Anchorage is more than just a gateway to your Alaska road trip. It is a destination on its own! Don’t underestimate the city as some travelers do, Anchorage has many gems that are hard to find anywhere else. “Alaska with kids: Anchorage” is about Alaska Native Heritage Center, a cool bike route, where to see the local animals and fish for salmon right in the city.
Alaska with kids. Anchorage. 5 unique activities
1. Natives Heritage Center
Feel the heartbeat of Alaska’s Indigenous People at Alaska Native Heritage Center. Leave indoor exhibition for later, instead, check the schedule and attend Guided Village Site tours, Alaska Native Dance Performance, and Alaska Native Games. Check out online “Eskimo high kick” – you’ll be amazed!
Alaska with kids. Anchorage: meeting the performers. Alaska Native Heritage Center
We loved the center a lot. Felt like visiting several remote native villages and getting to know their residents in a single afternoon:
Sealskin boats 
There is a play area/craft activities inside, lots of grassy areas for kids to run outside, a cafe with a decent menu (try their stew).
2. Tour Anchorage on a bike
The trail system in Anchorage is amazing, well connected, and easy-to-navigate. Rent a bike and ride through Coastal Trail: from downtown to great playground at Margaret Eagan Sullivan Park at the Westchester lagoon, then head towards Earthquake Park (love this park):
Earthquake Park, Anchorage 
Moose at Kincaid Park
Occasional wildlife plus beautiful scenery guaranteed! You can make it all the way down to the gigantic Kincaid Park, past the Ted Stevens Airport (ANC), where you can watch jets landing just above your head.
3. Go fishing in Anchorage
Try fishing, even if you have never tried it before. Campbell Creek is full of salmon and has a lot of quiet, secluded areas. It’s a very nice place to go with kids. Campbell Park is huge, our favorite was this particular part: 2365 E 48th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99507:
Don’t forget about the fishing license. Order it online or buy it at Walmart, Carrs-Safeway, Fred Meyer, or any fishing store.
4. Alaska with kids. Anchorage Alaska Zoo
Alaska Zoo has the widest variety of animals native to the state of Alaska as well as some exotics, such as Amur tigers (they are not only the biggest tiger species in the world, but the biggest cats in the world), snow leopard, Bactrian camels, and yaks.
We visited many places on our road trip in Alaska to spot wildlife, but here we were happy to watch them up close: polar bear, grizzly bear, black bear, mountain goat, lynx, harbor seal, arctic fox, and many more. A petting zoo, a little playground, and a coffee shop are on-site.
Petting Zoo is pretty big and had no time limit to
Visited it twice and highly recommend :).
5. Alaska with kids. Anchorage. The busiest seaplane base in the world. Lake Hood
Alaska aviation museum and floatplane base on Lake Hood were great experiences for us and the kids. We never saw several planes taking off and land in front of our eyes. Small, toy-like, for 2, 3, or 5 people. Made of wood and bound in shining, painted cloth. If you are lucky, you may enter “the holy of holies”: a workshop where many planes are made by hand. We were invited and heard some great stories:
-“Kids, boys are fascinated by planes. They come here to build the models; as they grow, the planes grows too. Some of them will become pilots or have their own, “grown-ups” planes. After being retired, they come back to volunteer in the shop, like me”.
All the places mentioned above on My Maps
Thanks for reading friends!
Read next:
Plan Alaska road trip with kids: when, how, why, how to save.
Explore beyond the city: 8 wonderful places to visit North of Anchorage. You can try them as separate day trips from the city or on the way to Denali National Park.
7 Exceptional places to visit South of Anchorage. Good as separate day trips from the city or on the way to Seward.
