Alaska Camping: Glaciers & Mountains — Self-Launched

Fly into Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport; the People Mover bus route 7 runs downtown for about $2 (or a shared taxi ~£15). Check into a downtown hostel dorm, then spend the afternoon on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail (free, 11 miles of mudflat and mountain views, moose sightings likely at dusk). Hit a supermarket — Carrs or Fred Meyer — for camp food, bear spray and a cheap sleeping pad if you're renting gear. Evening in a Spenard or downtown bar to meet other travellers. Gear hire: Alaska Outdoor Gear Rental or REI Anchorage do tent/sleeping bag/backpack packages (~$80-120 for two weeks).

🚌People Mover bus from airport (~£2) or taxi (~£15)

🛏Hostel dorm in downtown Anchorage (~£32/night)

• →Coastal Trail walk
• →Gear rental and food shop
• →Downtown evening

Take the morning Park Connection or Anchorage–Homer coach along the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm — one of the most beautiful drives in North America. Ask the driver to stop at Beluga Point and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (entry ~£14, book online). The trip is roughly 5 hours with the coach ~£55-70 one way; a cheaper option is the seasonal Alaska Railroad to Seward then a connecting coach, but the direct coach saves a day. Dump bags at a Homer hostel or the Spit campground (Spit campsites ~£18/night with showers). Late-afternoon walk on the Homer Spit, watch for belugas and sea otters in Kachemak Bay, and grab halibut tacos from a Spit food truck.

🚌Park Connection / Homer Stage Line coach from Anchorage (~£60)

🛏Homer hostel dorm or Spit campground (~£22/night)

• →Turnagain Arm viewpoints
• →Beluga Point
• →Homer Spit walk
• →Wildlife Conservation Center (optional)

Free day. The cheapest good option is the free Homer Spit Trail and the Pratt Museum (~£8). For real Kachemak Bay access, the Mako's Water Taxi runs out to Kachemak Bay State Park (~£55 return) from where you can walk the free Grewingk Glacier Trail — a 7-mile round trip to a lake dotted with icebergs, no guide needed. Alternatively pay for a guided kayak half-day (~£65-95) booked direct with a Spit operator. Homer is a strip of galleries, coffee shops and breweries — good for a slow afternoon. Stock up on groceries here; food in McCarthy and the campgrounds is thin and pricey.

🚌On foot / local taxi to water taxi dock (~£5)

🛏Homer hostel dorm or Spit campground (~£22/night)

• →Water taxi to Kachemak Bay State Park (~£55)
• →Grewingk Glacier Trail hike
• →Homer Spit galleries and breweries

Coach Homer to Seward (~3 hours, ~£45). Book a Kenai Fjords half-day or 6-hour wildlife and glacier cruise directly with a Seward operator (Major Marine or Kenai Fjords Tours, ~£95-140 for the half-day; book ahead in summer as boats sell out). These cruises are the one activity genuinely worth paying for up here — tidewater glaciers, humpbacks, orcas, puffins and sea otters. Afterwards walk the Seward waterfront and check into a hostel dorm or one of the walk-in campgrounds at Resurrection Campground or Miller's Landing (~£15/night).

🚌Homer–Seward coach (~£45)

🛏Seward hostel dorm (~£30/night) or waterfront campground (~£15/night)

• →Kenai Fjords wildlife and glacier cruise (~£100)
• →Seward waterfront walk

Take the free/small-fee Exit Glacier shuttle from Seward (Seward Bike Shop runs a $10 return shuttle in summer) out to Kenai Fjords National Park. Walk the flat, paved Glacier View Loop (1 mile, free) right to the toe of Exit Glacier — a very visual climate change lesson — or push up the Harding Icefield Trail for as far as your legs allow (the full route is 8 miles return with ~1,000m gain; the first viewpoint at ~1 mile is worth it alone). Optional extras: SeaLife Center (£18), or a guided sea kayak in Resurrection Bay (£60-90 direct with a Seward operator). Free ranger talks at the Exit Glacier Nature Center.

🚌Exit Glacier shuttle (~£8) or local bus

🛏Seward hostel dorm (~£30/night) or campground (~£15/night)

• →Exit Glacier View Loop
• →Harding Icefield Trail (partial or full)
• →Ranger talk at Nature Center

Take the Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic or the Park Connection coach back to Anchorage (~£50-70). Spend the afternoon in Alaska's biggest city: Potter Marsh boardwalk for birds and moose, the free Tony Knowles Trail, the Anchorage Museum (~£14) or a wander round the weekend Downtown Market if it's on. Eat king crab or reindeer sausage at a Spenard diner. Repack tonight and confirm your Valdez coach for tomorrow — this is a long driving day.

🚌Seward–Anchorage rail or coach (~£60)

🛏Anchorage hostel dorm (~£32/night)

• →Potter Marsh boardwalk
• →Anchorage Museum (optional)
• →Downtown market and seafood dinner

The scenic leg north — the Glenn Highway/ Richardson Highway route passes Matanuska Glacier, Sheep Mountain and then the spectacular Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier. Public transport is limited: the practical options are the seasonal Valley Transit/Interior Alaska Bus Line combination, a shared shuttle, or splitting a car rental with other hostel travellers (check hostel noticeboards — this leg is the one where car-share pays off). If time allows, stop at Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site (~free, short walk to the viewing area) and at the Thompson Pass viewpoint. Arrive Valdez, a tiny coastal town ringed by the Chugach Mountains, and check into a hostel or the Eagles Rest / Bear Paw campgrounds (~£15-18).

