13 Adventurous Things To Do In Alaska That You Will Love

Icebergs the size of apartment buildings, glaciers that crack like thunder, and wildlife that can show up for dinner uninvited. These are adventurous things to do in Alaska that you can enjoy and much more. Alaska is rugged and barely populated, so it offers adventurous activities beyond your imagination.

Of its 365 million acres, only one percent is inhabitable; the rest remains untouched. The majority of its residents live in the coastal area or southcentral region. Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau (the capital) have the largest populations.

The remaining towns are quaint and the polar opposite of modern-day cities in the 48 states further south. Most visitors travel to Alaska from April to October for longer daylight hours and warmer weather. 

Since some Alaska cities experience 22 hours of darkness in the winter, people rarely travel to the Last Frontier during the bitterly cold season. Locals have made their living during the warmer months and usually close up shop in winter.

So, let’s explore the best adventurous things to do in Alaska.

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Best Adventurous Things To Do In Alaska In Spring

Spring welcomes the change of seasons from a long cold winter to milder weather. Bears emerge from their dens with young, and humpback whales migrate to Alaska to feed. 

1. Hiking In Alaska

Hiking is not only one of the best adventurous things to do in Alaska in spring, it also gives you a chance to catch some spectacular views!

Alaskan trails allow you to enjoy the outdoors without swarms of mosquitoes that arrive in the summer. Carry bear spray and a bear bell, and make noise when hiking. Here are some hikes worth considering:

The Chilkoot Hike and Float Tour in Skagway combines a partial hike on the Chilkoot Trail with a float down the Taiya River. By hiking this trail, you’ll follow in the footsteps of the gold prospectors who traveled to the Yukon in hopes of getting rich over 125 years ago.

Once you reach the river, you’ll enjoy the scenic views of the surrounding forest and may see some bald eagles nesting beside the river.

Gastineau Peak in Juneau provides stunning views of the Gastineau Channel. You can take the Mount Roberts Tram to the top of the mountain to start the trail. There will still be snow in spring, so wear a jacket and wear footwear with ankle support.

Mendenhall Glacier Hikes. Just outside of Juneau, Mendenhall Glacier provides a few options for hiking. Take a shuttle bus to Mendenhall Glacier Park. Nugget Falls, Trail of Time, Photo Point, and Steep Creek Trail provide easy walking without elevation gains.

However, the East Glacier Trail provides a stair master workout through a lush rainforest if you prefer something more challenging. The 3.5-mile hike is suitable for the more experienced hiker and offers impressive views of the glacier below.

2. Take A Train Journey

Heading to on an Alaskan train journey is one the famous adventurous things to do in Alaska in spring.

The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway was constructed to transport gold prospectors over 100 years ago into the Yukon. Today you can learn its history by taking the train tour from Skagway to the Yukon, Canada, in vintage rail cars.

The narrow-gauge track travels through tunnels and over wooden trestles. Its journey rated one of the most scenic in the world, captivates its guests with rugged mountains, rushing waterfalls, and forested valleys.

You can stand outside the train carriage during the trip to enjoy uninterrupted views of Alaska’s beautiful landscape. At the ends of the carriage, you can capture views of the train as it rounds the corners.

3. Journey To Tracy Arm Fjord

Located near Juneau, Tracy Arm is a typical fjord with steep granite cliffs and deep waters. From the capital, you can book a number of adventures. The Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer provides a 5 to 6 hours journey with a chance to see wildlife. 

Whales often feed at the entrance to the fjord, while goats wander the cliffs near the glaciers. In spring, harbor seals give birth to their pups on the icebergs beneath the twin Sawyer Glaciers. 

With new life come the killer whales and bald eagles, eager for an easy meal. It’s a brutal beginning for a harbor seal pup.

Alternatively, you can take a boat and kayak trip to Tracy Arm with the option to camp for a few days. The environment is harsh, and kayakers need to have some experience paddling close to glaciers and camping in challenging areas.

