fun experience. Pass by heading to Girdwood-- sped by, then turned around. Had 2 people that have…read morenever been to the mine before. 1 did the Gold panning, while we checked out the Gift Shop and property. He got a vial of gold and fleks to take home with him. Pleasant and informative staff. Worth taking the time to stop in on our trip South of Anchorage. +++

This is a small place to stop along the Turnagain Arm. I feel it's good for families with young…read morechildren. The gold panning is relaxing and just their speed. There are live animals on site and some fun Alaska gifts. It's a dollar for each person the enter and the buckets of dirts come in 20, 50 or 100 dollars increments. Overall, it's worth at least the dollar to stop and look around.

We didn't go panning for gold, but lots of people were there doing just that! We just checked out…read morethe history of the place. It's amazing how nothing was every thrown away. Everything is somewhat preserved creating a time capsule. And lovely gardens. It's a beautiful place in the summer. The flowers and water make it an easy way to spend some time here.

There's an interesting mining village, and the trail down to the creek is pretty. They give you a…read moretest bag of dirt too which is pretty much guaranteed to have some gold! They give you a demonstration, and then let you go and pan for as long as you'd like. The flowers around the campsite are very pretty and well kept as well.

Informative and rich in unique history in a stunning place. The placards are full of great…read moreinformation. Love the cross country skiing, hiking, plus blue berries.

This beautiful tourist attraction is located right outside of Hatchers Pass…read more There is ample parking available very close to the mine. We saw many folks park too far away (nearest the lodge, with the popular dry cabins) and then had to trek unnecessarily. Lots of bathrooms, a few snack and drink areas. We recently visited on a sunny day with tons of traffic. We were able to enter and explore a few of the buildings and artifacts. Lots of reading material available throughout the "tour." I would return and bring visitors.

It's a winner!…read more Alaska has so much spectacular scenery. It's everywhere you look, and this trail takes the prize for most stunning. Seriously. It looks, feels, and smells really nice. The only downside is that it's popular, so don't expect a quiet, solitary time. There are lots of people on this path, but at least it will keep the bears and moose away! ha

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! One of my favorite "easy hikes." The city of Girdwood is…read moreenchanting. I'm in my very own version of Beauty and the Beast whenever I'm adventuring in the area. I was grateful to have been able to experience this trail in its entirety, prior to an accidental death, and the ultimate closing of the hand tram. You can start this hike at the Alyeska Hotel (more popular) or at Crow Creek Mine (less popular). From Crow Creek Mine to the gorge it's about 1 mile. With the hand tram closed, theres no safe way to cross the gorge. From the Alyeska Hotel to the gorge, it's about 2 miles. I'd recommend starting from the hotel for a longer hike. That side also has many natural staircases, unique bridges/water sights, basically, the best photo opps. When in season, this trail offers lots of berry, mushroom, and other foraging opportunities. Highly recommend.

This was a nice little visit, and I enjoyed speaking to the woman who is the longtime curator,…read moremuseum director. This little museum is located right on the Iditerod trail. And I had a hard time finding this museum, because I had been told: "I don't know that the museum really has an address. It is located on 13.9 Goosebay Rd, Wasilla." However, one thing I found sad was to see the taxidermy of a baby seal. I guess this is an Alaskan thing.

Hidden gem of Alaskan history. This old ghost town was deserted in 1917, after railroad reached…read moreAnchorage and bypassed Knik, causing major economy disaster for locals. People were packing their houses, yes I am not mistaking - HOUSES and moving out. It took them 1 night to turn prosperous town into a ghost. There are only 2 original buildings left, one of them is now a museum. You can learn a lot from the knowledgeable docents over there about native history and dog mushing.

We recently went on a family vacation with this company, and it exceeded our expectations. Rod was…read moreour tour guide, and he was a native Alaskan who had the smooth voice of Vin Scully. He used to teach history and science, and he was a treasure trove of knowledge. We went around all our activities and accommodations in a comfortable executive coach which provided endless drinks and thoughtful touches like snacks, bug spray, hand sanitizer, toilet covers! The hotels were suitable and the B&B near Palmer had the best views - as did the Lakeview Inn. The one thing I would recommend is advising us to eat locally and telling us exactly what time to make dinner reservations in advance (where / what time). It was impossible to get a cab in Seward.... We loved all the activities we picked - ATV, glaciers 4 ways (airplane, hiking on it, boating to it, ocean cruise), cultural tours, kayaking, fishing, gold panning, Denali hiking, train etc - it was endless animal sightings, whale watching and learning galore! I would highly recommend for any curious travelers who don't like just taking pictures of pretty places. We are looking forward to our last day of salmon fishing! Please book with these kind folks.

