Placid mellow-blue lakes reflect jagged mountains as they scrape the sky. Caribou, elk, bears, whales and moose present themselves proudly, exhaling mist into the crisp air. Alaska crawls with opportunities for adventure, but the best time to visit the state depends on what type of adventure you are looking for.
Long Days for the Casual Tourist
Alaska blooms during the summer months -- wild flowers splash mountainsides, bears wake up and the snow melts off access roads. The season starts in mid-May and extends through mid-September. Rain visits Alaska more than the mainland. May offers the driest days of the year, but it gets rainier as the summer wears on. Alaska's summer days are long, with up to 22 hours of daylight on June 21, the summer solstice. Hotels and tour companies may offer "shoulder season" discounts of up to 25 percent during the months of May and September.
Specific Times for Targeted Adventures
The colors of aurora borealis dance in the winter sky, December through March. The northern lights inspire dog sledding, snowmobile racing, ice carving competitions and winter festivals, as well as all sorts of winter sports activities. Spot bears emerging from dens, massive caribou migrations, and Dall sheep and mountain goats feeding before the trees leaf during spring, March through mid-May. Gray, bowhead and beluga whales migrate up the West Coast during September and October. Salmon rush upstream to spawn between July and November, which is your best chance to spot bears feeding. And mid-June through August serves as the best time to see glacier calvings from the deck of a cruise ship.
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Photo Credits
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