You can see why this is one of the iconic adventurous things to do in Alaska in spring.

4. Go Dog Mushing

Alaska offers two fantastic options if it’s on your bucket list to go dog sledding. Dog sledding on a glacier requires a helicopter ride, but the cost might give you sticker shock. However, by visiting a musher’s camp, you can forego the expensive helicopter ride and enjoy a similar experience.

You’ll meet the Alaskan huskies at the camp, who will power your cart. Instead of running on ice, the cart has wheels to run along forested trails. In the spring, you’ll have an opportunity to meet the husky pups, the future sled dog champions in the making.

Since mushing camps cost 1/3 of the same tour on a glacier, it makes a great adventurous things to do in Alaska for families on a budget.

Best Adventurous Things To Do In Alaska In Summer

The snowpack begins to melt as the weather warms up, creating gushing waterfalls. With rising temperatures at the glacier, if you’re lucky, you’ll enjoy a lot more calving action. 

Calving happens when the ice breaks away from the glacier’s toe and crashes into the ocean. The breathtaking show is a photographer’s dream. Here are the iconic adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer.

5. Dog Sledding On A Glacier

Dog sledding on a glacier is one of the adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer that you should try.

There are few Alaskan experiences as memorable as dog sledding on a glacier. While expensive at around USD 600 pp, it’s an activity like none other. Tours sell out fast, so make a reservation a year in advance to prevent disappointment.

It’s important to note that bad weather may cause cancellation if the helicopter cannot fly. However, you will receive a full refund. This excursion combines a flight-seeing trip with time dog sledding. At the glacier, you’ll operate your dog team with the help of a guide. It is one of the really cool adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer.

Afterward, you can mingle with the dogs who often participate in the Iditarod race, a gruel cross-country Alaska marathon in harsh conditions. You can go dog sledding in Juneau, Skagway, Anchorage, Seward, and Denali.

You can also book your dog sledding experience online.

6. Whale Watching 

Humpback whale watching is one of the popular adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer.

By early summer, the humpback whales have migrated from Hawaii to feed in Alaska. If you take a whale-watching tour, operators will guarantee you’ll see whales, and you will!

Icy Strait Point (or Hoonah) and Juneau are the best places to take a tour. Tours last three hours, and some vessels have heated interior cabins if it’s cold outside. Use a motion sickness patch if you suffer from seasickness.

During the tours, you’ll see humpback whales diving for food, but you may also spot sea lions, orcas, harbor seals, and bald eagles.

Unique to Alaska, humpbacks have learned to bubble-net feed. The technique requires one whale to swim in a circle beneath the water, releasing air from its blowhole. The net of bubbles confuses and traps schools of herring.

Then, when the lead whale gives a signal, the other whales lunge out of the water with their mouths open, scooping up the fish.

7. Snorkeling In Alaska

Snorkeling isn’t reserved for the warm waters of the Caribbean. In Ketchikan, Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure offers tours to swim its waters. While the summer provides warmer waters, guests still need to wear a wetsuit to snorkel. 

With a thick neoprene layer to keep you comfortable, you’ll snorkel the tidepools to see spiny sea urchins, sea cucumbers, crabs, and numerous sea stars. The 7mm wetsuits keep you buoyant as you explore the waters teeming with life.

While it’s a different experience than snorkeling in the Caribbean, you’ll see some colorful marine life. During the snorkel, gauzelike jellyfish float by as if unaware of your presence. Adventurous things to do in Alaska don’t get better than this!

8. Kayaking Alaska’s Waters

You just can’t forget kayaking when you talk about adventurous activities in Alaska in summer.

With rushing waterfalls, copious marine life, and stunning landscapes, Alaska provides the ideal environment to go kayaking (or canoeing!). Almost every town offers such tours, ranging from ocean adventures to paddling on a lake or river.

In Icy Strait Point, you could encounter humpback whales during the excursion. In Sitka, large sea otters usually outnumber the kayakers.

