Kenai Fjords National Park

To quote the legendary Dwight Schrute, “welcome to the no-spin zone.” I’m not here to sugarcoat anything for you, or to try to prove that my trip was cheaper/more lavish than it actually was. Here we have cold, hard numbers with some of my opinions sprinkled in. The honest truth is that a trip to Alaska is expensive. There are ways that I could have saved some money (we’ll get to that), but you have to know when reading this and/or planning your own trip that visiting Alaska national parks is going to cost you significantly more than almost any other national park trip.

As it turns out, Alaska national parks are intimidating AF. Or is it just me?? The weather, the scenery, the seasons...these factors loom in the distance like a bear that’s happy eating its berries until he thinks those hikers he sees might pose a threat to his feasting, ready to strike at any moment! The bear is probably scared of humans, you say? Think again! This is Alaska we’re talking about! Wow, that metaphor really got out of hand.

It's weird how time and growth work together. Last year, I was planning a vacation to Glacier National Park... but when my brother took a temporary job in Anchorage, Alaska, Glacier flew right out the window. Looking back, my trip to Alaska unintentionally put me on a path; it taught me how to better research for a bigger trip, pushed me very far out of my comfort zone, and ultimately showed me AGAIN that I'm the thing holding me back. Since Alaska, I have been planning more ambitious trips and hiking farther than I thought I could!

This is a fluid post that I will continually update! Each time I visit a new park I’ll add it here, or update parks that I return to. It’s kind of a fusion highlight reel and future bucket list.