Anchorage

Anchorage, Alaska - State of Alaska/Frank Flavin

Anchorage is Alaska's largest city. The city lies between mountains and the sea and is considered the most urban city in Alaska. In Anchorage you can find many big city amenities, such as: fine restaurants, museums, theatres and a good music scene.

Anchorage is on Cook Inlet, a salmon-rich area that offers good fishing. You'll also find the 5,000 foot + peaks Chugach State Park, a beautiful backdrop. Anchorage offers the largest airport in Alaska, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. In Alaska, it's commonly said: all roads lead to Anchorage.

Anchorage features dozens of parks and 122 miles of paved bike paths. Within a 15 minute drive of downtown Anchorage is Flattop Mountain, offering a tree-lined trailhead of Anchorage's most popular hike. The city of Anchorage offers a great starting or ending point for any holiday.

Anchorage stretches across 1,955 square miles, from the Alaska Native village of Eklutna to Portage Glacier south of town. Paved highways connect from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Valdez, the Kenai Peninsula, Denali National Park, and Wrangell St-Elias National Park.

Anchorage was officially founded in 1915, even though explorer Captain James Cook sailed past the site of Anchorage in 1779 and gold prospectors even visited the site in the late 1800s. It was in 1915 that the Alaska Railroad set up a construction camp, later Anchorage was established and became a booming tent city of 2,000 people. Anchorage was the ideal centre for rail, air and highway systems. The city strength with the military build up of World War II and the discovery of oil in Cook Inlet.