Field," which contains enough ice to cover the entire state of Rhode Island. Read more.

Gates of the Arctic National Park
Brooks Range

The Gates of the Arctic National Park is wilderness in the truest sense. With its rugged mountains and glaciated valleys, "everything seems to be built on a bigger scale." The park's vast expanses of boreal forest, arctic tundra, and wild rivers are "unlike anything else in the world." Because the park is "difficult to get to," the wildlife is "plentiful," from caribou and dall sheep to wolves and grizzly bears. There are no roads or established trails, which preserves the park's "otherworldly beauty and solitude." Due to harsh winters, "June bugs," and "cold" Augusts, the best time to go is July. Read more.

Grotto of the Wishing Waterfalls
Seward Highway

The Seward Highway is one of the most scenic drives in the world. For this reason, there's a pullout around every bend. About 21 miles south of Anchorage and five miles before Bird Creek, lies a "small rest stop that is easily missed." Along with views of the inlet, you'll find an area of the mountain where water has carved some of the rock behind it. Here, "you can climb up to a ledge hidden behind the main trunk of the tree where the view of the falls and inlet are not to be missed." If you time things right, you might even see a "bore tide." Go on a sunny day, when the "light is magical." Read more.

Hatcher Pass Lodge
Palmer

Located in historic gold country above the tree line in the Talkeetna Mountains, Hatcher Pass is "off the beaten path." In summertime, when the road is open, "everyone is too busy driving the highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks to take this detour, but it is well worth the trip." Lofty peaks, alpine lakes, and high tundra meadows surround the lodge with "spectacular views." It's a great place for hiking, berry picking, and watching eagles fly overhead. During June and July, wildflowers bloom, from "lupine and Indian paintbrush" to the "chocolate lily." Read more.

Ice Worm Festival
Cordova

Legend has it that the elusive ice worm was once a popular ingredient in cocktails served up in local bars (tequila style). Although some claim that it was all really just so much stained spaghetti, ice worms are not the stuff of myth, but instead are real and living creatures thriving off the cold. To honor their tenacious spirit, the Ice Worm Festival in Cordova is a "winter ritual" held in late January or early February, complete with a "parade, art show, contests, and music" to help the locals "look forward to the coming spring." At the apex of the ceremonies, an ice worm king and queen are crowned.

King Mountain Lodge
Chickaloon

For "good home-cooked food and excellent blueberry pie," the King Mountain Lodge is an "excellent stop for lunch." As the oldest lodge in the area (established 1947), it sits at the center of the Chickaloon community. Out front, there's plenty of parking, and inside, there's a great bar and a popular dartboard. With its plank floors, the place is a bit "small," and it's "not fancy," but it's a great place to go sit in the shadow of King Mountain and feast on buffalo and musk ox burgers while taking in the Alaskan scenery.

The Bear Tooth Theatrepub & Grill
Anchorage

Movies and beer help bide the time during the Alaska winter. This theatre pub makes it fun by providing a "laidback combination of good food, great beer and wine, and enjoyable movies." Because the movies are second run, prices remain low, and the food is "award winning." The over-21 crowd can enjoy a "local brew" and there is an Under 21 section "upstairs." Big movie buffs will enjoy the "huge screen and quality sound," while foodies will want to order the "gourmet pizzas" and "rich desserts." There's also a 70-seat dining area, if you just want to go and "sip a cider while working on a crossword puzzle." Read more.

Canterwood Cabins
Ninilchik

During summer, Alaska's Kenai Peninsula is a spectacular aggregation of water, glaciers, mountains, and wildflowers. As one of the "best-kept secrets around," the Canterwood Cabins in Ninilchik offer a prime place to enjoy summertime's "23 hours of daylight" and "70-degree weather." In the nearby Cook Inlet, the "salmon are running thick like red velvet through the streams and the halibut fight ferociously on the end of your pole." At night, there are "barbecues over a glass of wine" overlooking "frozen blue glaciers" and "colorful wildflowers." All around you is "the last frontier, yet to be discovered." Read more.

Town of Chitina
Copper River Basin

During the early 1900s, rich copper deposits created a business boom. Since Chitina's mines closed in 1938, it has turned into "a very cool ghost town." Only about 123 people live here beside the Copper River's banks, where "you can catch the world's best salmon." It's a "rustic" but "gorgeous" location to "dipnet for salmon," or go berry picking and herb gathering. If you keep traveling up the road about 60 miles, you'll come to another old copper mining town named McCarthy, where you can go "walking on a glacier, stay in a quaint motel, go ice climbing, or go on a flightseeing tour." Read more.

Driving the Old Glenn Highway
Glennallen

The Old Glenn Highway winds through "magnificent" Alaskan countryside to the small town of Glennallen, just less than 200 miles east of Anchorage. Located at the center of the Copper River Basin area, the town is known for its great fishing opportunities. Along the highway, be sure to take in the "beauty of the mountains, glaciers, and Matanuska River." Make the drive during sunrise or sunset, when "the mountains give a very beautiful light show." And those that come during winter might be lucky enough to see the "northern lights light up the sky to an unbelievable aurora." Read more.

Exit Glacier
Seward

It's not every day that you get the chance to walk up to a glacier and appreciate its size "at very close range." Exit Glacier is the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park accessible by road (turn off at mile three of the Seward Highway), and a visit here allows you to see how "craggy and cracked" glaciers can be, and "most of all, how blue they really are." There are some short hikes by Exit Glacier, but hearty souls can take on the challenging but rewarding seven-mile hike to the "top of the mountain range to view the Harding Ice