Pressed for time? Don’t have transportation? Still want to see a lot of cool things? Anchorage sightseeing and city tours help you make every minute count. If you've already crossed something off your sightseeing to-do list, guides are more than happy to customize your experience. Just ask.
A good way to begin any exploration in Anchorage is by visiting the folks at the sod-roofed log cabin Visit Anchorage Information Center. Pick up brochures and maps and ask questions about Anchorage and surrounding areas. Many sightseeing tours and shuttles depart nearby. Directly behind the log cabin is historic City Hall. This two-story building opened in 1936 and once housed all of the city municipal services including the fire department, switchboard and jail. Today, find a free exhibit of early Anchorage in the lobby and enjoy free noon-hour summer concerts out front.
City Tours of Anchorage
Get a taste of early Anchorage with the free 45-minute Captain Cook Walking Tour. Conducted by a National Park Service ranger, the tour starts in front of the Alaska Public Lands Information Center twice daily, seven days a week in the summer. You’ll also learn interesting facts about early Alaska history, such as how the land was first populated, and some of the events that led to statehood.
See the supernatural side of Anchorage with the spooktacular Ghost Tours of Anchorage. The daily 90-minute walking tour during the summer is full of Anchorage history and mystery.
A staple of the downtown Anchorage summer scene is the Anchorage City Trolley Tours. Red trolleys roll on a narrated 1-hour loop from downtown to Ship Creek, through the Turnagain neighborhood to Earthquake Park, to the world’s busiest floatplane base at Lake Hood – all while looking for moose and other Anchorage wildlife.
Alaska Ambassador Walking Tours of Anchorage offers three different tours, which explore the artistic, historical and culinary character of Anchorage, Mondays through Saturdays in summer. What ever happened to that huge, confiscated, bootleg-whiskey shipment? What's the story behind the bronze sled-dog statue? Anchorage has a chocolate lounge? Find answers to these questions and more. Tours begin in downtown, rain or shine.
Board the Flattop Mountain Shuttle in downtown to explore one of Alaska's most popular peaks. Enjoy a low-key circular tour of Anchorage before reaching the hillside trail head for unguided hiking. Adrenaline junkies will like the hike/bike combo - explore Flattop on foot then grab a bike and head back to the city on your own; suggested routes provided. Guided hiking trips are also available around Anchorage.
Steal a deal and learn more about Anchorage and Alaska with the Traditions and Trolleys Pass. Explore Alaska Native culture and meet Alaska's first people and then explore Alaska's largest village, Anchorage.
Grab the free Ulu Factory Tours brown trolley at Fourth and F streets next to the log cabin for a short narrated ride to Anchorage’s origins at Ship Creek. Watch craftsmen fashion the sharp-bladed ulu knives with a variety of handles, and check the historical ulu display that dates back thousands of years.
Choose from 1-, 2- and 3-hour city tours from Salmon Berry Tours. The guide will come to your door for the one-hour tour, which includes a stop to see Star, the city’s pet reindeer; the 2-hour includes a drive above the city to the Glen Alps overlook underneath Flattop Mountain; the 3-hour includes a trip to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Salmon Berry’s 2-hour Chocolate City Circuit gives you a city tour sandwiched between stops at two of the city’s noted chocolate stops featuring a 20-foot chocolate waterfall and specialty truffles.
See the highlights of Anchorage with Gray Line of Alaska’s 3- and 5-hour guided city tours. The shorter tour includes a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center, while the longer tour provides an in-depth immersion in Alaska history, art, culture and cuisine with lunch or dinner at Alaska Wild Berry Park
Explore the Port of Anchorage and the Ship Creek areas while learning the history behind the city of Anchorage. This 2-hour tour from Alaska Tour & Travel also includes stops at Earthquake Park, Lake Hood Seaplane Base and the Glen Alps city overlook.
Seg Tours of Anchorage uses the world’s first and only self-balancing electric-powered transporter to wheel around Anchorage on tours that depart three times a day. It’s a great way for individuals, families and groups of up to six people to explore the downtown area along the route that includes Ship Creek’s salmon viewing platform, Alaska Railroad station, Town Square Park and Resolution Plaza.
