Tell me about Alaska

This proposed Alaska 2010 sounds interesting but, what do you do in Alaska?

There is tons to do in Alaska. And the Scenery is just gorgeous!

Hiking
Glacier viewing
Flight seeing tours
Kayaking
Train rides
Whale watching
Fishing
Shopping
Zip Lines
Wildlife viewing - Bears, eagles etc...
Lumber Jack shows
Salmon Bakes
Tram rides
Sled dog rides

Here are a few pictures from our trip last year.....

Emerald Lake


Hubbard Glacier


Whale Watching


Water fall-Juneau

Good job Jen, I'll add my 2 cents. I also did a Cooking class where we learned to fillet a Salmon and a Halibut. After which we cooked both over an open pit on a cedar plank. yum yum

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My favorite thing we did (and my all time fav excursion) was taking a helicopter up to the glacier and went dogsledding.....it was sooooooooo much fun.......

Remember this is a state. The same rules apply as in the lower 48. There is a Chamber of Commerce. There are consumer protection statutes. If you want to go fishing and take one of the float plane trips to the interior, remember Alaska has lots of bears--big hungry bears. People on our last cruise lost their fish to a grizzly. The guide didn't want to argue with the bear about who had rights to the lake.

Salmon fishing is easy. Go over to any one of the captains lining the dock and they will take you out. You don't have to book it on the ship.

In Juneau, every mom in town with a minivan will be at the dock wanting to take you to the glacier. They are a lot cheaper than the ship tour.

If you go late in the season, around Labor Day, you can get great buys on leather and furs. Their tourist season is over in a few weeks and they want to get rid of all they can.

jen - your pictures are magnificent.

The internet has made things alot easier, with proper research and planning you can do as much or as little as you want.

What are the best times to go? Will there be that period of light and
dark that far south? What time of year are the northern lights? I only
know very little about Alaska.

We went in September almost at the end of the season. We had been told the wether would be bad, It wasn't , it was cool but clear, and not crowded. At the end of the season there are lots of sales.
The best excursion we took was the train from Skagway to the top of the White Pass. Lots of great views.

I think you have to go further north into the interior to see the Northern Lights. Probably won't see them on an inside passage cruise. The best weather will be in the middle of the summer, but it won't get fully dark at night. We also went in September and had a mix of chilly rain and warm sunny weather, but it did get dark at night, and the fall colors were pretty.

Adirondack Pete wrote:

What are the best times to go? Will there be that period of light and
dark that far south? What time of year are the northern lights? I only
know very little about Alaska.

The northern lights are best viewed between Sept/Oct to March/April ... so not usually during cruising season in Alaska ... also there are better chances of seeing them the further north you go (i.e. into the Arctic Circle) ... hotels will often do "northern light wake up calls"

When we were in Alaska late June, early July of 2007 we pretty much had continuous light (4th of July fireworks were interesting). Our Denali park tour guide was thrilled they finally had darkness the night before ... for about 4 minutes at 3AM!! Most hotels do have heavy black out curtains, and it's not an issue on the cruise ships unless you sleep with the curtains open.

As far as "best time to go" depends a lot on what you want out of your triip to Alaska ... salmon fishing? whale watching (and what species of whale)? wildlife spotting in Denali? to watch the Iditarod race (in March)? Etc.

Great Info, I have heard that May before peek season or Sept
at its end are both great times to go. My wife is the one most
interested in the cruise she wants to see a Russian village and
glaciers. I am game for just about anything. So if I am hearing
you correctly the summer has little darkness? Interesting...

PS I noticed that allusion to the movie The Patriot.
"The new aristocracy will be land owners..." Corn.
"Tell me about Ohio" Tav.