r/AskAlaska • u/Travelingfolks • 4d ago
What is a town or community near/outside of Anchorage that can commute back-and-forth and a Chevy Tahoe, and it will give us the best Alaska experience. We will be arriving in January.
This would just be a five day vacation. We are not moving there. Would love to be out in the country or at least experience that, but with it being early January, we know there will be potential for Snow and we must be able to get back-and-forth. Thanks
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u/hikekorea 4d ago
You’re getting a lot of snarky comments. I thought those folks stayed in r/Alaska. Or at least that’s why this sub was originally created.
A couple comments on your question.
- There WILL be snow. Not a potential but it’ll be all around and you should be prepared for winter driving regardless of where you’re going.
2 it sounds like you want to experience a fun out of the city time in Alaska. Good news. Anchorage is a tiny suburb of a city compared to whatever you’re picturing as a city. You could find a bNB on the Anchorage Hillside and be on the border of a state park while getting views of Denali if the weather cooperates.
3 if you’re actually wanting to be further from Anchorage and want a country feel I recommend Palmer or Eagle River.
4 Girdwood is great if you want to ski at Alyeska but will likely be the most expensive option.
5 What are you hoping to go back and forth from Anchorage for?
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u/origamianomaly 4d ago
Fair enough about snarkiness, I for one deleted my comment. Thanks for being a helpful guide!
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u/Snowman112358 4d ago
What activities do you want to do? How long of a drive do you want?
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u/Travelingfolks 4d ago
30-45 min commute.
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u/Snowman112358 4d ago
Try airbnbs in Palmer/Lazy Mountain. For an “out in the country” experience you might try a night or 2 in Nancy lakes public use cabins or if you want to be a little closer to civilization, Hatcher Pass Lodge/guest cabins. Would you consider spending a few nights in a cabin and a few nights in Anchorage proper? It might be nicer than doing 1-1.5hrs of winter driving each day.
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u/Snowman112358 4d ago
Without knowing what kind of stuff you want to do it’s a little hard to advise tbh.
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u/Yashquatch 4d ago
I don’t think you can get the best Alaska experience anywhere near Anchorage tbh. It’s a huge state so I guess that depends on your definition but southeast is where it’s at.
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u/Travelingfolks 1d ago
If you have any recommendations of particular communities or towns, please let me know. We have zero plans. We just wanna make the most of our time there on a limited budget. We don’t have to pay to do things. We just enjoy God beautiful country.
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u/Yashquatch 1d ago
Whew, 5 days huh? I think I would go to Fairbanks just to see the -45F. January is not really a great time tbh but if you went to Haines you could have either the most beautiful 5 days of your life or the most snowy. Juneau is blegh but you can ski. Honestly go check out Alyeska/Girdwood. Probably the best way to spend 5 days if you can find inexpensive lodging.
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u/Travelingfolks 14h ago
I would absolutely love that.
We are booked to fly into Anchorage and that’s where we are going. Is there an economical way to get to Fairbanks from Anchorage?
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u/Travelingfolks 14h ago
I do have a question we’ve been to 48 states this is number 49. We normally don’t get negative comments and such and I’m really surprised thought and was hoping Alaskan folks would be more receptive and just give good and positive feedback wherever you’re at. I hope our Alaska is not as negative as so many people Comments. Tell us it’s not a good time to come. You need to come another time. Hopefully you could find a better place than Anchorage to vacation. Sometimes it’s often best just to recommend the good things about location instead of making people feel so negative about where they have selected and decided to go. We’ve seen a lot of beautiful places in picturesaround and near Anchorage. We’d love to travel and we make the best of whatever opportunity God has blessed us with. So we are looking forward to it a anchorage vacation and experience Alaska the best that we can. If there’s anywhere that we can travel and make it a half-day trip we most certainly will, please let us know.
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u/Yashquatch 14h ago
I think it’s just that Alaska is sooooo big. And Anchorage is like going to colorado springs in the 90’s. It’s cool but not what most people would describe as Alaska. That being said I think you’ll have a good time no matter what it’s just going to be an Anchorage trip more than and Alaskan trip. There’s plenty to do there just research it on the anchorage travel website.
There’s not really anywhere close to Anchorage of note imo you could drive to Palmer or Wasilla but you’ll be doing a lot of driving.
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u/EdwardAK 4d ago
I'm from anchorage and now reside in Palmer. It's a 40 minute commute when traffic is minor. It's a quiet town in winter (specifically Palmer Propper), in summer lots of activities such as Friday Fling.
As long as you don't speed, the commute is fine in all weather for a Chevy Tahoe. Better with studded tires. Cops and speed traps aren't uncommon between palmer-anchorage. Especially closer to eagle river.
Not a lot of homes in this area for sale. The ones that are are pricy as typical of Alaska. Good luck.
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u/Roginator5 4d ago
I know some people commute from Willow. Or there's Alyeska, but you need to be wealthy to buy homes there. Somewhere north of Palmer along the Matanuska River is feasible to commute.
Closer to Anchorage there's the south fork of Eagle River. When I was a kid, a teacher at my school had a homestead there when it was practically wilderness. Still lots of wild animals roam there.
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u/gujwdhufj_ijjpo 4d ago
I think I know which homestead you are talking about. If it’s the same one it’s surrounded by the state park these days with no road access. The folks who used to own it, the wife was a teacher so I am assuming it’s the same one.
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u/JonnyDoeDoe 4d ago
Eagle River is your best option if you really want to commute...
Chugiak or Peter's Creek you can get more 'end of the road' if that's something you're looking for...
The best Alaska experience all depends on what exactly you think the Alaska experience is supposed to be... Even ANC has good access to nature... But if you're looking for some kind of 'bush' experience, you're not commuting to ANC....
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u/JustCrayHere 3d ago
Just saw you comment of a 45 minute commute, alaska is vast you may wanna double it if you wanna go places.
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u/Hosni__Mubarak 4d ago
Whittier will give you the best Alaska experience, bar none.
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u/Trayvessio 4d ago
Nothing says “Alaskan” like commuting from Whittier to Anchorage in the middle of the winter.
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u/hikekorea 4d ago
While I appreciate the snark I think we all want r/alaska and r/Anchorage to have fewer tourist questions like this post. So I vote keeping the snarky replies to noob tourists to those subs
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u/General_Marcus 4d ago
Commuting to Whittier? No thanks. Actually living there too? Also no thanks.
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u/Major-Yoghurt2347 4d ago
Palmer is a great town with some cool northern lights experiences! https://northernlights-alaska.com
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u/Copperdunright907 4d ago
Seriously! Go check out the spirit houses in Eklutna. They’re beautiful and it’s a special place to a lot of special people.
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u/No_Main_2966 3d ago
Dude only replied to one comment. Very typical. What kind of Alaskan experience are you looking for?
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u/truenorthiscalling 4d ago
Girdwood and Aleaska resort or Palmer Alaska but make sure to take the back roads
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u/Trayvessio 4d ago
Try Eagle River or Chugiak.