Mom and I took the small group, adult only, 10-day Grand Discovery Alaska. We started in Anchorage,…read moretraveled around and up to Denali then back to Anchorage where we jumped on the Dome Train to Seward. It was a whirlwind trip filled with A LOT of information, sight seeing, adventures, activities, tours and sitting in the van. Our driver/guide, Cullen was Great! One of the first things he told us right after he gave us his cell number was ... "You are going to do more in 10 days than most locals do in 20 years." He was not joking. We really crammed a lot into a short amount of time. Every day was a long day with most days not eating dinner until 8 or 9pm. There were 6 travelers plus Cullen. Our group was small and we were able to change and alter some plans easily (if we wanted and could.) In some cases, we weren't able to change things just because of timing. Thankfully, AAU / Cullen made reseravtions at all the eating places so we didn't really have to wait but a couple minutes when we stopped to eat. Every where seemed to be short staffed ( like everywhere else in the US ) and slammed with guests. So, having these reservations taken care of ahead of time was much appreciated so that we didn't really have to wait once we showed up. At one place, Cullen called our orders ahead and they were ready when we showed up! That really helped cut down on waiting / eating time so we could jump on the road quicker. Cullen even stopped at a roadside Jerky truck for us to pick up snacks! The one thing we (me and the group) were not aware of is that Cullen was not going with us for our time in Seward. When he dropped us off at the Embassy Suites on our last day with him, we felt a little lost and uncertain how things would go. This is mostly because Cullen literally took care of all arrangements and kept us 'on track' so we were in the right place at the right time. He also gave us great advice for a number of locations and activities. For the Denali Eielson Bus ride, he was adamant that we be the first ones in line and to sit in the front. He was not wrong! We got the best views of everything including the young grizzly 'chasing' the caribou down the road. (Actually.... the griz was running from the 3 busses and a caribou just happened onto the same trail/road as the griz so it looked like the griz was chasing the caribou when in fact both were running from the 3 busses.) If you get Cullen, ask him about his Moose encounter. This guy has 9 lives and I think he's used 8 of them already in his super adventurous life. If we could change or add one thing, it would be to have a little more time in Denali to relax and take in the area. It was Go-Go-Go all the time - jumping from one thing to the next and getting in really late in the evening that we didn't have time to enjoy a short hike in Denali (like the Savage River) or a campfire by the lake which would have been nice. Overall, we really enjoyed all the activities, sites and options that AAU included in their itinerary. I'm still downloading and sorting through pictures. Once I get them organized, I'll find a few to add to my review.

This is such a beautiful state park. I had the pleasure to go here during my stay in Alaska. I…read morewould highly recommend going and just taking it the beautiful site.

I still stand by my original statement that Chugach State Patk is the best park about living in…read moreAnchorage. However, many of the lane expansion and safety measures that are ongoing on Seward Highway do and will a have lasting impact on much of the easily accessible entry points of the park. Some of my favorite points, such as Windy Corner, are going to be completely eliminated in one of the lane expansion projects for the highway, with no plans for remediation or replacement. For Tourists, I would also like to point out another very impoont I failed to mention in my previous review. Make VERY CAREFUL REVIEW OF STATE AND FEDERAL website maps to be sure you understand where the boundaries between Chugach STATE forest and Chugach NATIONAL forest are. This will ensure you understand fees and the location of campsites, cabins, and accessibility.

If you have limited time in the area, do not hesitate to book this tour. Fred will go out of his…read moreway to make sure you have a wonderful, authentic Alaskan experience. During our visit to the Talkeetna area there were wildfires burning, we were unable to make it to the meeting area but Fred and his helper Rich came to the hotel and picked us up so we wouldn't miss out on the fun. He first took us to a secluded spot by a river where the salmon were literally swimming between our feet. We could have reached down and scooped them up, but we were there to learn how to fly fish, so learn we did! Fred was extremely patient with me and my husband....and our limited fishing abilities! He came supplied with everything you could need or want during the tour. The waders fit perfectly, and kept us warm in the glacier water. While driving to our second fishing spot he supplied yummy croissant sandwiches to snack on during the ride. The second fishing spot had just as many salmon and we were able to catch quite a few fish. I had a beautiful trout on my line but unfortunately I didn't snag him and he got off the hook. I was bummed, but Fred is so encouraging before I knew it I had a huge salmon on the line and brought it in successfully. While we enjoyed fishing Rich cooked up some salmon by the shore along with vodka tonic and rum and cokes. We took a break to enjoy a perfect meal of deliciously cooked salmon and a nice cocktail. It was seriously a perfect day, despite the wildfires in area. I just hope that Rich and Fred's property were not impacted. If I am ever back in the area, this would be the first tour I book. It was a great experience and a super fun day!! Thank you Fred and Rich for making this the highlight of our trip!

This was the highlight of our Alaska trip. We did the fishing trip with Fred and He was amazing. We…read moremet up with Fred around 2pm. Had a delicious lunch and drinks and caught fish all afternoon. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The spot Fred took us the fish were jumping out of the water right before our eyes. As the sun started to go down it was impossible not to catch a fish. We even ate our fresh fish on the beach. We were celebrating my Mom's 60th Birthday and Fred made it an extra special day. My brother is already wanting to make another Alaska trip next year just to fish with Fred!