5 minute read
Autumn Colours and Winter White...Anchorage
Low season adventures in Anchorage, Alaska
By: Lisa Maloney
If you’ve ever seen tourist brochures for Alaska, they probably showed you summer: salmon flinging themselves upstream into a bear’s waiting jaws, glaciers sparkling under the midnight sun, and maybe a shot of the state railroad’s distinctive blue-and-yellow liveried trains, all with a backdrop of craggy mountains and lush, Jurassic Park-level greenery.
But there’s so much more the brochures don’t show, like the way crisp autumn air turns your breath into faint wisps of vapour, or the way tundra plants turn bright orange and red in late September, covering the mountains in tiny displays of brilliant fall colours, punctuated by occasional stands of bright yellow aspen trees.
From most parts of the city, all you have to do is lift your head to see those mountains that cluster on the southern and eastern horizons. It’s only a matter of time before the crisp white of fresh snow starts creeping down the mountainsides, seemingly tiptoeing a little farther downslope every night
Lights in the Sky
Even in the 300,000-person ‘big city’ of Anchorage, Alaska is incredibly seasonal. So when you visit in the fall, you’re joining us at a time of flux, when moose congregate for their fall breeding season, the rut, and plump, glossy-furred bears browse on berries in the mountains and the forests, packing on more precious fat to see them through their long winter slumber.
Meanwhile, as our night skies shed the midnight sun of summer and slide back into darkness, the aurora borealis or northern lights becomes visible again. There are a few conditions, though: if you want to see the aurora you need clear skies, plus some distance from city light pollution, and of course the lights need to be shining in the moment those other ingredients come together.
You can lose a lot of sleep waiting up to see if the aurora comes out, but aurora-forecasting apps and social media groups (especially on Facebook) make it easier than ever to scout the situation from your warm and cosy bed. If you have a rental car, you can reach two popular aurora-viewing spots — Earthquake Park and the Glen Alps trailhead — pretty easily, or roam even farther afield if you dare.
Living the Wild Life
Speaking of seeing things, September and October are great months for observing moose, the majestic (and some would say gangly) giant deer that are ridiculously common in the Anchorage area. Like all wild animals, they come and go whenever, and wherever, they like: you might see one striding right down the middle of the road or sidewalk, or go weeks without seeing any. To maximize your chances of a sighting, check out 1,500-acre Kincaid Park, on the west side of town, or the massive valley just east of the Glen Alps trailhead, set up in the foothills east of Anchorage.
Moose also pop up with some frequency in Anchorage’s green spaces, of which we have many; there are more than 250 miles of trails that link together our greenbelts and parks. If I had to choose only one trail to explore, I’d rent a bike in downtown Anchorage and pedal the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which runs 11 miles along the coast to its end in Kincaid Park.
A Winter Wonderland
In Kincaid, once the snow sets in — which is notoriously hard to predict, but usually happens by December — this park becomes home to many miles of groomed, world-class cross-country ski trails. It’s easy to rent gear from local outfitters and hit the trails, as long as you have a vehicle, or a nice Uber/Lyft/taxi budget, to get you there.
If you’re more of a downhiller, there are two community-centered ski hills nearby, and a full-fledged ski resort just a 45-minute drive to the south. Alyeska Resort has the longest double black-diamond run in North America, and a mountaintop restaurant that offers views of seven different hanging glaciers.
All of these adventures keep you fairly close to town — but Anchorage really shines as a hub for day trips to outlying communities. You can hop on a small plane from Regal Air and fly around Denali, North America’s highest peak; or drive south to Seward, where Seward Ocean Excursions offers small-boat sightseeing and wildlife-viewing day cruises that run all year long.
If you’re up for about four hours of driving (round-trip), you can even enjoy a guided winter trek on a glacier, or join Salmonberry Tours for a winter sled dog adventure.
Last but absolutely not least, don’t forget the Alaska Railroad. Only a couple of passenger routes run during the winter, but if you happen to be here on the first Thursday of the month, you can jump aboard the Hurricane Turn train. This unusual flag stop train runs into the wilderness north of the quirky little town of Talkeetna, where offgrid homesteaders can quite literally flag the train down and hop on to catch a lift to town, then catch a lift back out to the homestead on the next trip.
The train conductors are famous for their relaxed, affable nature, often stopping the train or even backing it up to ensure you get the best wildlife sightings and photo opportunities.
I’d say that illustrates the general attitude of most Alaskans, too. We are famously casual here — you’ll almost never find a dress code in town, especially during the winter — and also famously friendly. While you’re guaranteed to have the adventure of a lifetime on a lowseason visit to Alaska, if you take the time to share a drink with locals or say hi to people you meet on the trail, you might just end up with a few new friends for life, too.
