What's New

The biggest news in Alaska, of course, was the surprise announcement, in August 2008, that Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen by Sen. John McCain to be his vice-presidential running mate on the Republican ticket (though at press time, only a crystal ball could predict the outcome of the election). Here are some changes in Alaska travel since the last edition of Frommer's Alaska.

Planning Your Trip

Few places were affected as much as Alaska -- both positively and negatively -- when oil prices shot up in 2008. Alaska's cold climate and big distances make its residents particularly vulnerable to fuel cost increases. The crisis hit especially hard in the Alaska Bush, where energy prices can be several times what urban Alaskans pay. In the winter of 2007-08, people were closing down their houses and moving in together because they couldn't pay for heating fuel, and subsistence hunters and fishermen couldn't afford gas for boats and snow machines. A huge migration of Native people to the cities was documented by the University of Alaska.

On the positive side, a lot of the money for those high oil prices is going to the owners of oil fields -- and Alaska owns the biggest in North America. Alaska's state treasury bulged to the busting point with windfall revenues. In summer 2008, Palin made a radical proposal: using the oil income to send each Alaskan a debit card of $100 a month for energy expenses. It's too soon to say what will happen, except . . . only in Alaska.

It's difficult to predict how energy prices will affect visitors in 2009. Already they have added to the substantial cost of an Alaskan vacation in airfares, gas prices, and the cost of fuel-intensive activities such as fishing and air charters. On the other hand, as the poor national economy and fuel costs weigh on family budgets, visitation seems to be dropping, which should mean bargains.

Disarray continues in the running of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system (tel. 800/642-0066 or 907/465-3941; www.ferryalaska.com). The ferries remain a terrific way to travel coastal Alaska, and a great bargain, but the service changes may require patience and flexibility in planning, and perhaps the help of a good specialist agent, such as those found at Viking Travel, in Petersburg (800/327-2571 or 907/772-3818; www.alaskaferry.com).

There have been changes in laws regarding possession of wildlife products that make it more difficult to bring home Alaska Native art and craft work; foreign visitors should read the requirements before shopping.

I've included a couple of fly-in wilderness lodges, including a new addition, Prince William Sound Lodge (tel. 907/440-0909 or 907/248-0909; www.princewilliamsound.us), a discovery I made on Tatitlek Narrows, in the heart of the Sound, where time stands still but for the rise and fall of the tide.

The Southeast

Fisheries managers halved the bag limit for sport-caught halibut, from two per day to one. For years, the Southeast's charter sportfishing industry had overrun its quota of halibut and the cut was intended to conserve the resource. Industry folk fear the change will deliver a devastating blow as anglers instead go to Southcentral Alaska or the Aleutians, where the two-halibut limit remains in effect. For readers, however, I'd recommend against choosing your destination on that basis: It's about the experience, not taking home more frozen fish than you really will want to eat.

In Ketchikan, where the airport is on Gravina Island, across the water from town, a new airport shuttle has begun operation, an important improvement in the only place I know of where you have to take a ferry to get to your plane. You can still ride a water taxi that links the airport to downtown -- in fact, that's one of the most economical options.

Salmon Falls Resort (tel. 800/247-9059 for reservations or 907/225-2752; www.salmonfallsresort.com), Ketchikan's big fishing lodge, is under new ownership and making excellent changes, starting in the dining room. I recommend it highly.

Haines saw some changes in its unsurpassed lineup of off-beat attractions. Kroschel Films Wildlife and Education Center (tel. 907/767-5464; www.kroschelfilms.com) opened, presenting a collection of Alaskan wildlife in large enclosures on a family's big spread outside of town. It's a charming and very Alaskan tour.

I've also got a terrific new Mexican/Southwest restaurant to recommend in Haines, Mosey's Cantina, at 1 Soap Suds Alley (tel. 907/766-2320).

Skagway has a good new restaurant owned by a chef from Northern Italy, called Alaska Gourmet Cafe, 344 5th Ave. (tel. 907/983-2448; www.akgourmet.com). There's also a great new night spot, Skagway Brewing Company, at 7th Avenue and Broadway, a brewpub producing excellent beers.

