Things to Check Out When Visiting Alaska

Alaska offers tourists unique experiences found nowhere else in the world. When you should go depends on what you want to do. Peak tourist season with the best weather and more daylight hours is from May to August, with the busiest tourist season from July to mid-August. If you want to avoid the biggest crowds but still hit pleasant weather, try the shoulder months of May and September. Winter has its own marvels, such as snowmobile races, dogsled races and other winter sporting events. Since the nights are longer and the sky is darker, it is also the best time to see the glittering multicolored spectacle known as the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis. Here are some of the best things to check out when you visit Alaska.

National Parks
Alaska ties with California for having the most national parks of any state in the country. The national park system in Alaska is unrivaled for its spectacular beauty. For example, Denali National Park has Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America, as well as six million acres of glaciers, lakes, streams, forests and valleys that are home to wildlife such as caribou, grizzlies, wolves, wolverines and moose. Glacier Bay National Park boasts calving glaciers, rugged mountains, fjords and rainforests full of wildlife. Gates of the Arctic National Park in the far north, for those who crave pure wilderness, has no roads at all. Lake Park National Park has steaming volcanoes, runs of salmon and foraging bears.

Museums
For the history enthusiast, Alaska has a number of museums to peruse. The Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center is the state's largest. It has spacious exhibits of Native American culture, contemporary Alaskan art, natural history and science. A special display houses the Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center. The Pratt Museum in Homer specializes in natural history. The University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks has spacious galleries with state-of-the-art displays of art, anthropology and natural science. The El Dorado Gold Mine near Fairbanks allows you to ride a narrow gauge train through a tunnel to learn all about Alaskan gold mining.

Hunting and Fishing
Alaska is unsurpassed as a destination for hunting and fishing enthusiasts. Hunters come from all over the world to hunt its big game animals, including brown bear, black bear, moose, caribou, mountain goats and musk ox. Alaska is full of rivers, lakes and coastal waters that team with salmon, halibut, trout, pike, char and grayling. One of the most unforgettable experiences for fishing enthusiasts is a fly fishing trip, during which you venture forth for the finest fishing Alaska offers in various water and weather conditions.

Wildlife Watching
Alaska is a paradise for wildlife viewing. For example, wolves, brown bears and black bears are prevalent throughout the state. Moose sometimes stroll into urban areas, but are more often seen in forests and river valleys. Caribou inhabit the far north. Beluga whales, humpback whales, killer whales, dolphins and porpoises can be seen from shore but are better studied up close on observation cruises. Shorebirds, wading birds and other waterfowl, as well as woodpeckers, songbirds, hawks and eagles can be seen in abundance throughout the state.

Alaska is a place that is so big and with so much diversity that it is impossible to do and see everything. Focus on your favorite activities and have the experience of a lifetime.