In this Alaska vacation guide, we’ll share our itinerary and our favorite baby travel gear since we took this trip with a 5 month old baby. This two week vacation was the trip of a lifetime! With a 5 month old baby, it was a bit crazy and challenging at times, but we were able to see incredible views and make amazing memories.
Due to the size of Alaska and all there is to see, we broke the trip into two different regions. The first week was spent up near Denali National Park and the second week on the Kenai Peninsula. We started the planning process almost a year prior to going after booking the Airbnbs in both places.
We flew into Anchorage and tracking the flights through Skyscanner allowed us to snag them at a great price! With any trip I take, I just turn on the email alerts and get notified about any price changes. It’s a great way to get tickets at just the right time.
Talkeetna
On our way up to the first Airbnb, we stopped in the town of Talkeetna for some lunch and to walk around. It’s on the river and you’ll find cute shops, great places to eat, and a pretty river walk. We got the Game On pizza from Mountain High Pizza Pie and it was delicious.
Even though it doesn’t look like it in this photo, Saylor enjoyed the river walk and being outside after a couple hours in the car!
Hatcher’s Pass
The rest of the crew hiked Hatcher’s Pass as their pit stop up to the Airbnb. They were able to see some stunning views! These pictures are taken by my sister-in-law Grace!
Denali National Park
The first week was spent exploring Denali National Park. This park is about 5 hours north of Anchorage. Due to a rock slide, we could only access the first 43 miles of the park. You are able to drive in to about the 15 mile mark in your own vehicle, but to go any further, you’ll need to get a ticket for the transit bus or book a bus tour.
The majority of our time at Denali was spent on the trails exploring the park. They also had a very nice visitor center with a gift shop, park film viewing area, and exhibits to explore. It was also a very clean National Park with good restroom facilties.
Mt. Healy Overlook
On our first day exploring the park, we hike the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail. We got lucky with a clear day, especially since there were wildfires in the area. It is considered a “hard” hike since it is 7 miles out & back with 2,500 ft in elevation gain, but there are many beautiful views along the way. Saylor was a champ and smiled at everyone we saw!
Savage River Loop
One of my favorite hikes was the Savage River Loop! We met the rest of the crew here as they were on their way further into Denali on the transit bus (after going on the transit bus with a baby a few days prior, we decided to not do it a second time). It was a beautiful hike since you are in the valley surrounded by mountains. They called the river a “braided river” since it splits apart and comes back together.
It was only 2 miles, so it was perfect with a baby and the entire time you’re hiking you have beautiful views.
Horseshoe Lake Trail
On our last day in Denali, we hiked the Horseshoe Lake Trail. It was another 2 mile trail with some pretty overlooks. A group before us even saw a moose by the water!
Anchorage
Even though we flew into Anchorage, we didn’t spend much time there. It was a great overnight pit stop on our way from our first Airbnb to the second, since the drive was 8 hours.
Moose Tooth Pizza
While in Anchorage, we picked up Moose Tooth Pizza to bring back to the hotel. It was so good – highly recommend doing the pick up option though, since it was a long wait if you wanted to eat at the restaurant. We got half Call of the Wild and half of a seasonal chicken pizza with the Spicy Buffalo Chicken salad.
Wildlife Conservation Center
We also stopped at the Wildlife Conservation Center on our way to Kenai. They take in and take care of injured and orphaned animals. You can see bears, moose, bison, wolves, and more. We enjoyed walking around and getting to see the animals up close (while they were still enclosed!).
Kenai Peninsula
The second week was spent exploring the Kenai Peninsula, which is so so pretty!!
Cooper’s Landing
On the drive to Kenai and Seward, you’ll find amazing views like this one by Cooper’s Landing. There are so many spots to pull off at viewpoints. Everywhere you drive is so beautiful!
