Alaska Road Trip - Decoding Retirement Life

For some reason travelling to Alaska was never a big draw for me. I know it’s known for its beauty. And many friends had gone, mostly on cruises, and they all loved it. But it never made it high up onto my list. Plus, I’m not really into cruises and the few times I looked at group trips they were so expensive I didn’t even consider it.

But one day I saw a post on Instagram for the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and I liked the look of it so explored more. Between the lodge (which I loved) and their descriptions of places to visit, I began to think maybe I did want to visit Alaska. But I still didn’t want a cruise or group trip. So I began to look into doing a self-drive trip. After some research I realized I could rent a car and see a lot of the places I would like to visit in a little more than a week. And for a lot less money than with a group. I texted my friend Diane to see if she was interested in an Alaska road trip and within seconds she responded “Let’s go!”

Logistics and other notes

Flights: Alaska is far. Even farther than I expected. I had a non-stop flight to Seattle. From there I flew to Anchorage and was surprised to find that flight was almost 4 hours. Essentially it takes all day to get to Alaska from the east coast but you gain 4 hours with the time difference. The Anchorage airport is very pleasant – I had to wait an hour for Diane to get in and there were places to eat and sit after getting my luggage.
Weather and time of year to visit: We decided to go in early September (2025). We figured September would be a good time to visit since we would miss the summer crowds. Also we didn’t think it would be too cold or snowy at that time though that’s always a possibility. There’s also a chance of seeing the Northern Lights. On the downside, it could be rainy. Also, some things (tours, hotels, restaurants, etc.) start to close in September though not all on the same date, so planning the trip became a bit like putting a puzzle together. In the end, while we had some coolish weather and many rainy days, no day was a wash out. And several days were gloriously sunny. Plus the beginning of fall and the changing colors made September just glorious.
Crowds: We did face our share of crowds though not everywhere. When we got to the lodge in Talkeetna we learned that people on cruises can also do land tours in conjunction with their cruise. The Talkeetna Lodge was very crowded with a cruise group and for instance when we went to the restaurant for breakfast the next morning the line was extremely long. They also had a breakfast bar which is what we ended up using. While this went faster, the line here was also long and we ended up leaving a little later than we had planned. Not a big deal but something you may want to take into account. We also ran into cruise groups in Denali. While the crowds weren’t that bad it was enough to make me very glad that we did not go in July and August when there would be even more people.
Rental Car: Originally, we decided to start in Anchorage and end in Fairbanks. Luckily Diane checked about rental cars before we booked flights. It turned out returning the car to a different airport from where we picked it up would add about $1000 to the cost. Needless to say, we decided not to do that.

Driving: And speaking of cars, DRIVE CAREFULLY. There may not be much traffic in Alaska but there is wildlife, especially moose, that just jump across the road. That happened on one of our first mornings but luckily we weren’t going that fast and Diane quickly braked so we avoided an accident.
Planning the itinerary: There is so much to see in Alaska and everyone who’s been there has suggestions on places you have to go. We went in with the view we only had 9 days and could only see so much. Plus, we wanted to have time to enjoy where we were and not just drive to see as much as possible. Given that and the car rental situation, we flew to Anchorage. Then we drove north to Fairbanks, turned around and came back the same route but continued south to Seward. From there we returned to Anchorage. While we just covered a small piece of Alaska, we ended up driving well over a 1000 miles – but it certainly didn’t feel like it at the time. The scenery was breathtaking and the roads were mostly empty-we often felt like we had the place to ourselves.

And finally: Alaska was just wonderful. Cities and towns were small, manageable and charming. Everywhere we went the scenery was stunning. The flora were beautiful and diverse. And lots of wildlife though admittedly we didn’t see as much as most people we came across. For instance, we never saw a bear, but we did see lots of moose. Still, we were very happy with as much as we did see. And there is nothing I would do differently, I was very happy with every place we visited during our trip. While I’ve linked to the places we went, Alaska.org is a great source of information to help when planning a trip.

Our detailed itinerary

Anchorage

We didn’t spend much time here. We overnighted at the Comfort Suites Anchorage Airport which was a good choice. Reasonably priced and close to the airport with a shuttle. We spent a few hours in the city the next morning. It looked very nice, and it is small so easy to get around. Though we originally had plans to see a number of things in Anchorage, bottom line, we were tired, and wanted to hit the road. We took a walk on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which you can pick up downtown and is very pretty and a nice taste of what was to come. Then we drove around a little, had coffee and a bite to eat, and hit the road.

Talkeetna

Because of the fact that we had to backtrack after Fairbanks, we ended up spending two nights here—once on the way north, and once on the way south. The drive from Anchorage was only 2 hours. We stopped on the way and took a walk at Thunderbird Falls – 1.8 miles there and back in a wooded area along the Eklutna River.

When we got to Talkeetna we went straight to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge (the place that started this trip!) and left exploring the town itself to the way back. At that time we found that Talkeetna is a very cute place with lots of shops and places to eat. The lodge itself was lovely with walking trails around the property which we explored. On a clear day you can have a view of Denali and on a clear evening the northern lights. It was rainy both times we were there so we didn’t see either from Talkeetna.

