Day 7: Anchorage-Palmer
Anyone can ride a helicopter. Anyone can ride a dog sled. But not everyone has taken a helicopter over an icy mountain range and driven a dog sled on top of a glacier! This will make your Alaska travel with your kids a super unique experience.
Highlights
- Do the helicopter and dog sled tour booked through Knik River Lodge in Palmer. The tour took us over the Chugach Mountain Range and the Knik River valley and we landed on Knik Glacier, where we rode and drove a dog sled. Our daredevil pilot made the helicopter ride feel like a James Bond movie! And the dog sled ride on a glacier surrounded by icy mountains is truly one-of-a-kind.
- Eat at Raven’s Perch Restaurant in Knik River Lodge. We had salmon chowder and a ham sandwich while waiting for our turn for the helicopter dog sled tour.
- Eat at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, not the most obvious choice in Anchorage. But who’s to complain about unlimited grilled steak, shrimp, pasta, buffalo meatballs, and 150 choices. And it was a good choice as we were “hangry” after our adventure and all the restaurants we went to were either closed for the day or unusually packed.
Day 8: Anchorage-Seward
There is something romantic about riding a train along a scenic route. And the 4.5-hour Anchorage to Seward route is the most scenic in Alaska. We also wanted to explore Seward, a port city where the Alaska Railroad ends.
Plus, we were very curious about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Alaska’s annual long-distance sled dog race dubbed “The Last Great Race” because it really tests the mettle of mushers and dogs over a 10-15 day race. Seward is the birthplace of the Iditarod and home of Mitch Seavey, who still holds the record of finishing the race in eight days.
Highlights
- Take the Alaska Railroad train to Seward. We rode the premium GoldStar railcar with its glass-dome ceiling that offered panoramic views and outdoor viewing platforms. On the way back, we took the more pedestrian Adventure Class railcar.
- Ride a dog sled at Seavey’s IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours at the homestead of champion Mitch Seavey, which was packaged with the six-hour Real Alaska Tour. The champion dogs drove us two miles along the trail in the rainforest. We also learned about the history of the Iditarod, met real mushers, cuddled puppies, toured the kennel facilities, and checked out what mushers wore, used, and rode during the race. Our daughter wrote about her dog sled adventure in Alaska.
- Explore Exit Glacier and Kenai Fjords National Park as part of the tour. Exit Glacier is of the few glaciers accessible by road. It’s a relatively easy uphill hike on the trail in the forest and along a gravel river bar to reach the glacier up close. (Read our daughter’s story on exploring Exit Glacier.) The Real Alaska Tour also takes you to other parts of Seward where you can tour the compact downtown, view upstream swimming salmon, and watch for bald eagles.
- Eat at Resurrection Roadhouse in Windsong Lodge for lunch. We had burgers and ribs.
