Let’s face it, Alaska is big. Really big.

Alaska is 663,300 square miles of bigness.

It’s hard to know where to start when choosing things to do in Alaska. Do you want to see Alaska wildlife? Alaska has everything from otters and seals to whales and wolves to bears and bald eagles.

How about a summer Alaska fishing trip?

Alaska also offers some of the best trails in the world, so how about a hiking trip? There are an estimated 750 documented trails in Alaska’s spectacular landscape.

You can go Alaska glacier calving (calving means the breaking of ice chunks off of a glacier), or kayaking.

At night you’ll see the spectacular, ethereal colors of the Northern Lights.

Alaska, which hosts about 3.2 million travelers each year, also has 17 national parks, 16 national wildlife refuges, 50 historic landmarks, and 6.1 million objects in National Park Museum collections.

And so on.

The many top-notch restaurants in Alaska serve delicious, even memorable meals that include salmon, halibut, oysters, and king crab, among other luscious fares.

Yummy!

You get the idea. There are so many things to do during a summer trip to Alaska that you’ll have to make some decisions.

Weather In Alaska In Summer

Planning a summer trip to Alaska means usually pleasant weather and spectacular views of the rugged, mountainous terrain of The Last Frontier. Normally, the best time to travel to Alaska is mid-May through September. Weather in Alaska during summertime depends on which region you visit, but average daytime high temperatures can range between 60 and 80 (15-27 C), dropping to a cool and comfortable 40 to 50 (4-10C) degrees at night.

July is usually the warmest month, and temperatures in September can drop about five to ten degrees from mid-summer. 

May is the driest month, and September is the rainiest. Skagway is the driest city in Alaska, and in 1908 it received only 1.78 inches of rain all summer. Ketchikan tends to be the wettest spot on the map but it’s gorgeous. In 2019 Alaska experienced its hottest summer ever. Anchorage had an unbelievable high of 90 and Juneau averaged at least 70 degrees for 17 consecutive days.

Although the chance of rain is ever-present, the weather in Alaska is usually lovely in summer.

Meanwhile, you’ll see plenty of daylight during your summer stay in Alaska. The farther north you go, the longer the days. The sun is up to 22 or 24 hours a day In Fairbanks and north. Days are a bit shorter as you head south, but there is a lot of time for daytime activities. 

Now that we’ve listed just some of the many things to do in Alaska this summer, we’re offering the following list of must-do things to plan for your Alaska vacation.

While you’re trying to sort all this out, here’s our list of top 10 Alaska must-dos.

1. Fishing In Alaska

Would you like to fish in saltwater or freshwater? Alaska offers plenty of opportunities to do one or both. Fish for pike, halibut, Lingcod, rockfish, lake trout, ocean-run char, and, of course, salmon. Suffice to say, Alaska offers a wide variety of aquatic species to fit every taste.

If you’re salt-water ocean fishing for salmon or ocean halibut, check our destinations such as Juneau, Ketchikan, or Homer, freshwater fishing, rainbow trout, and Arctic Grayling swim the streams of Denali, not to mention dozens of other rivers and creeks across the map. Check out some of these fishing tours for your summer vacation.  

2. Kayaking In Alaska

Is there any doubt that kayaking in Alaska is the best in the world? Go ahead, name a better place. We bet you can’t after taking a kayaking trip in Alaskan waters. See beautiful waterfalls, glaciers, exotic wildlife, and mind-bending scenery while enjoying the zen of a kayak journey in Alaska’s pristine waters. Our favorite spot for kayaking is Kenai Fiords National Park, which is also one of the most exotic spots on the planet.

3. Wildlife Viewing

No matter what the season, there is nothing like viewing the diversity of Alaska wildlife. But seasonal activity – or inactivity; think hibernation – will affect what you see. During the Alaska summer, brown bears and other wildlife are concentrated along streams where salmon spawn, but you may see muskoxen during the rut while moose cows with their calves hang around on roadsides. July is the best time to see exotic waterfowl of all types as they gather on lakes and lagoons. Fur seals and sea lions also bear their young beginning in July.

You can take a bear-viewing tour, where you might see some of Alaska’s 50,000 black bears and 35,000 brown bears in their natural habitat.

