Best of Alaska

with its beautiful setting between Cook Inlet and the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage is home to more than forty percent of Alaska’s population, a sprawling city on the edge of one of the world’s great wildernesses.

You travel along the Seward Highway, a scenic coastal road carved into the side of the Chugach Mountains. Also known as the National Forest Scenic Byway, it follows the first 50 miles along the arm of the sea that extends inland from Turnagain Bay and leads to Seward, passing through bays, glaciers, and alpine valleys. It is a picturesque town surrounded by rugged mountains and overlooking Resurrection Bay, rich in salmon. Born at the beginning of the last century as a ice-free port at the southern end of the Alaska Railroad, it has become famous as a starting point for gold seekers heading to Nome.

The drive from Seward to Talkeetna follows the Seward Highway (Alaska Route 1) and the George Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3) for about 220–230 miles (350–370 km), taking roughly 6–7 hours without stops. The route offers spectacular scenery, traveling from the Gulf of Alaska through fjords, mountains, and river valleys into the forested and mountainous interior near Talkeetna. Scenic stops along the way include the Kenai River, Beluga Point, and Turnagain Arm, before reaching Talkeetna, a charming historic town and gateway for excursions into the Alaska Range. the hamlet of Talkeetna gets an international flavour by the presence of the world’s mountaineers, who come here to scale the 20,320ft Mount McKinley, usually referred to by its Athabascan name Denali. The mountain is best seen from the overlook just south of Talkeetna.

The drive from Talkeetna to Denali National Park takes place mainly along the George Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3) for approximately 150–160 miles (about 240–260 km) and requires around three hours of driving without stops, depending on traffic and road conditions. It is a scenic route through Alaska’s interior, with broad views of boreal forests and river valleys and, on clear days, glimpses of the Alaska Range and Mount Denali as you approach the destination. Along the way, travelers can stop for photo opportunities at scenic viewpoints and in areas such as Byers Lake, or pause in small communities and service areas before reaching the park, where the landscape opens up to the towering mountains and wild nature of the region. The huge Denali National Park is a vast world of tundra and taiga, glaciers, huge mountains and abundant wildlife, so that backcountry hiking is a wonderful experience, but it's undertaken by only a tiny fraction of visitors. Most travellers just want to see Mont Denali, so in In high summer, the visitor centre and the Park Highway becomes a stream of car, RVs, tour buses.

The drive from Denali National Park to Anchorage follows the scenic Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3) south for about 240–250 miles (380–400 km) and typically takes around 4 to 5 hours without long stops. The road is fully paved and well-maintained, winding through classic Alaskan landscapes of dense forests, wide river valleys, and towering mountain ranges. Along the way you pass small towns such as Cantwell, Talkeetna, Willow, and Wasilla, and you’ll have frequent opportunities for scenic views of the Alaska Range and possibly wildlife along the roadside. The route is straightforward and one of the most beautiful highway drives in Alaska, making the journey itself an enjoyable part of the overall experience. If you want a more scenic detour or photo stops, there are viewpoints and small nature areas along the highway, making the return trip both relaxing and visually rewarding.