Resurrection Bay Tour
If you’re planning an Alaska vacation, we’d highly recommend the the Resurrection Bay Tour through Kenai Fjords Tours! We bought tickets online before we went, which saved 10% and made sure we had a spot. It was a 5 hour tour around the bay. Since most of the National Park is only accessed by water, this tour was a great way to see it.
We even got to see a humpback whale! It swam around our boat for about half an hour and was definitely a highlight of the trip for all of us.
Halfway through the tour, we stopped at Fox Island for a lunch that was included in the tour. They served us fresh salmon, a salad, bread, potatoes, and a corn and bean slaw. It was delicious!
Here we are in our matching Carhartt hats, which came in handy on this cold and rainy tour! Scroll to the bottom of this post for more baby travel essentials 🙂
Harding Ice Field Hike
On this day, I stayed back with Saylor while the rest of the crew hiked the Harding Ice Field. This is a “hard” hike with over 9 miles and 3,600 feet in elevation gain. It takes about 6.5 hours to complete, so be prepared with water and snacks. They said the views were amazing and it was one of their favorite hikes they’ve ever done.
Homer
On the last day, we headed to Homer. With it being a peninsula, you are surrounded by water, but can see mountains in the distance, which is super cool.
There are so many boats everywhere, especially this time of year since it was peak halibut fishing season. It was cool to see them all in the harbor.
While the rest of the crew went halibut fishing, Saylor and I walked around the shops and explored the cute town.
Halibut Charter Fishing
Matt and the rest of the family went out on a charter fishing boat while in Homer to catch some halibut. They were on a boat with about 20 others and in 2 hours of fishing, the whole boat caught their 2 fish per person limit. He said the experience was super fun! They even brought home 50 pounds of fish in a cooler that we checked. Halibut is really good and if you’re into fishing or eating fish, we’d recommend going out on a charter.
Our Favorite Baby Gear for Travel
We have to say that going on this long and adventurous of a trip with a 5 month old baby was a bit crazy, but these items helped a ton in making it more enjoyable!
- Rain Poncho | The poncho came in clutch on the boat tour to keep Saylor dry, plus it’s super cute too!
- Hatch Sound Machine + Light | This is something we use every day at home, so even though it’s a bit larger, it was nice to bring for consistency on the trip. It’s a sound machine and nightlight in one, which was helpful to block out noise from the rest of the house. Matt’s family called it the “hurricane” since it makes a wind sound and honestly helped everyone’s sleep!
- Travel Sound Machine | We also brought our little travel sound machine, which worked well on the long car rides and on the plane.
- Ergo Baby Carrier | This was perfect with Saylor’s age on this trip (5 months) because we could have her face out when she was awake and face in when she needed to nap. It was used on every hike!
- Packing Cubes | These were so great to keep our clothes and various items organized during the almost 2 week trip. The different sizes are nice for baby items and I’ve used them many times on weekend trips since too.
- Sunhat | This hat was perfect for blocking her face from the sun!
- Outdoor Blanket | When we were packing, I almost left this at home, but Matt thought it would be used a lot and it’s definitely was! We used every day in our Airbnbs for play time and tummy time, since there wasn’t carpet in either place. It was also nice to have for stops along long drives and outside.
- Diaper Bag Backpack | I love this bag because it has a ton of storage and compartments and travels really well.
- Columbia Snowsuit | My aunt bought this for Saylor and it was the perfect for this trip! The feet and hands can fold over for extra warmth.
- Carhartt Hat | This hat is not only super cute on a baby, but provides perfect warmth for colder days!
- Pacifier Clips | We love these clips for her pacifier since they keep it from falling. We used it on the Ergo baby carrier, in the carseat, and it also makes for a great toy in a pinch.
- Stacking Cups | These stacking cups are made of silicone so they’re not going to break during travel and pack up nicely too.
That’s a wrap on our Alaska vacation! If you’ve taken a trip to Alaska or even a longer trip with a baby, I’d love to know your tips or must-dos in the comments.
And for more baby must-have items, check out the Gender Neutral Registry post!