🚌Shared shuttle / Interior Alaska Bus Line to Valdez (~£65) or shared car rental

🛏Valdez hostel dorm or campground (~£25/night)

• →Matanuska Glacier viewpoint
• →Worthington Glacier walk
• →Thompson Pass viewpoint

Free day in Valdez. Cheapest win: hike the Dock Point and Solomon Gulch trails (free, salmon spawning in August — watch for black bears). For glaciers on the water, take the state-run ferry across to the Columbia Glacier viewing area or join a shared kayak trip out of Valdez (~£90-130 booked direct with a local operator — the tidal Columbia Glacier is dramatic). Alternatively rent a bike and ride the Mineral Creek Road for free waterfall views. Stock up at the Valdez grocery store tonight; McCarthy's shop is tiny and expensive.

🚌Local walking / bike hire (~£15)

🛏Valdez hostel dorm or campground (~£25/night)

• →Solomon Gulch salmon viewing
• →Columbia Glacier kayak trip (optional, ~£110)
• →Mineral Creek bike ride

The wildest transport day of the trip. Public transport is genuinely sparse: the Wrangell-St. Elias shuttle (Copper River/McCarthy shuttle operators run a Valdez–McCarthy service a few days a week in summer, ~£70-90) or a shared rental car along the Edgerton Highway and the unpaved McCarthy Road. The Copper River valley drive is superb — fishwheels on the river, the Chugach and Wrangell ranges on both sides. Park at Kennecott River and cross the footbridge into McCarthy on foot (the town itself is car-free). Stay in the McCarthy hostel/guesthouse or the nearby campground (~£22-30). The sky barely darkens in June and July — pace yourself.

🚌Valdez–McCarthy shuttle (~£80) or shared car rental

🛏McCarthy hostel or campground (~£28/night)

• →Copper River Valley drive
• →Fishwheel spotting
• →McCarthy footbridge crossing

Full free day in the largest US national park (25% bigger than Switzerland). Get the Kennecott shuttle (~£8 return) from McCarthy out to the Kennecott mill town and walk the free self-guided trail around the 14-storey abandoned copper mill — no tour needed. Then hike the Root Glacier Trail (free, 4 miles return to the glacier edge) and, if you're confident, hire crampons and a guide for a half-day glacier walk or ice climb (~£80-110 direct with a McCarthy operator — a genuinely worthwhile splurge). Budget alternative: the Bonanza Mine Trail, a steep, free 9-mile round trip to old mine ruins. Scenic flights over the park run £230-370 — a spectacular but optional extra; you can often share a seat cost with other travellers at the airstrip.

🚌Kennecott shuttle (~£8)

🛏McCarthy hostel or campground (~£28/night)

• →Kennecott ghost town self-guided trail
• →Root Glacier Trail hike
• →Bonanza Mine Trail (free)
• →Guided glacier walk or ice climb (optional, ~£95)

Head north up the Richardson Highway through the Copper River basin to Paxson, then onto the Denali Highway. There's no scheduled bus on this stretch — realistically this is a shared rental car or a pre-arranged McCarthy/Glennallen shuttle (~£70). Camp at the Tangle Lakes BLM campground (~£12/site, vault toilets, no showers) or the Tangle River Inn if the weather turns. Walk the Tangle Lakes Archaeological District trails, fish for grayling, and enjoy a genuinely remote night under a huge sky. Carry drinking water and bug spray — mosquitoes in July are legendary.

🚌Shared shuttle / rental car McCarthy–Paxson (~£70)

🛏Tangle Lakes BLM campground (~£12/night)

• →Denali Highway drive
• →Tangle Lakes trail walk
• →Grayling fishing

Drive the Denali Highway east — 135 miles of gravel with almost no services and constant mountain views — stopping for selfies at the Alaska Range viewpoints and the Maclaren Summit. Then turn north to the Denali park entrance (shared car or a pre-booked Paxson–Cantwell–Denali transfer ~£65). Camp at Riley Creek Mercantile campground inside the park (~£18 — book on recreation.gov well ahead, it's popular) or at a private campground in Glitter Gulch. Sort out your park shuttle ticket tonight for tomorrow.

🚌Shared car / pre-booked transfer (~£65)

🛏Riley Creek campground, Denali NP (~£18/night)

• →Denali Highway scenic drive
• →Maclaren Summit viewpoint
• →Denali park entrance evening walk

Book a Denali park shuttle bus direct on recreation.gov (the East Fork Bridge / mile 43 shuttle runs about £30-35 and takes 6 hours return, with a driver-naturalist and hop-on-hop-off wildlife stops — moose, caribou, grizzlies, sheep, and Denali itself on clear days). Back at the entrance in the afternoon, walk the free Mt Healy Overlook Trail (5 miles return, 500m gain, huge Alaska Range views) or join a Nenana River rafting trip booked direct with a park operator (~£75-115 for the classic canyon run). Evening: free dog-sled kennel demo at the park kennels if it's running, then camp dinner.

🚌Park shuttle to East Fork (~£33)

🛏Riley Creek campground, Denali NP (~£18/night)

• →Denali park shuttle to East Fork Bridge (~£33)
• →Mt Healy Overlook Trail
• →Nenana River rafting (optional, ~£90)
• →Sled dog kennel demo

Take the Alaska Railroad Denali Star south to Anchorage (~£75-95, 8 hours, superb scenery and a dome car) or the cheaper Park Connection coach (~£55). Both drop you in downtown Anchorage in time for an evening flight or a last night in the hostel. If you have hours to spare, the free Earthquake Park and Coastal Trail are a good final wander. Total travel time back is roughly 6-8 hours — don't book a flight earlier than mid-evening.

🚌Denali–Anchorage Alaska Railroad (~£85) or coach (~£55)

🛏None (onward flight) or Anchorage hostel dorm (~£32/night if staying)

• →Denali Star rail journey
• →Earthquake Park and Coastal Trail