5 Alaska Road Trips You Can Do This Summer (With Events Along the Way)

Alaska has 14,336 miles of paved road, and almost all of them are spectacular. Mountains, glaciers, wildlife, and empty two-lane highways stretching to the horizon -- driving in Alaska is not commuting, it is an experience. And because summer events are scattered across the state, a road trip is often the best way to string together a week of festivals, fishing, and scenery.

Here are five road trips worth planning this summer, with events you can hit along the way.

1. The Seward Highway: Anchorage to Seward (127 miles)

Drive time: 2.5 hours (but plan a full day)
Best for: First-time Alaska visitors, photographers, wildlife

The Seward Highway is a National Scenic Byway for a reason. Leaving Anchorage, you follow Turnagain Arm -- a narrow fjord where beluga whales surface and bore tides roll in. The road climbs through the Chugach Mountains, drops past moose-filled meadows, and ends in Seward, a harbor town backed by glaciers.

Stops worth making:

• Beluga Point (mile 110) -- Pull over and scan for white belugas in the mudflats.
• Girdwood (mile 90) -- Detour for lunch, Alyeska tram ride, or the Girdwood Forest Fair in July.
• Hope (mile 56, 16-mile detour) -- Creekbend Company has live music all summer. Worth the side trip.
• Exit Glacier (Seward) -- Walk up to a glacier. It is retreating fast, so go while you can.

Events along the way: Seward Silver Salmon Derby (August), Mount Marathon Race (July 4), Southcentral events

2. The Glenn Highway: Anchorage to Glennallen (189 miles)

Drive time: 3.5 hours
Best for: Mountain scenery, Matanuska Glacier, less crowded

The Glenn Highway heads northeast from Anchorage through the Matanuska Valley into the Copper River Basin. The scenery transitions from farmland to alpine to high plateau, with the Chugach and Wrangell mountains filling every direction.

Stops worth making:

• Palmer (mile 42) -- Reindeer Farm, Colony House Museum, and the Alaska State Fair in August.
• Matanuska Glacier (mile 103) -- Walk onto a 27-mile-long glacier. Guided tours available, crampons provided.
• Sheep Mountain Lodge (mile 113) -- Dall sheep on the hillsides. Bring binoculars.
• Wrangell-St. Elias (Glennallen area) -- Gateway to America's largest national park.

Events along the way: Colony Days (June), Alaska State Fair (August-September)

3. The Parks Highway: Anchorage to Fairbanks via Denali (360 miles)

Drive time: 5.5 hours (but plan 2-3 days)
Best for: Denali, the classic Alaska road trip

This is the one everyone does, and for good reason. The Parks Highway connects Alaska's two largest cities through the heart of the Alaska Range, passing directly by Denali National Park. On a clear day, the mountain dominates the skyline for 100 miles.

Stops worth making:

• Talkeetna (mile 99, 14-mile spur) -- The quirky mountain town at the base of Denali. Flightseeing tours, great restaurants, and the Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival in August.
• Denali National Park (mile 237) -- Bus tours into the park, hiking, and the chance to see grizzlies, wolves, and caribou.
• Nenana (mile 304) -- Home of the Ice Classic. Small town, big history.
• Fairbanks -- End in the Golden Heart City for the Midnight Sun Festival (June 21).

Events along the way: Interior events, Midnight Sun Festival, Talkeetna Bluegrass, Denali arts and music events

4. The Kenai Peninsula Loop: Soldotna, Homer, Seward (250+ miles)

Drive time: Full loop from Anchorage is 8+ hours. Plan 3-5 days.
Best for: Fishing, coastal scenery, wildlife, foodie stops

The Kenai Peninsula is Alaska's playground. This loop takes you through the best salmon rivers, past volcanic mountains, along coastal bluffs, and ends at Homer Spit -- a 4.5-mile gravel bar jutting into Kachemak Bay with galleries, seafood shacks, and halibut charter offices.

Stops worth making:

• Cooper Landing -- Russian River sockeye fishing (July). Bring waders.
• Kenai / Soldotna -- King salmon capital. The Kenai River is right there.
• Homer -- End of the road. Literally. Halibut charters, art galleries, and the best fish and chips in Alaska.
• Seldovia (ferry from Homer) -- A car-free fishing village across the bay. Time slows down here.

Events along the way: Homer halibut derbies, Soldotna fishing events, Kenai Peninsula events

5. The Richardson Highway: Valdez to Fairbanks (366 miles)

Drive time: 6 hours
Best for: Glaciers, waterfalls, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, dramatic mountain passes

Alaska's oldest highway climbs from the coastal port of Valdez through Thompson Pass (one of the snowiest places in North America), past the Worthington Glacier, along the Copper River, and north to Fairbanks through the Alaska Range.

Stops worth making:

• Valdez -- Start here. Glacier cruises, silver salmon fishing, and the Valdez Silver Salmon Derby.
• Worthington Glacier (mile 29) -- Walk right up to a glacier from the parking lot. Free.
• Thompson Pass (mile 26) -- Snowfall record holder. Even in summer, snow walls line the road.
• Trans-Alaska Pipeline viewpoints -- Multiple spots along the Richardson to see the 800-mile pipeline up close.
• Delta Junction (mile 266) -- Official end of the Alaska Highway. Great buffalo burgers at the roadhouse.

Events along the way: Valdez events, Interior events

Road Trip Tips

• Gas up early and often. Stretches of 100+ miles without a gas station are common. Do not let your tank drop below half.
• Carry a spare tire. Gravel roads eat tires. Rental companies usually offer roadside assistance, but cell service gaps mean you might wait.
• Watch for wildlife. Moose on the road are a genuine hazard, especially at dawn and dusk. Hitting a moose at highway speed can be fatal.
• Summer construction. Expect delays. Alaska repairs its roads in the brief summer window, and pilot car waits of 15-30 minutes are normal.
• Pack layers and rain gear. Weather changes fast. You can hit sunshine, rain, and near-freezing temps in a single drive.

Plan your drive around events happening along the way. Half the fun of an Alaska road trip is stumbling into a small-town festival you did not know existed.