Outdoorsy
GIRDWOOD
, 37 miles south of Anchorage, lies two miles inland in the shade of the
Alyeska Resort
(
; $45), Alaska's largest winter sports complex and the lowest-elevation ski resort in the world - Mount Alyeska's 3939ft summit rises from just 270 feet above sea level. Downhill runs and an extensive night-skiing operation run from November to mid-April, and in summer you can ride the Alyeska Tramway ($16) up to stunning views and some good hiking territory. Girdwood Ski and Cyclery, Mile 1.5 Alyeska Highway (tel 907/783-2453; closed Mon & Tues), rent mountain
bikes
($25 a day) to explore the surrounding trails, and Class V Whitewater (tel 907/783-2004,
) run a range of
rafting
trips from gentle scenic float trips on the Portage River (3hr; $50) to serious Class III-V whitewater on the Six-Mile River ($65-130).
The resort's
Alyeska Prince Hotel
(tel 907/754-1111 or 1-800/880-3880; $160-200) is a grand ski lodge with half a dozen good restaurants and service to match. Alternatively, try the Austrian-run
Alyeska View B&B
, Vail Drive (tel 907/783-2747,
; $100-130), or
Alyeska Home Hostel
(tel 907/783-2099; up to $35), with $10 loft beds. There's inexpensive
food
at
Chair Five
in Girdwood (tel 907/783-2500; daily 11am-2am) or the unmissable
Double Musky Inn
on Crow Creek Road (tel 907/783-2822): budget on $25 a head and a meal to remember.
Eleven miles south of Girdwood, a road leads to Whittier, past
Portage Glacier
, an unbearably popular day-tour from Anchorage. Frustratingly, you can't see the glacier from the parking lot; instead you must pay Gray Line $25 for a cruise around the lake's corner to the glacier's snout. Two USFS
campgrounds
($10) can be found two or three miles back down the road.
