Duration: 09/01/2026 – 09/11/2026

Outline: Fairbanks – Denali National Park – Talkeetna – Palmer – Matanuska Glacier – Whittier – Seward – Kenai Fjords National Park

Keyword: Road trip; Alaska; Glaciers; Wildlife; Hiking; Fishing; Aurora; Fall Colors

Alaska has been on our travel list for a long time. It is one of those places that feels almost too large to understand from a map. We spent about 10 days traveling through Alaska, starting from Fairbanks and gradually making our way south through Denali, Palmer, Whittier and Seward. The original plan included quite a few outdoor activities, and, as usual, not everything went according to plan. Two of our tours were cancelled because of weather, but somehow those cancellations also gave us opportunities to do things we had not originally planned. This trip turned out to be much more than just sightseeing. We learned about Alaska native cultures, glaciers, ocean animals, gold mining, oil development, and even how historic Alaskans deal with the extreme changes between summer and winter. Here is our journey.