How to Plan an Alaskan Road Trip Itinerary for a 10-Day Adventure

Updated April 28, 2026

Dreaming of an epic Alaskan adventure? Planning an Alaskan road trip itinerary is one of the best ways to experience the state’s incredible wilderness, wildlife, glaciers, and scenic roads at your own pace. From Denali to Kenai Fjords, Wrangell – St. Elias, and the bear-filled wilderness of Katmai National Park, Alaska offers incredible opportunities for adventure.

But planning an Alaska road trip can also feel overwhelming. Distances are long, some roads are remote, and places like Katmai require extra planning. Don’t let the size of the state intimidate you! This Alaska Road Trip Guide breaks the process down into manageable steps so you can create a realistic itinerary filled with scenic drives, wildlife, glaciers, and unforgettable stops.

Whether you’re planning a 10-day Alaska road trip or building a longer adventure, we’ll show you how to choose your route, balance driving time with sightseeing, and make the most of your days on the road. Along the way, we’ll link to our detailed Alaska guides so you can dig deeper into the places that interest you most.

Alaska can be experienced in many different ways. Some travelers explore the Inside Passage on a cruise, while others want the freedom of a self-drive adventure. For RVers, the journey itself can be just as important as the destinations.

If you’re planning to explore Alaska by cruise, start with our Ultimate Alaska Cruise Guide. But if you’re ready to hit the road, you’re in the right place. This guide focuses on planning an Alaskan road trip itinerary, including how to choose your route, plan your driving days, and build a realistic 10-day adventure.

Your 10-Day Alaska Road Trip Itinerary at a Glance

Before diving into the details, here’s a quick overview of your Alaska travel itinerary. Use this table to plan your days and get a feel for the route before committing to the full read:

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Our first trip to Alaska was an RV adventure, and that experience taught us a lot about traveling through such a vast and remote state. If you’re considering an RV trip, read Planning Your RV Alaska Trip. for some of the lessons we learned along the way.

Purchase the Milepost Travel Guide

One of the first purchases we recommend for any Alaska road trip is The Milepost Travel Guide. This best-selling guide covers Alaska, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and British Columbia, with mile-by-mile information on points of interest, campgrounds, services, and roadside stops.

When we traveled through Alaska by RV, The Milepost helped us find interesting waysides for lunch, campground information, and essential services along the way. It also came in handy when we needed to locate gas stations along remote stretches of highway where the next fuel stop wasn’t always obvious.

The Milepost Travel Guide is updated annually, making it a valuable resource for planning your route and preparing for the long stretches between destinations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Planning an Alaskan Road Trip Itinerary

When is the Best Time to Plan a Road Trip to Alaska?

Alaska’s main tourist season typically runs from mid-May through mid-September. We’ve always preferred June. The weather hasn’t always cooperated, but the cooler temperatures and smaller crowds have been worth it. If budget is a priority, May and September are good shoulder-season options. July and August generally offer warmer weather and long summer days. The midnight sun is another bonus, giving you plenty of daylight for exploring.

How Long Should Your Alaska Road Trip Itinerary Be?

We recommend at least 10 days, although more time allows you to explore at a much more relaxed pace. Just getting to Alaska can take considerable time, especially if you’re driving from the Lower 48. On our first trip, we spent 10 days in Alaska and quickly realized it wasn’t enough. On our next visit, we spent 15 days.

Ultimately, the ideal length depends on your available time and how much of Alaska you want to experience. Start by identifying your must-see destinations and building your route around them. Our guides to the Parks Highway, Seward Highway, Glenn Highway, Richardson Highway, and Sterling Highway can help you plan your route and decide which places belong on your itinerary.

Planning Your Alaska Road Trip: Choose Your Travel Style

Planning a 10-day Alaska road trip means deciding how you want to travel. An RV, rental SUV, or car can all work well, but each offers a different experience.

An RV gives you the freedom to carry your home with you and can be a great choice if you enjoy camping and want flexibility with your overnight stops. If you’re considering an RV, our guide to Planning Your RV Alaska Trip covers what we learned from our own experience.

A rental SUV gives you more flexibility if you prefer hotels, cabins, or vacation rentals. On our second Alaska trip, we chose an SUV and Airbnb accommodations. The extra space for fishing gear, along with the flexibility of having a vehicle suited to Alaska’s roads, worked well for our longer itinerary.

