Get ready for an unforgettable time in Anchorage! Exciting new stays await, thrilling new tours and trips are in store, and there’s something new on the menu. Explore nature, dive into local culture, or indulge in world-class experiences. Anchorage is brimming with new adventures.

Growth in Cultural Tourism

Na Dene has acquired Portage Glacier Cruises. The operation will continue without major changes from previous seasons under the new ownership.

Fresh off a major 2024 renovation, the Alaska Native Heritage Center opens its summer season on Mother’s Day. Guests are invited to celebrate with free family fun, including cultural performances, interactive exhibits, and guided tours that highlight 10,000 years of tradition. Explore even more with the free Bloomberg Connects app, featuring a digital guide to exhibits, village sites, and curator-led stories.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center has received $3.5 million from the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project to create 10 Indigenous-led monuments and a healing garden on its campus. This initiative honors Alaska Native resilience, promotes healing through culture and ceremony, and will include opportunities for local artists to participate in 2025. Learn more.

Cultural experience and sense of place extend into Anchorage convention centers as well. The Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center was named after the area’s original inhabitants. In recent months, new interpretive installations unveiled inside the center further feature Dena’ina traditions, stories, art, and language.

The Indigenous Place Names Project continues to work toward installing 30 markers across Anchorage. The project recognizes the traditional Dena’ina Athabascan names with markers at many prominent locations. Plans are to add the next 10 or more in 2025. A ceremony to unveil the marker for Qin Chegi, which translates as "Crying Ridge", at the Glen Alps overlook is set for June 25. Learn more about the project and Dena’ina culture.

New Tours and Experiences

Anchorage Museum Exhibits & Shows Daily, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

• Alaska Triennial showcases contemporary art from 47 Alaskan artists in various media, including beadwork, textiles, and ceramics.

• Arabidopsis Symphony uses augmented reality, music, and data to translate the invisible processes of a plant into an immersive experience.

• Cold War to the Cosmos examines the strategic significance of the Arctic during the Cold War and its influence on the future.

• Dog Show celebrates human-dog relationships across geography and time and their significance in the Circumpolar North.

• Painting at the End of the Ice Age features Cordova artist David Rosenthal’s work documenting retreating glaciers and dramatic post-glacial landscapes.

• Tricksters and Sourdoughs highlights how Alaskans use humor as cultural expression, incorporating contemporary art, cartoons, and pop culture elements.

Lunch on the Lawn

Spend summer Tuesdays at the Anchorage Museum’s Lunch on the Lawn, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., June through August, with live music, food trucks, games, and family activities. The first two Tuesdays feature Dog Days of Summer, celebrating the Dog Show exhibition with pup-friendly art and a photo booth.

Historic Golden Spike Returns to Alaska

After nearly a century away, the Alaska Railroad's Golden Spike has returned to Alaska. Gifted in 1923 to Colonel Frederick Mears, it was recently reacquired at auction through a joint effort by the Anchorage Museum, the City of Nenana, and the Alaska Railroad. Starting April 25, see it on display in the Alaska Exhibition at the Anchorage Museum.

Discovery Center Makes Waves

New updates are flowing into the Anchorage Museum’s Discovery Center Water Zone this spring. Kicking off in late May, the first phase features an interactive bore tide exhibit, with more hands-on displays on rivers, snowpack, and avalanches coming later this year. The center will be open with minimal disruptions during the refresh.

More New Tours and Programs

• Alaska Tour & Travel introduces a new route between Seward and Whittier for the Alaska Park Connection Motorcoach.

• Alaska Photo Treks is launching new experiential tours along one-way cruise transfer routes:

  • Spring Aurora Quest (April 25–May 5): A condensed 4–5 hour version of the northern lights tour, extending the season by 10 days.

  • Beyond Golden Hour (May 3–13): A rare tour capturing sunrise, dawn, twilight, dusk, and sunset all within eight hours. Aurora may appear but is not the focus.

  • Anchorage Scenic Transfer (May 1–Sept. 20): An 8-hour journey for cruise guests departing from Seward, featuring the Kenai Peninsula, Turnagain Arm, a lunch stop in Hope, and a historical walking tour. This tour skips the standard stops other operators typically include.

• Bird Treatment and Learning Center now offers a one-hour public presentation featuring one of their Ambassador Birds every Tuesday at 10 a.m., June through August.

• Local Conversations expands at the Visitor Information Center, inviting residents for unscripted small group chats on Wednesdays, from 10 to 11 a.m., May 7–Aug. 27. Topics include Alaska Native culture, local art, plant life, dog mushing, and more.

New Creative Experiences

• Turnagain Ceramics – Alaska Summer Series: Clay in the Day. Craft your own Alaskan keepsake or ornament. Finished pottery can be shipped anywhere in the United States.

Accommodations

Wildbirch Hotel Opens in Anchorage with Modern Camp Vibe

Anchorage’s Mushing District welcomes the Wildbirch Hotel, a boutique base camp for Alaska adventure featuring 252 modern yet camp-inspired rooms and suites. Steps from top restaurants and cultural sites, the hotel showcases work by Alaska Native and local artists. Guests can enjoy Crimson, its signature restaurant and bar, and Undertap, a brewery developed with Midnight Sun Brewing Co. A café, retail shop, and fire pit deck with sweeping views of Mount Susitna and Cook Inlet round out the experience.

Aleut Real Estate has joined as a strategic partner in the Wildbirch Hotel redevelopment, teaming up with Alaska Hotel Group to revitalize a central downtown Anchorage property. Learn more.

Hilton Anchorage Downtown Refresh

The Hilton Anchorage is wrapping up the first phase of its renovation, with refreshed public spaces, a modern lobby, the reopened Bruins bar, and the soon-to-reopen Hooper Bay restaurant—all showcasing Alaskan touches and a native art collection. This summer, the hotel partners with the Alaska Native Heritage Center to offer immersive cultural experiences in the lobby several days a week. Exterior painting and new signage will soon change the downtown skyline, and guest room renovations are set to begin this fall, with a full hotel transformation expected by spring 2026.

Additional Accommodation Updates

• Hotel Captain Cook: Tower 2 remodel ready by early June.

• BlueWater BaseCamp: In addition to 2024 cabins, now offers a gathering space for group rentals.

• Salted Roots Basecamp: Offers stylish stays in downtown Anchorage.

Flights Expand

With Alaska Airlines adding nonstop service to Sacramento and Detroit, Delta expanding the season for nonstop service to Atlanta, and WestJet adding a new flight from Calgary, there are even more ways to make the trip. Learn more about Anchorage flight connections.

New to the Menu

• Alaska Chopped & Chowdered: Located in Spenard, offers seafood, steak, and chowder cuisine.

• Eye Tooth Tavern & Eatery: Located on King Street, serving pizzas with a twist on Moose’s Tooth favorites.

• Serranos Mexican Grill: Brings bold Mexican flavors and Alaska ingredients to its new downtown location.

• Sakana Poke & Soiree: New Midtown location serving poke bowls, artisan beverages, and event spaces.

• The Continental: A full-service, private group dining and event venue in Midtown Anchorage.

• Dirty Apron: Adds The Pizza Box mobile food trailer offering Detroit-style pizza alongside cooking classes.

For a Limited Time

Anchorage draws more than leisure travelers. This summer, notable names make a visit for performances, including writer David Sedaris, “This American Life” host Ira Glass, comedians Ari Shaffir and Brad Williams, musicians such as Maoli, Kaskade, and Nelly, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.