From Seward, kayakers travel to Kenai Fjords and Res­ur­rec­tion Bay. Here, you’ll encounter migratory birds, sea otters, and puffins while savoring close views of a blue-hued glacier.

9. Helicopter And Glacier Hike

There’s nothing quite as iconic as flying onto a glacier and exploring its frozen landscape. Glaciers aren’t the smooth icy paths you might expect. Due to constant movement, caves, crevasses, and rivers develop along its route.

After a flight-seeing flyover, you’ll land on the glacier to begin exploring the ice field. With an experienced guide, you’ll walk along the ice formations and drink glacial water. The mesmerizing shades of blue and aqua are quite beautiful.

Bring a GoPro and attach it to your helmet because you’ll want to capture this experience forever.

Best Adventurous Things To Do In Alaska In Fall

Like spring, the fall signals that the colder weather of winter approaches. At that time, bears focus on feeding to gain fat for hibernation. Luckily, the salmon are running, so salmon fishing and bear-watching tours are ideal in the autumn.

10. Bear Watching Tours

Bears in Alaska tend to be bigger than those found further south. While Alaska has Polar, brown, and black bears, you’re more likely to see brown and black bears. Kodiak and brown bears are a type of grizzly. 

Katmai National Park and Brooks Falls offer the ultimate bear-watching area. Bears gather in the river to catch their fill of salmon as they make their way up the river. In Juneau, you can take a day trip to Admiralty Island to see the Coastal Brown Bears and Sitka Deer at Pack Creek.

Alternatively, consider a stay at the Katmai Wilderness Lodge in Katmai National Park. During your 5-night stay, you’ll travel to Kodiak Island to see Kodiak Bears. You’ll surely get your fill of bear sightings with an extended stay.

11. Go Aurora Chasing

In the fall, Alaska provides the opportunity of seeing the aurora borealis. You’ll need to get to a location away from light pollution. Denali National Park and areas outside Fairbanks are far enough north to provide the best viewing spots.

The northern lights are unpredictable, so download an aurora app, which will tell you when the aurora is active. Many hotels in Alaska offer wake-up calls when the aurora appears in the wee hours. This is definitely one of the adventurous things to do in Alaska that you should not miss!

12. Ride The Largest ZipRider In The World

Not for the faint hearted! The ZipRider is one of the top adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer.

Ideal for thrill-seekers, Icy Strait Point has the largest ZipRider in the world. Starting at the top of Hoonah Mountain, you’ll ride a 5,330-foot line to the coastline below. Reaching speeds of up to 60 MPH, you’ll enjoy stunning views if you aren’t screaming your lungs out.

The exhilarating ride allows six guests to ride side-by-side, so it’s one of the perfect adventurous things to do in Alaska in summer with friends or family. So, can you convince them to go?

At 1,550 feet, Hoonah Mountain provides scenic views of Icy Strait and Fort Frederick before your ride. In the summer, coastal brown bears frequent the mountain, often resulting in trail closures. By going in the fall, the bears are often foraging for food somewhere else.

13. Go Salmon Fishing 

The autumn brings the salmon runs, which are ideal for fishing enthusiasts. Ketchikan, known as the “salmon capital of the world,” may be your best bet for fishing. Tour companies offer fishing chapters, and locals will process your catch and ship it home for a small fee.

Local stores sell licenses and rent fishing gear if you prefer to forego a fishing tour. At the Stedman Bridge in town, the salmon season brings a flock of anglers trying their luck at catching the big one in Ketchikan Creek.

Of course, the salmon brings other creatures in search of an easy meal. So, you could compete with sea otters who may try to steal your catch. Nearby, the bald eagles wait to feed on the rotting salmon.

Final Thoughts On The Adventurous Things To Do In Alaska

There are few places in the world where you can snorkel in frigid waters, kayak amongst whales, and dog sled on a glacier. But Alaska offers these terrific experiences and so much more.

The only limit to your adventures is how far you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone and how much you’re ready to spend. If you live far away, you may only make the trip once, so make it count!