Iditarod Opening Ceremony Weekend in Anchorage

I LOVE visiting Alaska and I think winter is an extremely underrated time there, but there is SO MUCH to do!! For my first annual (I didn’t know it was going to be annual at the time) Alaskan birthday trip, I went with a couple friends to Anchorage for the Iditarod opening day and to ski at Alyeska, a ski resort within an hour drive from Anchorage. Below is how we spent the 1 degree Fahrenheit weekend.

Friday: Arrive

We flew in late on Friday night to Anchorage, grabbed our rental car, took a moment for how cold it was outside, and went to grab a quick dinner. Anchorage does not have a raging food scene, but I have found a few great spots on my visits there. Number one being: Raising Caine’s. My friends Lindsey loves Raising Caine's (or did before she was cursed with Celiac Disease), and as we don’t have them in Seattle, that is usually our quick dinner spot when we get in late.

We stayed at the Highliner Hotel on this trip, which was in a convenient location to downtown Anchorage and was very cute and clean. It's not roomy, but we didn’t plan to spend much time here on our trip anyways.

Saturday: Iditarod Ceremonial Start

My favorite little breakfast spot in Anchorage, Snow City Café, is a very popular spot on the main downtown strip of Anchorage. Be prepared to wait in line if you go on a weekend, but it's so worth it! Great breakfast and great coffee/espresso! What more could you want on a cold winter morning?

After breakfast at Snow City, we walked over to the Iditarod start line. Here you can take a peek at the dogs getting prepped for the starting ceremonies and check out local vendors and shops. There were food trucks set up, demonstrations going on, and lots to see. It was about 1 degree Fahrenheit this morning so we were as bundled as possible and still a bit cold.

Note: the opening ceremony is NOT the official start of the Iditarod, as the Iditarod officially starts in Willow a day later.

The ceremonial start is such a fun thing to be a part of! Cheer on the racers and their dogs (in shoes!!!) as they begin an insane adventure across the state of Alaska. It's very crowded so make sure to get there early to get a good spot along the main road.

Pro tip: go down the road away from the starting line and the crowds will thin considerably!

After the start ceremony, we popped in to the Anchorage REI and did a bit of shopping, as this REI has a great used gear section (Lindsey and I always stop in when in Anchorage). After this, we drove out to Talkeetna to check out their little shops and have dinner. It’s a cute little town and, away from Anchorage’s “city” lights, we were hoping to have a clear enough sky to catch the Aurora Borealis. (Spoiler alert: we did not)

Sunday: Ski Day!

We originally planned this trip based on the Alaska Airlines ski resort partnership (if you have a same-day boarding pass you get to ski for free at certain ski resorts), but realized we just couldn’t make it work since we wanted to fly in the evening before the Iditarod on Saturday. But, we skied anyways, and it was a GREAT resort to ski at! It is small, but if you go for just one day you won't get bored. The terrain was so unique, as the whole resort is above tree line. The views were great, the lodge lunch was overpriced but fabulous, and the snow was perfection!

Afterwards, we drove back down to Anchorage to have a cozy Ramen dinner at Kami Ramen and went to bed early as we were cold, exhausted, and had an early flight out the next morning.

Other fun Anchorage activities:

• Galleries: There are several galleries in downtown Anchorage and definitely worth checking out! Alaska has such a unique, beautiful art scene that centers around nature and they native style of art (see below).

• Nearby day trips: Talkeetna, Whittier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Homer, Palmer, Hatcher Pass (read my trip report for Hatcher Pass HERE)

• Coffee: Dark Horse in Anchorage, Jitters outside of town

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If you are interested in travel advising or a custom trip itinerary, contact me at lauren.jones3@fora.travel or the submission box at the bottom of this page!