With kids · Anchorage · United States
Anchorage with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: James Brooks, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
Anchorage is good for families who enjoy wildlife and the outdoors: moose on the bike trail, salmon in a downtown creek, a hands-on museum, a zoo of Alaskan animals and easy access to glaciers and wildlife centres. Long summer days make it easy to fit in a lot, but blackout curtains help with bedtimes. Top picks: Anchorage Museum, Alaska Native Heritage Center and Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Families usually base themselves in Downtown.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Downtown
- Rainy-day options
- 2
- Busiest months
- June–July
Best things to do with kids
.jpg){kind=link}
Museum · Downtown
1.Anchorage Museum
The state's largest museum covers Alaska's art, history and science. The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center gallery displays hundreds of Alaska Native objects — tools, clothing, masks — on loan from Smithsonian collections, with input from Native communities. A hands-on discovery centre suits children.
Start with the Smithsonian gallery on the second floor; it gives the best background for the rest of an Alaska trip.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Museum · Northeast Anchorage
2.Alaska Native Heritage Center
Run by Alaska Native people, the centre presents the state's major cultural groups through a gathering place with dance and storytelling, and six life-size village sites around a small lake showing traditional dwellings from the Arctic to the southeast. Artists often demonstrate carving and beadwork.
Time your visit for a dance or Native games demonstration, and talk with the hosts at each village site.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Art
- Kids
Waterfront · Downtown
3.Tony Knowles Coastal Trail
A paved trail of about 18 km from downtown along Cook Inlet to Kincaid Park, passing Westchester Lagoon, Earthquake Park and stretches of coastal forest where moose often browse. On clear days Denali is visible to the north. Bike rental shops downtown are steps from the trailhead.
Rent a bike and ride to Kincaid Park and back; keep at least 25 metres from any moose you meet.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours by bike
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Active
- Views
- Outdoors
- Kids
Zoo · Hillside and South Anchorage
4.Alaska Zoo
A wooded zoo in south Anchorage focused on Alaskan and Arctic animals, many of them orphaned or injured, including brown and black bears, moose, musk oxen, wolves and lynx. Paths wind through spruce and birch forest.
It is a reliable way for children to see moose and bears up close if wildlife does not appear on the road.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Waterfront · Downtown
5.Ship Creek salmon run
Ship Creek flows through the industrial edge of downtown below the railroad depot, and in summer king and then silver salmon run upstream. Anglers line the banks in waders, and a viewing platform near a small dam lets visitors watch fish jump.
Visit in late June or July for king salmon or August for silvers; wear boots if you go near the muddy banks.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes–1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Experience · Airport and Lake Hood
6.Lake Hood Seaplane Base and Alaska Aviation Museum
Lake Hood and neighbouring Lake Spenard form one of the busiest floatplane bases in the world, with bush planes taking off every few minutes in summer. On the shore, the Alaska Aviation Museum shows restored bush planes and tells the story of flying in Alaska.
Watch takeoffs from the lakeside road on a summer evening, or book a flightseeing trip to see glaciers from the air.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Nature · Hillside and South Anchorage
7.Potter Marsh
A wetland at the city's southern edge, part of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, crossed by a boardwalk of about 450 metres beside the Seward Highway. In spring and summer it attracts nesting ducks, swans and Arctic terns, and salmon can be seen in the creek.
Stop here on the way to Turnagain Arm, ideally in the morning or evening when birds are most active.
- Time needed
- 30–45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Kids
- Photo spot
Rainy-day ideas
- Anchorage Museum — Start with the Smithsonian gallery on the second floor; it gives the best background for the rest of an Alaska trip.
- Lake Hood Seaplane Base and Alaska Aviation Museum — Watch takeoffs from the lakeside road on a summer evening, or book a flightseeing trip to see glaciers from the air.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, families, food lovers and solo travellers
Downtown
Downtown, roughly from 3rd to 9th Avenue between the inlet and Cordova Street, has most of the large hotels, the Anchorage Museum, the railroad depot and the Coastal Trail's start. 4th Avenue has the visitor log cabin, gift shops and the Iditarod's ceremonial start. It is the easiest base without a car.
- Good
- Walk to museums, trails and the train; Widest choice of restaurants; Tour pickups from hotels
- Watch out
- Hotel prices peak in summer; Some blocks feel empty late at night
- Nearby
- Anchorage Museum, Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Alaska Railroad depot, Ship Creek
Family travel tips
- Bring an eye mask or choose a hotel with blackout curtains; it barely gets dark in June.
- The Anchorage Museum's discovery centre is a good rainy-day stop.
- The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center guarantees close looks at bears and moose.
- Pack layers and rain gear for children even in July.
- Teach children to stay well back from moose, which are more dangerous than they look.
Day trips for families
- Girdwood and Alyeska (About 45 minutes by car) — A mountain valley with Alyeska Resort's aerial tram to a ridge-top viewpoint over hanging glaciers and Turnagain Arm, the Winner Creek Trail's hand tram over a gorge, and skiing in winter.
- Portage Valley and Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (About 1 hour by car) — The wildlife centre cares for orphaned and injured animals — brown and black bears, moose, wood bison, musk oxen — in large enclosures.
- Whittier and Prince William Sound (About 1 hour 15 minutes by car or 2.5 hours by train) — Whittier is reached through a 4 km single-lane tunnel shared by cars and trains.
- Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park (About 2.5 hours by car or 4 hours by train) — A harbour town on Resurrection Bay with the Alaska SeaLife Center, Exit Glacier's walking trails and boat cruises into Kenai Fjords National Park for tidewater glaciers, whales, puffins and sea lions.
- Matanuska Glacier (About 2 hours by car) — A large valley glacier visible from the Glenn Highway, where guided walks on private access land let visitors step onto the ice.
- Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine (About 1 hour 30 minutes by car) — An alpine pass in the Talkeetna Mountains with wildflower meadows, tundra hiking and the preserved buildings of a 1930s–40s gold mine at Independence Mine State Historical Park.
When to go with children
The best months overall are June–August. June–July are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Anchorage good for kids?
Anchorage is good for families who enjoy wildlife and the outdoors: moose on the bike trail, salmon in a downtown creek, a hands-on museum, a zoo of Alaskan animals and easy access to glaciers and wildlife centres. Long summer days make it easy to fit in a lot, but blackout curtains help with bedtimes.
+What can kids do in Anchorage?
Anchorage Museum, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Alaska Zoo and Ship Creek salmon run.
+Where should families stay in Anchorage?
Downtown: Grid of hotels, museums and restaurants above Ship Creek and the Coastal Trail.