We started our morning by walking to the Biscuit Club for breakfast. It’s in the downtown area, where everything is relatively walkable. They have tons of unique options, but we settled on their classic biscuit and gravy with reindeer sausage, and a Sammy cook (a biscuit sandwich with egg, grilled cheddar, and sausage).
After a hearty breakfast, we walked down the hill to nearby Ship Creek. This incredible river begins in the Chugach Mountains and flows into downtown Anchorage as one of the only urban salmon fisheries in Anchorage (Campbell Creek and Eagle River are others). Stop by The Bait Shack for fresh bait or rent gear and try your luck at nabbing a prized salmon year-round (King season is January 1-July 13). If you don’t catch anything, we heard good things about the Bridge Seafood Restaurant (in a cool looking metal-clad building that functions as…you guessed it, a bridge).
We made our way back to our Airbnb and got ready to head out for the day. Today is our last day with the rental car, so we made it our mission to search for moose (the final animal of Alaska’s “Big 5” that we have not yet seen). It may come as a surprise (it did to us), but moose are pretty common in the city of Anchorage. We did a little research as to where moose can be found in and around the city of Anchorage, and kept our hopes high.
We began our search along the infamous Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, a scenic 11-mile trail that winds along the northwestern city coastline. We walked a portion of the trail and began wishing we rented bikes to ride the rest…it was just so serene. We made it to Earthquake Park, an area transformed by a destructive 1964 earthquake, and followed the interpretive trail. It was a very real reminder of the power of shifting land, but our goal was moose, and alas, there were none…though there were a few cute bunnies!
Our next stop was Point Woronzof, a small park further along the coastal trail where planes fly directly overhead (depending on wind patterns). We were pretty surprised to read that this was one of the moose-sighting spots because of how small the area was and the extremely loud environment when planes make their approach. Though we didn’t see any moose, we did enjoy the beautiful coastal lookout.
After the coastal exploration, we tried our luck at southernmost point of the coastal trail, Kincaid Park. We spent some time hiking trails, but unfortunately there were still no moose to be found.
The last stop on our moose-sighting adventure was a place called the Potter Marsh. It’s a pretty well-known bird sanctuary at the southwest base of the impressive half-million acre Chugach State Park, but we heard moose can sometimes be spotted here too. The state park is expansive (it’s in Alaska after all), but the Potter Marsh is a manageable adventure along an elevated boardwalk built over the marsh. Though we didn’t spot any moose here, we really enjoyed the unique environment.
After searching far and wide for moose, we worked up an appetite and decided to try a reindeer hotdog at Red Umbrella, a small food cart in Anchorage’s city center.
After a good conversation (and an even better hotdog), we went back to our Airbnb for a little rest in…the moose search was exhaustive and we were exhausted. We knew we had to return our car around 6pm, but even though Anchorage is a major city, we felt like it was pretty walkable (north of 15th Ave.) and was a better way to see downtown. After we dropped our Turo car rental back to the owner’s house near Valley of the Moon Park, we decided to walk towards downtown. It was a bit of a walk, but it allowed us to see more of Anchorage by foot. As we walked, we soon noticed just how wide-open and fresh the city air felt. It was unlike other major cities we’ve visited, where we often feel congested and closed in by tall skyscrapers.
One of the last cuisines we both wanted to try was Alaskan king crab legs, and after a long walk through the salty air, we decided to splurge a little and have dinner at the famed Simon & Seafort’s Saloon and Grill. We’ve been wanting to try local king crab legs, and couldn’t think of a better way than to indulge in their fine dining and beautiful panoramic views of the Alaskan coast, which is where we imagined these behemoths were plucked from (be sure to request a table by the window if time allows).
We enjoyed the views, but the real show was their mouth-watering king crab legs and melt-in-your-mouth halibut cheeks. With all the amazing food we’ve tried around the world, this meal has definitely been living rent-free in our minds lately!
After this very memorable dinner, we stopped by nearby Resolution Park for more views, and then got an Uber back to our Airbnb to turn in for an early night. Tomorrow we’ll be waking up early to catch a 6:45AM Alaska Railroad train down to Kenai Fjords National Park and the beautiful port city of Seward, Alaska’s fishing capital…so stay tuned!
