US - ALASKA
Best Time to Go & Visit & Travel to Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks


Impressive glaciers, enormous ice fields, fjords and tundra, mountains, valleys, and extensive lowlands. That’s Alaska, for most people.

But Alaska is also a land of luxuriant rainforests, smoking volcanoes, and rivers overpopulated with salmon.

And a land where wildlife in general is unexpectedly exuberant: bears and moose, wolves, bald eagles, whales and more, much more animal life at each corner… Alaska is a top travel destination: for fishing, for eco-traveling, for wildlife and whale viewing, for sea kayaking, for cruises…


ALASKA WEAHTER / CLIMATE IN SUMMER AND WINTER

The interior and the north coast of Alaska have a cold Arctic climate. The mountains have permanent snow and ice. The rivers are frozen from September until late May. Winters – September to May - are very severe, with very low temperatures, strong winds and some snow. But summer… can be surprisingly warm, with long hours of daylight and fine weather.

Fairbanks Weather table is representative of this Alaska, namely of its interior.

On the Pacific coast precipitation is heavier, and weather more changeable. Summer temperatures may be less warm than inland. Winters are more temperate than inland, though obviously very severe, and cold.

The Anchorage Weather Table is representative of this region (Anchorage is a sheltered bay on the west coast), where temperatures are more agreeable than in the interior (though less agreeable than those of the Alaska’s Aleutian Islands).

MAIN TRAVEL-GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Anchorage – the Alaska’s capital and the largest city in the state, with more than two-fifths of Alaska’s population.

Denali National Park (near Fairbanks) – a main reference for travellers. See Best Time to visit Denali National Park.

Fairbanks –the largest inland city of Alaska, and the second largest in the state; a popular travel destination with relatively mild temperatures near the Denali National park

Juneau - located on the Gastineau Channel on the Alexander Archipelago (Juneau is the state capital), Juneau is near Skagway and Sitka, two major travel references in Alaska.

Sitka - a wonderful small town very representative of the beauties of Alaska and Russians influence. See: Best Time to Visit Sitka

Skagway – a icon of the Klondlike team trail


Map of Alaska, with some of Alaska's main travel destinations: Sitka, Talkeetna, Skagway, Anchorage, Denali national Park, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau




BEST TIME TO VISIT & TRAVEL TO ALASKA: SUMMER PERIOD

Summer period is the best one to visit Alaska. June, July and August are the most popular months (with high hotel prices reflecting it).


WHEN NOT TO GO TO ALASKA

Winter – mid September to mid May – is a bad period to visit Alaska (few or no sunlight, and just cold), unless you bet on seeing the aurora borealis displays: Alaska’s winter is experiencing some popularity due to low hotel prices and the aurora borealis phenomena.

See: Anchorage Alaska Table Weather
See: Fairbanks Alaska Table Weather
 

WHAT TO VISIT IN ALASKA?

Sitka: a small town with astonishing coastal scenery and deep native and Russian influence.

Talkeetna: a base for flight-seeing trips around Mount McKinley (or Denali), the North America’s highest mountain, and the favourite of mountaineers.
 
Denali National Park: Alaska’s best park, around the highest North-American mountain, home of spectacular mountain scenery and exuberant wildlife. This Park is closed in Alaska's winter.

Aurora Borealis: this spectacular phenomenon can be observed at its best around Fairbanks… in the Alaskan harsher weather period: late September to mid-March.

The Chilkoot 33-mile trail, near Skagway: for those with an adventure spirit, capable of following the trail of the Klondlike team.


Weather Table: Anchorage, Alaska

Weather Table: Fairbanks, Alaska