Anchorage & Environs

Anchorage opened the massive new Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center shortly before this edition hit the shelves. The building, named after the area's Athabascan people, has newly commission public art on a large scale displayed in the lobby. At the same time, changes to the nearby Town Square and adjoining streets will create a more welcoming setting for walking around and enjoying downtown Anchorage.

I found two new budget places downtown: Wildflower Inn, a beautiful B&B at 1239 I St. (tel. 877/693-1239 or 907/274-1239; www.alaska-wildflower-inn.com), and Alaska Backpackers Inn, 327 Eagle St. (tel. 907/277-2770; www.alaskabackpackers.com), which is essentially a hostel, but is a really terrific hostel.

Kenai Peninsula & Prince William Sound

In Seward, a friendly, environmentally oriented young couple who run a sea kayaking operation also have a pleasant and reasonably priced B&B, Bear Paw Lodge (tel. 907/224-3960; www.kayakak.com/bear_paw_lodge.cfm). The pioneer of boat tours to Kenai Fjords National Park, who sold his business years ago, is now running high-speed catamarans for sightseeing trips under the name Renown Tours (tel. 888/514-8687 or 907/224-3806 in Seward; www.renowntours.com).

In Homer, artist Norman Lowell has put his amazing gallery (tel. 907/235-7344) and lifetime of work up for sale; now is the chance to visit this remarkable place and meet the Alaskan originals who created it.

In Valdez, the excellent Valdez Hotel has become Mountain Sky Hotel and Suites (tel. 800/478-4445 or 907/835-4445; www.mountainskyhotelsuite.com).

In Cordova, I've long recommended the Ilanka Cultural Center (tel. 907/424-7903; www.ilankacenter.org); a powerful new work of art added there is not to be missed. Carver Mike Webber, a fisherman devastated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, created a shame pole, the first of its kind in a generation, directed at the corporation that many here blame for ruining lives as well as destroying wildlife.

Denali National Park

Years of construction work were finally completed in 2008 with the reopening of the Eielson Visitor Center. Now all Denali National Park facilities have been expanded and updated.

Outside the park's boundaries, I've added a recommendation for tours by Denali ATV Adventures (tel. 907/683-4288; www.denaliatv.com). There's also a new campground, Denali Outdoor Center Otto Lake Campground and Cabins (tel. 888/303-1925 or 907/683-1925; www.denalioutdoorcenter.com). It's unique for its natural lakeside setting.

The dining lineup changes annually in Denali's seasonal economy, but one longtime recommendation has become stronger. Denali Park Salmon Bake (tel. 907/683-2733; www.denaliparksalmonbake.com) has national touring musicians regularly stopping in.

The Interior

Fairbanks has remade its downtown, most recently by adding the new Alaska Native-owned Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, at the corner of Wendell and Dunkel streets. If all goes as planned, by 2009, the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center will move into the Thompson Center, along with exhibits and programs by the Athabascan people who built it. The old visitor center, by the Cushman Street bridge, will become the headquarters and a museum for the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race.

There's a new attraction at Pioneer Park, 40 Below Fairbanks, at Cabin No. 3, just down from the Palace Saloon (tel. 907/347-5451), where visitors can experience how cold this place can get in the wintertime.

Crestmont Bed and Breakfast closed, and we found a very appealing replacement, on Chena Ridge, in Grand View Bed & Breakfast (tel. 907/479-3388; www.grandview-bb.com).

On the Dalton Highway, we had an interesting visit to the tiny town of Wiseman, which I recommend to anyone who passes that way, far beyond the edge of civilization.

In Copper Center, Alaska River Wrangellers (tel. 888/822-3967 or 907/822-3967; www.riverwrangellers.com) is offering a terrific set of floating and fishing choices for more reasonable prices than you pay if you go within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for a river trip.

The Bush

In Kodiak, the new Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center has opened near the ferry terminal at Mission Road and Center Avenue (tel. 888/592-6942 or 907/487-2626; www.kodiakwildliferefuge.org), with exhibits as well as the expected outdoors advice.

Airport Pizza is the best place to eat in Nome these days. It's not at the airport -- the address is 406 Bering St. (tel. 907/443-7992; www.airportpizza.com) -- but they still deliver pizzas by bush plane to tiny outlying villages.