Denali

Our next stop after Talkeetna (the first time) was Denali which was a 3 hour drive. We hoped to get a view of the mountain (Denali) on the way but it was cloudy most of the ride and always obscured (which we learned is very common). We had the road mostly to ourselves throughout the drive which allowed us to stop for photo ops all along the way. The terrain changed dramatically as we got closer to Denali – looking more like a painted desert than the spruce forest we had been seeing up until then. Also, the colors of fall were making the scenery explode. As we got closer to the town of Denali the clouds started to disappear and we saw incredible rainbows.

Denali is another cute town (or more like a section of the road with shops and restaurants). We spent 2 days there. After we arrived we did an afternoon hike with Northern Epics. The Wilderness Wonders Hiking Tour was a 4 hour hike mostly through forest. For much of the time we hiked under a giant rainbow which just felt magical. And we learned what the term “bushwhack” meant (pretty much just like it sounds!) The guide was great and we really felt off the beaten path.

The next day we did a bus tour of Denali National Park- the Tundra Wilderness Tour with Alaska Travel. We were concerned 6 hours would get boring but the time passed really quickly and we were never bored. There were several opportunities to get off the bus to get better views. And while we never saw Denali (the mountain) and didn’t even see lots of animals, we thoroughly enjoyed this trip.

While in Denali we stayed at the Grand Denali Lodge which was very nice. It was high up a hill and had beautiful views.

Chena Hot Springs

From Denali we continued north towards Chena Hot Springs Resort. This was a beautiful 3 ½ hour drive. It was sunny and clear and we finally got a view of Denali during this drive. We wanted to go to Chena Hot Springs because it’s supposed to be one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights. And given how clear it was we were optimistic. You can always try to see them from somewhere on the property. Or you can take their tour up a mountain in some weird moon-rover like contraption to their cabin to try and get a better view.

Someone we met right after we arrived showed us amazing photos from the night before so we decided it was worth it to do the tour. The tour left the base of the camp at 10:30pm and returned at 3:30am. There was a yurt at the top of the mountain, fully stocked with games, books, chairs and hot cider and snacks. Unfortunately, while we were at the cabin it started raining. We kept hoping it would clear up but it did not. So no lights for us but the cider was a nice bonus! But I still think the side trip to Chena Hot Springs was worth it.

Fairbanks

Next we headed to Fairbanks which was just a little over an hour’s drive. Another small city that was easy to navigate. We walked around downtown and on the Chena Riverwalk. We had a very nice lunch at The Crepery and ended up running into a couple we met in Denali. Alaska may be a big state but In some ways it feels small! After lunch we talked around the Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary which is a migratory waterfowl refuge. Also, our hotel, the Bear Lodge, bordered on the Sanctuary, so after we checked in we walked another section of it.

Seward

After Fairbanks we headed back south stopping for another night in Talkeetna (a 4 ½ hour drive) and then to Seward (another 5 hours). There are lots of possible stops on the Seward Highway including Girdwood, McHugh Creek Recreation Area (waterfall), Beluga Point Lookout, Dall Sheep viewing at Windy Corner, Bird Point Park, Portage Glacier, and stops with views of Kenai Lake. We did many of these stops though never did see beluga whales or Dall sheep. The drive was just beautiful.

Seward is another small, cute town with nice shops and places to eat. There’s also the Exit Glacier way, a 1.6 mile easy walk. We did it on our own but you can also take a guided tour. But the highlight of our time in Seward was our tour of the Kenai Fjords National Park. We did the Classic Tour but there are many half day and full day options. The Classic Tour is a 6 hour cruise that includes lunch. It was a glorious day, even the captain kept exclaiming about how nice it was. We saw glaciers, lots of whales, adorable otters, waterfalls, birds, etc.

We spent 2 nights at the Seward Winsong Lodge which was in the process of shutting down for the season. Still a nice place to stay with a good restaurant. From Seward it was a 2 ½ hour drive back to Anchorage. Easy to leave in the morning and still make afternoon flights.

Our favorite places to eat

Because of our schedule, or sometimes because there was nothing else around, we ate a lot of meals at our hotels. Other times we picked up things to bring with us. But a few places stood out to us.

There are so many nice and also quirky coffee shops and bakeries. We particularly liked the Little Owl Café and Bun on the Run, both in Fairbanks. But our hands down favorite was the Flying Squirrel Bakery and Café in Talkeetna. We had their gluten free macaroons and amazing rugelach (in different flavors) and the most delicious London Fog Hot tea.

In Fairbanks we really liked our lunch at The Crepery. Lunch at The Black Bear in Denali was another favorite and we were lucky we got to go there because when we came back through Denali after our time in Fairbanks and Chena Springs (just 2 days later), it was already closed for the season. But that led us to try Denali Wild Crepes (I can’t find a website to link to) which was also really good. One good dinner we had that was not at a hotel was at Geraldo’s Italian Restaurant, just a short walk from the Bear Lodge, where we stayed in Fairbanks.

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