Staying a month in Alaska

June 24, 2005 3:16 PM

I was born in Alaska and lived there until I graduated high school in 1987. I haven't been back- until now. I'm taking my wife and two children there for the month of July. Please help us with places to stay and things to do.

We will split our time between the Anchorage area, Faribanks and the Kenai Penninsula. We don't want to stay in motels the whole time, and would like to do things in a lai- back, family-friendly way. We are on a shoe-string budget. Any lodge, homestead, campsite, RV, housesitting ideas greatly appreciated. Also, general sight-seeing ideas for these areas.

posted by Dag Maggot to Travel & Transportation around Alaska (6 answers total)

You should purchase The Milepost. I really recommend the Reed Lakes hike north of Palmer.
posted by mookieproof at 8:14 PM on June 24, 2005

If you get to Homer or Seward or Valdez, do what you can to get out onto a boat. Do some fishing or just enjoy the breeze. The Anchor and Kenai rivers are great for fishing on the penninsula. Chena Lakes near North Pole is a fun place to spend a hot Saturday, though they charge admission.

I feel like I should have more information or suggestions for you. While I live in Fairbanks and was born and raised in Homer, I never paid too much attention to the touristy stuff.

I know there is one other MeFi member who lives in Fairbanks, and one who (I think) lives (lived?) in Soldotna.
posted by rhapsodie at 11:53 PM on June 24, 2005

Wow! I'll be there the last two weeks of july, Kenai (close to Soldotna) and Anchorage. My parents live in Anchorage so I sent your question to my dad and I'll post his response.
posted by 6550 at 12:37 AM on June 25, 2005

I think this is pretty great. Easy to difficult hikes from a few hours to days long. You can order a copy or get a used copy in the Title Wave bookstore in Anchorage when you get there.
posted by 6550 at 12:43 AM on June 25, 2005

I notice we have a member in Alaska, with an address at alaska.com. You may want to drop her an email just to alert her to the presence of this thread.

(I lived in Alaska when I was a kid, and would love to visit again. Have a great time!)
posted by taz at 12:57 AM on June 25, 2005

I have to say, corny as it may sound, that you should visit the Bear Tooth Theatre. It's the best theater pub I've ever been to, with quality movie presentation as well as awesome food and drinks. They have good movies, too. It's my experience that there's a big line in front of every movie, so get there early.

There are times I'm tempted to go to Anchorage *just* for the Bear Tooth, I miss it that much.
posted by thethirdman at 1:15 AM on June 25, 2005