"City of the Midnight Sun" a Anchorage Travel Page by goingsolo

I spent several days in Anchorage in addition to traveling north and south throughout the southeast portion of the state. I'd encourage anyone traveling in Alaska to check out this city as it has a lot to offer.
Since I took this trip alone, I had the opportunity to meet many of the locals, who were unbelievably friendly, and find out more about life in Alaska's largest city.

"Large city" is a funny way to describe Anchorage. With a population of about 250,000 people, Anchorage is certainly not competing with the bustling metropolitan areas elsewhere in the United States. But, given that Alaska's population density averages one person per square mile, Anchorage is pretty populated in comparison to the rest of the state.

Anchorage is also more "metropolitan" than the remainder of the state. In a place where roads are few and bush planes are the norm, Anchorage stands out if for no other reason that it is the nexus of two of Alaska's highways. Downtown Anchorage is compact and virtually unremarkable, save for the views of Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm on a rare sunny day. But as most Alaskans say, the best thing about Anchorage is that you can get to a lot of places in Alaska from there.

Anchorage is the starting point for many tours heading to Denali, Seward or the outer more remote reaches of the state. As a result, the city's chain hotels are packed with summertime tourists who emerge en masse from their air conditioned cocoon of a tour bus and stumble with their extraordinary loads of luggage into the city for a brief stay before venturing on to the "real Alaska." But while locals scoff at metro-Alaska, since it is usually the starting or ending point of most tours, many people who visit Alaska will find themselves in Anchorage for at least a day.

I spent a couple of days in Anchorage, heading to and from points north and south along the state highway system. This gave me an opportunity to hang with the locals for a bit, and experience my own bit of "real" Alaska.

My story and perspective on the men and women of Anchorage appears in one of my Anchorage travelogues. Since Alaskans are so friendly, I was able to meet many of them. Unfortunately my time was limited and I was unable to accept the many invitations for floatplane rides and fishing trips. But I tried to get a sense of these people and the unique life they live up where the summer days are long and the winter is almost endless. Hopefully, those of you reading this will enjoy their stories as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Like many cities that cater to outdoor enthusiasts, Anchorage has many well marked hiking trails, including the Tony Knowles coastal trail, which stretches for 10 plus miles around the city (see must see activities)