Anchorage gears up for summer!

Alaska Botanical Gardens

Life changes for those of us in Anchorage in the summertime. It’s our “Big Wild Life” for sure. Here are some landmark activities to add to your calendar when you visit:

a. Saturday Market. Actually, the proper name is “Anchorage Market and Festival”, since it’s open both Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. Whether you’re shopping for fresh produce, exotic goods from around the world, or Alaskan souvenirs, this is the place. Heck–it’s fun just for people-watching downtown at 3rd Ave. and E St. (kiddy-corner from the Anchorage Hilton Hotel). More than 300 vendors show up between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Whaler's Bowl from the museum's new Arctic Studies Center

b. The Alaska Botanical Garden is a wonderful place to hike on woodland trails on the edge of East Anchorage. The 1.1-mile Lowenfels Family Nature Trail takes you on an interpretive walk through spruce and birch forest, to the north fork of Campbell Creek. You may even glimpse a moose or bear.

The Garden is a great place for bird watching, walking, hiking, photography, painting, or reading, with more than 1,100 varieties of annual and perennial plants known to grow in southcentral Alaska. There are about 150 species of Alaska native plants in the Garden.

c. Grand Opening of new, expanded Anchorage Museum. Come by and see the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center, Imaginarium Discovery Center, Thomas Planetarium and ConocoPhillips Gallery.

Alaska Residents! Join the Friends of Seymour Club for exclusive discounts, special giveaways and monthly e-mails with travel ideas you can use or share with visiting friends and relatives!

Not an Alaska resident? No worries! Check out the hot specials and packages that make it easy to plan your visit to Anchorage!

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