Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city with a population of about 300,500. More than half of the states population lives in Anchorage and the nearby Matanuska-Susitna borough, which includes Palmer and Wasilla. It is located on the upper shores of Cook Inlet. The Anchorage bowl is a low lying alluvial plain bordered by mountains and water. To the south is Cook Inlet’s Turnagain Arm and to the north is Knik Arm. Anchorage is bounded on the east by the Chugach Mountains, which form a dramatic backdrop for the city.

Chugach Mountains are easily visible from downtown

Anchorage’s Air Crossroads Sign at the Visitor Center

We stayed at the Golden Nugget RV Park, which is located in the north east section of Anchorage. One of the best features of our campground was its proximity to the bike trail system. Biking Trails are found throughout the town of Anchorage and offer an excellent way to tour the city. We were able to ride on two of the trails, but would’ve enjoyed checking out more of them if we had more time. Hiking is available in nearby Chugach State Park. From our in-town campground location, we hiked the Flattop Mountain Trail, the quintessential Anchorage trail. There are numerous trailheads that are easily reached via car within a 30-45 minute drive.

View of Anchorage and the Alaska Range across the Inlet from Flattop Mountain Trail

Anchorage offers all of the services and stores expected in a large city. There is a wide range of restaurants, numerous grocery and drug store chains, and all types of specialty stores. We were able to get some maintenance performed on our Jeep, got prescriptions filled, stocked up on food and supplies, and Mike got a hair cut. We particularly enjoyed eating out in Anchorage, which met and exceeded our expectations. We checked out Sushi & Sushi, Yak & Yeti, Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria and the The Flying Dutchman European Pastry shop.

Anchorage Market and Festival

We had a great time checking out the Anchorage Market and Festival, which occurs on Saturday mornings, downtown at the corner of 3rd Ave & C Street. There was live music. The usual market stands of vegetables, seafood, jams & jellies, and baked goods were present in addition to craft/art items. There were numerous food trucks with ample outdoor seating. We got a Vietnamese Bahn Mi, corndogs, potato twist (spiral cut potato on a stick), and tempura oreos to share. All of the food was tasty. In addition to the stands we visited, there were numerous other options such as: BBQ, Mexican food, pizza, burgers, halibut, gyros, Creole, and Russian food. One nice touch was a dispenser of wet wipes at each table for cleaning up hands after eating. There were activities such as face painting and pony rides for the kids. We found some artwork including a Bronco’s carved stone piece for the man cave.

Broncos stone carving found at the market

Downtown Anchorage has lots of flower beds and baskets. There is a visitor center, museums, an outdoor tour of the history of Anchorage, and numerous shops catering to tourists. There are murals on numerous buildings. Anchorage streets are fairly orderly in their layout, but there are some one-way streets and streets that don’t go straight through, but may skip several blocks. We found the downtown area to be quite walkable.