USA Travel Guide

USA - Places of Interest

Hawaii	Las Vegas	Los Angles
Miami	New York	Orlando
San Francisco	Washington

CANADA - Places of Interest

Alaska	Montreal	Ottawa
Toronto	Niagara	Vancouver

ALASKA

Blessed with natural wonders, Alaska gloves the superlatives huried at it with deserving grace, igniting the imagination of visitors and inhabitants alike.
The expansive grandeur of the state will help you put the size of your snowshoes in perspective as you marvel at the sight of a brown bear at full angle, or kayak through the dreamy blue wonder of a deep fiord. Despite a reputation for high prices, it’s possible to see Alaska on an oil baron’s small change – as the hordes flocking to amenable towns and prime wilderness areas every summer have already discovered.

ATTRACTIONS

Anchorage
Just when you think you’re in a northern version of the USA (check Kmart, check Wal-Mart, check Computer City), a black bear will unexpectedly join you for tea; or 20 hours come and go without the sun setting; or you don’t see the sun at all; or a wold slays a yearling moose in the park.

Denali National Park
Situated on the northern and southern flanks of the Alaska Range, 237mi (382km) from Anchorage, Denali is the nation’s premier subarctic national park, encompassing 6 million acres (2,400ha). Making its presence felt here at a towering 20,320ft (6096m) is Mt Kinley, undoubtedly the main attraction of the park and something to behold on a clear day. The park offers camping, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking and white-water rafting. It all comes at a slight price though, since nearly a million visitors queue up for permits and the shuttle buses during the summer months. Try to go in early June or late September to avoid the crowds, and remember, they all disappear once you get into the back country. There is camping within the park as well as other accommodation. Buses service the park from Fairbanks, but a better, if pricey, introduction to this natural spectacle is offered from the glass dome-topped cars of the Alaska Railroad, with trains departing daily from Fairbanks and travelling south to Anchorage.

Juneau
Juneau isn’t the most accessible of capital cities: you can’t reach it by road and every year 20 scheduled flights never make it into the city due to bad weather. Once there, though, you’ll appreciate this ‘little San Francisco’, with a drastic elevation gain that gives it’s a picture pretty skyline.

Though there is a downtown attraction or few worth your while, the real oomph of the place is its wild frontiers. In winter there’s pristone, sculptural while and summer months make the lush terrain really come alive: bears are done hibernating, wildflowers are whistling and streams are skipping.

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