Your travel style will also affect your budget, accommodations, route, and daily driving time. Think about how you prefer to travel before building your itinerary, because choosing your vehicle and lodging early can make the rest of your Alaska road trip planning much easier.

Building Your Alaska Road Trip Itinerary

Your route will depend on how much time you have and which parts of Alaska you want to explore. For a 10-day trip, it’s important to resist the temptation to see everything. Alaska is enormous, and spending too much time driving can leave little time for actually enjoying each destination.

Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula

Anchorage is a natural starting point for many Alaska road trips. From here, you can head south along the Seward Highway toward the Kenai Peninsula or east along the Glenn Highway toward Glennallen and beyond. Its central location makes Anchorage a useful place to begin or end your trip, stock up on supplies, and prepare for more remote areas.

If Anchorage is part of your itinerary, check out our Anchorage guide for things to see and do before heading out of town.

From Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula is one of the easiest areas to add to a road trip, but don’t underestimate how much there is to see. The Seward Highway follows Turnagain Arm before reaching the peninsula, where you can continue toward Seward, travel west toward Kenai and Soldotna, or follow the Sterling Highway toward Homer.

If you have several days available, the Kenai Peninsula can easily become a major part of your Alaska itinerary. Wildlife viewing, fishing, glaciers, coastal scenery, and small communities give this region a very different feel from the Interior. Our Seward Highway and Sterling Highway guides can help you decide which route and stops fit your schedule.

Day 1: Anchorage, Alaska — Your Road Trip Itinerary Begins

Your Alaska road trip begins in Anchorage. If you’re flying in from the East Coast, expect a long travel day and potentially a late arrival. We recommend staying overnight rather than immediately starting a long drive.

Use your first evening to rest, pick up your rental vehicle, and stock up on groceries and road-trip supplies before heading out the next morning. If you’re traveling by RV, Anchorage is also a good place to make sure you have everything you need before leaving the city.

TIP: Consider purchasing the TourSaver coupon book before your trip. It offers discounts and 2-for-1 deals at attractions, activities, and other travel experiences throughout Alaska. Check the current offerings before purchasing, as the program and participating businesses can change.

Day 2: Seward Highway & Turnagain Arm Scenic Byway

This is one of the most spectacular stretches of any Alaska road trip itinerary. From Anchorage, follow the Seward Highway south along Turnagain Arm toward Seward. The drive takes about 2.5 hours without stops, but plan on much longer if you want to enjoy the scenery and explore along the way.

The highway winds past dramatic mountain views, coastal scenery, glaciers, wildlife viewing areas, and several worthwhile stops. Rather than rushing through them, allow plenty of time to explore. Our Seward Highway guide covers the best stops and side trips along this scenic drive.

Continue to Seward, where you can spend the night and use the town as your base for exploring Kenai Fjords National Park. If you have additional time, consider adding a wildlife cruise or visiting Exit Glacier. Our Seward guide and Kenai Fjords guide cover these experiences in greater detail.

Allow: Plan on a full day from Anchorage to Seward if you want to stop along the highway. If Kenai Fjords and Seward are priorities, consider spending two nights in the area rather than trying to fit everything into one day.

Day 3: Sterling Highway to Homer — Kenai Peninsula Adventures

The Kenai Peninsula is one of the highlights of an Alaska road trip, with opportunities for fishing, wildlife viewing, kayaking, hiking, and exploring small coastal communities. From Tern Lake, the Sterling Highway travels through the heart of the peninsula before continuing toward Homer on the southern tip of the road system.

If you want to explore the central Kenai Peninsula, our Sterling Highway guide covers the route and highlights from Tern Lake through the area around Soldotna and Sterling. We’ve spent several days in this part of Alaska on our trips, including time fishing and exploring the area around the Kenai River.

Continue south toward Homer, stopping along the way to enjoy the coastal scenery and small communities along the Sterling Highway. Our guide to the road to Homer covers the highlights between Soldotna and Homer.

Homer: End of the Road

Homer sits at the end of the Sterling Highway and is one of the most memorable stops on the Kenai Peninsula. The Homer Spit stretches into Kachemak Bay and is a popular base for fishing charters, kayaking, wildlife viewing, flightseeing, and exploring the town’s galleries and shops.

