My 2022 Summer Solstice Trip to Anchorage, Alaska
In June 2022, I took a trip to Anchorage, Alaska. I chose the date so that I would be there on June 21, the summer solstice. On the summer solstice, Anchorage gets about 22 hours of daylight. It never really gets dark on the summer solstice in Anchorage because the sun only dips just below the horizon before rising again. It was very cool to be there at this time.
I was in Anchorage from June 17 to June 22. I stayed at the Hilton Anchorage in downtown Anchorage, which is pretty much walking distance to everything. The highlights of my trip are described below.
Portage Glacier
I think one of the most interesting parts of the trip was a boat tour to see Portage Glacier. The half day tour included transportation by bus from downtown Anchorage to Portage Lake, and then a trip by boat to the glacier. There is a visitor center that was built in 1986 to view Portage Glacier, but the glacier has retreated so much since then it is no longer visible from the visitor center.
The image below shows the retreat of the glacier away from the visitor center location over the years due to “climatic fluctuations".
The video below is our approach to the glacier by boat.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
On the way to Portage Glacier, we stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), a sanctuary for injured and orphaned animals. My profile photo is one of the brown bears I saw at AWCC. I liked the way she sat there watching us watching her.
Anchorage Museum
I walked over to the Anchorage Museum and did a brief tour with some locals I found on Airbnb Experiences.
Anchorage City Trolly Tour
The 2 hour tour included Anchorage’s historical sites and cultural landmarks.
One of the stops on the tour was Earthquake Park, which commemorates the1964 9.2 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America. You can see where an entire neighborhood slid into the ocean.
Summer Solstice Festival
There are events over several days celebrating the summer solstice in downtown Anchorage. There is live music, food, and vendors in Town Square Park and surrounding areas.
Juneteenth Festival
As an extra added bonus, I was there on Juneteenth and I was able to attend the Anchorage Juneteenth festival. A couple of my friends asked me if there is an African American population in Anchorage. And yes, there is, although it is small.
The video below is the view from my hotel room at midnight on the summer solstice.