Marine wildlife cruises offer chances to encounter porpoises, harbor seals, sea otters, and walruses, among other wild critters. If you’re on a boat and see something cool, make sure the captain stops or slows so you can grab a photo or just enjoy the experience of watching the incredible Alaska wildlife.

By the way, if seeing a moose is one of your must-do’s in Alaska, check out the                      Anchorage and Denali National Park, where they are common. You won’t see much of       Bullwinkle (remember the cartoon character? Rocky’s buddy? Oh, well.) in Southeast Alaska, though, as they tend to be inland creatures. (Same with grizzlies, by the way.)

Then there are eagles. You must travel to Haines, near the Valley of the Eagles to see hundreds gathered at a time. This area, dear reader, has the largest gathering of bald eagles on Earth. Play the Star-Spangled Banner as you witness this amazing sight of hundreds of America’s fierce and proud symbols.

4. Whale Watching In Alaska

We put this one wildlife viewing must-do in a category by itself. You can’t visit Alaska without taking a whale-watching cruise. Belugas, Killer whales, Gray whales, and Humpback whales all patrol the waters off Alaska. If you’re ready for your heart to race, just wait until one of these massive Cetaceans breaches, blow or slap their tails. 

Humpbacks are usually solitary animals, but if you’re lucky, and we mean really lucky, you may see a group of humpback whales engage in bubble netting. This incredible bit of teamwork involves a group of humpbacks forming a circle in an upwardly shrinking spiral to blow bubbles and corral herring. As the herring become trapped in the bubble net, the whales open their gargantuan mouths and have din-din.

But be alert! This phenomenon is over in seconds and you could miss it if you’re not diligently scoping out the waters of southern parts of Alaska like Juneau, Homer, and Sitka where the whales frolic.

5. Glacier Calving And Exploring In Alaska

Naturally, Alaska is laden with glaciers. And while it’s only the water-borne glaciers that calve (calving is the breaking off of huge pieces of these icy leviathans), just encountering a majestic glacier is an unforgettable sight. Some of the best places for glacier exploration include Matanuska Glacier, a four-mile valley glacier about 100 miles northeast of Anchorage.

You won’t see calving here, but the Mendenhall Glacier, just outside of Juneau, is a half-mile wide. There are several trails where you can explore the glacier, including a 3.5-mile loop with 500-ft. elevation gain that gives you a great view.

But perhaps the best chance to see glacier calving is in Glacier Bay National Park. The boat-and-ship-accessible park has at least 50 named glaciers. See seals carrying ice chunks, mountain goats grazing, even bears and whales. You can book fishing and kayaking excursions here. Flight-seeing is also available. 

Among our favorite glaciers are the Exit Glacier at Kenai Fiords and the Portage Glacier near Whittier.

6. Visit National Parks In Alaska

As we mentioned earlier, Alaska has 17 amazing national parks. Most people recognize Denali National Park if for no other reason than it is home to 20,308-ft. Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. But Denali National Park is so much more. Travel the 95-mile-long Denali Park Road and in addition to the striking scenery, you’ll get a glimpse of moose, Dall sheep, caribou, which live almost exclusively in Denali, and even bears.

Denali National Park offers 20 hiking trails of varying difficulty. One of the most popular is the easy one-mile Horseshoe Lake Trail, where you can see some panoramic views. The well-traveled four-mile Savage Alpine has sweeping views of the Alaska mountain range, including Denali. The one-mile Thorofare Ridge Trail may be among the most difficult but the most rewarding, offering great views of Denali on clear days.

We’ve already mentioned the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park, which attracts the most visitors of all Alaska parks. But the adventuresome among you may want to consider a visit to the wild Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve near Bettles, on the banks of the Koyukuk River. While there are no campsites, roads, or trails, the vast and untouched park allows those experienced in outdoor survival skills to hike across 8.4 million acres of wilderness that has been changed only by the weather.

Kobuk Valley National Park, located above the Arctic Circle, is known for its famous sand dunes and diverse wildlife. It’s 1.8 million rustic acres of terrain for snow machining, dog mushing, backpacking, skiing, and flightseeing.  

While we’re not going to list all of Alaska’s National Parks since you can’t go wrong visiting any of them, Kenai Fiords outside of Seward is jam-packed with wildlife, especially bald eagles and falcons. Our friend the puffin can also be seen among the rocky fiords, and bears are always around, too. The surreal volcanic formations jutting out of the water make for great photographs.