If you have the time, consider spending at least two nights in Homer. That gives you a full day for a fishing charter, wildlife excursion, Kachemak Bay adventure, or simply enjoying the town.

Allow: A full day to travel from the central Kenai Peninsula to Homer with stops. Add additional days if fishing, bear viewing, or exploring Kachemak Bay are priorities.

Day 4: Glenn Highway Scenic Drive — Alpine Vistas & Matanuska Glacier

After exploring the Kenai Peninsula, you’ll need to decide how you want to continue toward Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The Glenn Highway offers the most direct overland route from the Anchorage area through Palmer and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley toward Glennallen.

The drive takes about 5–6 hours without stops, but you’ll want to allow a full day to enjoy the scenery and explore along the way. The highway follows the Matanuska River through a landscape of mountains, glaciers, and wide-open valleys.

Our Glenn Highway guide covers the scenic stops, hikes, historic sites, and other highlights along the route. If you want to spend time in Palmer, our Palmer guide can help you decide what to see.

Matanuska Glacier is one of the major highlights along this route. Depending on your schedule, you can view the glacier from the road or plan a guided glacier experience.

An Alternative: Whittier and Valdez

There’s another way to reach the Valdez area from Southcentral Alaska. You can drive through the Whittier Tunnel and take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry across Prince William Sound to Valdez. This is a longer and more expensive option, but it turns the journey into a scenic coastal adventure. See our guide to Valdez for more about exploring the area.

If Wrangell-St. Elias is your priority, the Glenn Highway is the more straightforward choice. If Valdez and Prince William Sound are priorities, consider building the ferry route into a longer itinerary.

Allow: One full day for the Glenn Highway drive with stops. Add extra time if you want to explore Palmer, hike, or take a Matanuska Glacier tour.

Day 5: Wrangell–St. Elias National Park — A Highlight of Any Alaska Road Trip

No Alaska road trip itinerary is complete without Wrangell–St. Elias National Park. As the largest national park in the United States and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its scale is difficult to appreciate until you see it for yourself.

For a 10-day itinerary, getting to the Kennecott and McCarthy area requires some planning. Chitina serves as the gateway, and from there you can travel the McCarthy Road or arrange transportation by shuttle or flightseeing. The journey itself is part of the adventure.

Once you arrive, the historic Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark and surrounding wilderness are the major highlights. Depending on how much time you have, you can explore the historic mining town, hike toward Kennicott Glacier, or arrange a glacier adventure on Root Glacier.

Our guide to Wrangell–St. Elias National Park covers what we experienced and how to plan a visit.

Allow: Ideally, give Wrangell–St. Elias at least two days if you want to reach Kennecott and have time to explore. Trying to fit the park into a single day can make for a very long travel day, especially if you’re driving the McCarthy Road.

Day 6: Richardson Highway — Delta Junction & North to Fairbanks

After exploring Wrangell–St. Elias, continue north along the Richardson Highway toward Delta Junction and Fairbanks. This scenic route follows the Copper River Valley and offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, rivers, and wide-open Alaskan landscape.

The Richardson Highway begins near Valdez and extends north toward Fairbanks, but for this itinerary, the section from the Wrangell–St. Elias area toward Delta Junction is particularly important. Along the way, you’ll encounter historic sites, scenic viewpoints, lakes, and remnants of Alaska’s transportation and mining history.

Our Richardson Highway guide covers the stops and attractions between Gakona and Delta Junction. We’ll be updating this guide with more information as we continue building our Alaska highway guides.

Once you reach Delta Junction, take some time to visit the visitor center and the official end-of-the-Alaska Highway marker before continuing north toward Fairbanks.

Allow: Plan on most of the day for this drive if you want to make stops along the way. If you’re following a tight 10-day itinerary, prioritize the scenic drive and Delta Junction before continuing to Fairbanks.

Day 7: Fairbanks — A Highlight of Your Alaska Road Trip

No Alaska road trip guide would be complete without Fairbanks. Located in Alaska’s Interior, the city is a great place to experience the midnight sun during summer while exploring the region’s gold rush history, rivers, wildlife, and cultural attractions.

