Anchorage: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: never step onto the grey tidal mudflats of Cook Inlet or Turnagain Arm (glacial silt acts like quicksand), give the 1,500 wild moose living inside Anchorage at least 15 metres (50 feet) of space on bike trails, and remember that on the clearest 30% of days you can see 6,190-metre Mount Denali 210 kilometres north right from Downtown Anchorage.

1. Two Crucial Alaska Safety Rules in Anchorage

1. Never Walk Out Onto the Grey Tidal Mudflats (Cook Inlet & Turnagain Arm): the water around Anchorage looks murky grey because 60 surrounding glaciers grind solid bedrock into microscopic 'glacial flour'. When the 10-metre (35-foot) tide goes out along the Coastal Trail or Turnagain Arm, those exposed grey mudflats are water-saturated glacial silt that acts like vacuum quicksand. Stay strictly on the paved trails and rocky shoreline.
2. City Moose Etiquette (More Common Than Bears): roughly 1,500 wild Alaska-Yukon Moose live inside city limits year-round. If you encounter a moose (especially a cow with calves in May or June, or a bull in September) on a trail, stop, talk calmly, never walk between a mother and calf, and step behind a large tree if its ears pin back.

2. Can You See 'Denali (Mount McKinley)' From Anchorage?

Yes. Although North America's tallest peak (Denali, 6,190 metres or 20,310 feet) sits 210 kilometres (130 miles) north, on crystal-clear mornings and evenings its massive white pyramid towers on the northern horizon. The two best spots in town to see it are Earthquake Park and Point Woronzof on the Coastal Trail and the 5th-floor roof deck of the Hotel Captain Cook, where clear winter and spring mornings reveal both Mount Foraker and Mount Susitna (The Sleeping Lady) across Upper Cook Inlet. Plan your daily sightseeing using our top Anchorage experiences guide and our 3-day Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula itinerary.