While it would have been nothing but a mass of ice 17,000 years ago, today you can visit Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness, about two million acres of achingly beautiful scenery with deep fiords, thousand-foot cliffs, and waterways where killer whales and porpoises swim while mountain goats and bears can be seen cavorting in the wilderness. 

7. Panning For Gold In Alaska

The kids will thrill by the idea of finding gold in the streams of Alaska, and there are several places where panning for gold can be a fun Alaska family activity. Anchorage has gold panning sites as well as Juneau, Fairbanks, and dozens of other locations like Skagway. 

8. Dining In Alaska

Ya like fish? Alaska’s got fish. According to the National Restaurant Association, there are just under 1,500 eating and drinking establishments in Alaska, and many of them serve fresh Alaskan fish of some kind. Chinook, Coho, and sockeye salmon lead the list of menu items you must try. But there’s also Pacific halibut, rockfish, and three different types of cod, all of which tend to be flaky and light. But wait, there’s more! How about some nice Alaskan King Crab or Snow Crab. Shrimp and Pacific oysters are also mainstays of Alaskan restaurant menus. There are also uniquely Alaska meats available such as sumptuous reindeer. You can even have your catch prepared for you by a chef on a wilderness beach, at sea, or at a private table with this ‘cook your catch’ tour. 

9. Camping And Hiking In Alaska

There are dozens of managed campgrounds in The Last Frontier, and if you want to rough it and camp, you can be assured that most campgrounds – some private, some public – are usually near major roads with access to lakes and rivers. You may have to reserve a camping spot in advance to make sure you’re set to have a landing spot ahead of time. Popular spots include Chugach State Park, which is about a 20-minute drive from Anchorage, and the magnificent Denali National Park, located about halfway between Anchorage and Fairbanks. If you don’t want to sleep in a tent, check to see if lodges are available.

Many camping areas have hiking trails, but we’ve already mentioned the 700-something trails in Alaska, so you’ve got a large selection of paths with varying degrees of difficulty. Don’t forget to bring hiking gear, as many of these hikes are more than a Sunday stroll. There are more than 200 "moderate” hiking trails in Alaska, ranging from about one mile in length to about 390 miles. Some of the trails soar to 5,400 ft. and many are flatter. Don’t forget to bring a camera, of course, because you never know what you’ll see. We’ve all got our favorite trails, but we’re fond of Skagway’s Chilkoot Trail!

If camping isn’t your thing, Alaska has all kinds of places to stay that will fit your needs, whether it’s a hotel with suites, motels, or wilderness lodges. If you plan to take a trip in an RV, there are a lot of parking spots, some of which are free. Again, it’s best to check ahead for the best places to land. If you’re taking a car trip, Alaska has smooth highways to allow you to take the ultimate road trip in the most beautiful state in America.

If you’re in a car or an RV, the most scenic highways in Alaska include but are not limited to the Seward Highway, the Denali Highway, the Top-of-the-World Highway, the Glenn Highway, and the Alaska Highway.

10. Dog Sledding

Mush! Summer may not mean a lot of snow, but a dog-sledding tour is the ultimate must-do. Yes, you can do this during the summer. There are three different dog-sledding yours. You can tour a kennel and see demonstrations, sled in the glaciers, or take a ride in a wheeled cart pulled by dogs (but without the snow, of course.)

11. And Don’t Forget.

We’ve already mentioned flightseeing, but their several trains trips around that traverse the scenic Alaska countryside. Feel the relaxing roll of the train wheels as you look out in amazement at the mountains and scenic landscape.

The Alaska Railroad stretches 470 miles north to Fairbanks and through Denali National Park and is a highlight of any summer trip to Alaska. 

Those are our top 10, ok, 11, things to do during a summer trip to Alaska. But there is so much more that you’re sure to find undiscovered gems that bring experiences and memories to last forever. 

One Final Word: Bugs

It wouldn’t be fair not to mention this but, yes, Alaska has bugs. Black flies. The ever-present no-see-ums.  And, of course, mosquitoes. (Fun fact: Only Iceland and Antarctica don’t have mosquitoes.) Take the same precautions you would take at home to avoid bug bites. Summer in Alaska means there will be a few annoying insects, but come on, you’ve got them back home, too.

Bugs or no bugs, a summer trip to Alaska will be the experience of a lifetime.