Top 10 Experiences in Alaska

1. Watching dozens of brown bears (some only metres from our viewing platform) catching leaping salmon (and fighting for the best fishing spots) at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.

2. White-water rafting (with Class V rapids) at Six Mile Creek (which is neither a creek nor six miles from anywhere!!).

3. Kenai Fjord cruise, which in addition to numerous sea and bird life sightings, had spectacular scenery near the glacier as glacial melt produced a milky sea which gave a mirror like surface for fantastic photographic opportunities.

4. A helicopter trip to Goodwin Glacier for a genuine dog sled ride.

5. Standing on an iceberg on the Arctic Ocean and experiencing midnight sunshine at Barrow.

6. Hiking and wildlife watching in Denali National Park.

7. Viewing Mt McKinley (within Denali National Park). Mt McKinley is the tallest mountain in the world (not the highest, but the tallest when measured from foot to peak). It towers above the surrounding mountains and is truly spectacular.

8. The train trip from Denali to Talkeetna, with the scenery changing from tundra and -wide gravel riverbeds to tall forests and deep full rivers.

9. Anan Creek Bear Observatory. Up close with Black bears. However the most impressive thing to me wasn’t the bears, but the huge number of salmon that filled the stream from bank to bank. Tens of thousands of them. Absolutely amazing.

10. Creek Street in Ketchikan. Picturesque historic buildings (mostly former bordellos) overhanging the creek (again, teeming with salmon).

* All photos courtesy and copyright of Craig C. White water rafting photo was taken by Nova River Runners.

For the top food experiences, don’t miss the Taste of Alaska article.