in the views, diners might feast on fresh Alaska halibut or produce grown right in south-central Alaska’s fertile glacial-silt soil, growing to massive proportions during summer days with near round-the-clock sunshine. 

Wildlife In Abundance

If the moose prove to be shy, and the beluga whales, Dall sheep, or mountain goats don’t cooperate, there are still opportunities to see them when visiting Anchorage. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Portage is open year-round, with rescued bears, moose, elk, deer, coyotes, fox, reindeer, wolves, wolverines—even porcupines! There are injured bald eagles at the center who are permanent residents, but Turnagain Arm itself is also a great place to see bald eagles and other raptors in the wild. 

Within the city of Anchorage, the Alaska Zoo also has a host of Arctic animals—even including polar bears, amur tigers, and playful harbor seals in the aquarium tanks, plus a much broader range of wild and domesticated animals focused on Arctic, Sub-Arctic, and species from similar climates to that of Anchorage. 

Accessible Anchorage

While Anchorage is easily accessible to the abundance of nature in and around the city, the city itself is also easily accessible to inbound visitors—just three hours by air from Seattle (with hourly departures), five hours from Los Angeles, or seven hours from New York City. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has year-round nonstop service from up to 14 cities in the United States. That increases during the summer months, including flights from as far afield as Frankfurt, Germany. During the winter, there are still flight options from a number of airline hubs across the contiguous United States, meaning Anchorage is never very far for most travelers—some even within weekend-trip timeframes. 

Whether visiting during the peak of sunny summer, during the dark winter nights (aurora borealis, anyone?), or during the increasingly popular autumn and spring months, Anchorage offers maximum accessibility to nature—perhaps more so than any other American city.

This article was produced in collaboration with an advertiser. Nevertheless, we retained full editorial control throughout the process and affirm that all opinions and statements expressed are our own.