Plan to spend at least one full day in Fairbanks, although two days will give you more time to explore without rushing. We enjoyed fishing for Arctic grayling on the Chena River, and there are plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures around the city.

Fairbanks also makes a good base for exploring attractions such as the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Pioneer Park, museums, river excursions, and the nearby community of North Pole. If wildlife is a priority, consider adding a visit to the Large Animal Research Station.

Our Fairbanks guide covers the city’s best things to see and do and can help you decide how to spend your time.

Our tip: Summer brings long daylight hours, but mosquitoes can be a nuisance during outdoor activities. Keep bug spray handy.

Allow: At least one full day in Fairbanks. Add a second day if you want to explore more attractions or take a longer excursion.

Day 8: Denali National Park — Wildlife, Wilderness & Mountain Views

For many visitors, seeing Denali is one of the highlights of an Alaska road trip. The park is enormous, and you’ll want to plan ahead to make the most of your time here.

⚠️ Important 2026 Update: The Denali Park Road is closed at Mile 43 because of the Pretty Rocks landslide. Construction is expected to keep the road closed through summer 2026. Check the National Park Service for current conditions and transportation updates before your visit.

With limited time, focus on the areas and activities that fit your schedule rather than trying to see the entire park. The Denali Sled Dog Kennels are a worthwhile stop, while hiking near the park entrance offers another way to experience the landscape.

If you’re able to spend more time, consider a park bus tour or another guided experience. Our Denali National Park guide covers the different ways to explore the park and helps you plan your visit.

Allow: At least one full day for Denali, although two days will give you more flexibility for hiking, wildlife viewing, and changing weather.

The road to the end at Kantishna is 92 miles and takes about 5 hours to reach. If you only have a day, I recommend hiking the trails nearest the visitor center—Horseshoe Lake, Triple Lakes, or the Healy Overlook are all worth the effort.

If you want to do less driving, consider an alternative route by taking the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Denali and returning to Anchorage via Talkeetna.

Day 9: Parks Highway to Talkeetna — A Scenic Stop Along the Way

From Denali, continue south along the Parks Highway toward Talkeetna, a small historic town known for its independent shops, galleries, restaurants, and colorful character. Talkeetna is also an important base for Denali flightseeing, making it a worthwhile stop even if you’re not planning to spend several days here.

If flightseeing is on your Alaska bucket list, Talkeetna is one of the best places to consider a tour. Depending on weather and your interests, you can also explore the rivers, take a jet boat excursion, or simply wander the historic downtown area.

Our guide to the best things to do in Talkeetna covers the town’s attractions and activities in greater detail.

Allow: A half-day to a full day in Talkeetna works well for most road-trippers. If you’re planning a flightseeing or river excursion, allow additional time and build some flexibility into your schedule because Alaska’s weather can affect tours.

Day 10: Hatcher Pass and Return to Anchorage

If your flight leaves later in the day, use your final morning to explore Hatcher Pass before returning to Anchorage. The scenic drive climbs from the Palmer area into alpine tundra, with expansive mountain views and opportunities for short hikes and photography.

History buffs can stop at Independence Mine State Historical Park, one of the area’s most interesting reminders of Alaska’s mining past.

Hatcher Pass works particularly well as the final stop on this itinerary because it keeps you relatively close to Anchorage while still giving you one more taste of Alaska’s mountains and wilderness.

If you have extra time, you can also explore Palmer or make stops along the Parks Highway before continuing to Anchorage.

Allow: Plan your return carefully around your flight time. Leave plenty of room for the drive to Anchorage, rental-car return, and airport check-in. Don’t make a remote hike or activity the final thing on your schedule if a delay could jeopardize your flight.

Final Planning Checklist for Your Alaskan Road Trip Itinerary

Before you finalize your itinerary, run through this quick checklist:

1. Prioritize your must-see destinations: Choose the places and experiences that matter most, then build your route around them.
2. Check driving distances: Alaska is vast. Make sure each day’s driving time leaves room for stops, hikes, wildlife viewing, and unexpected delays.
3. Book ahead: Reserve popular accommodations, campgrounds, tours, and transportation well in advance during the summer season.
4. Choose your travel style: Decide whether an RV, rental SUV, or car fits your budget and preferred way of traveling.
5. Build in flexibility: Weather, road conditions, wildlife, and unexpected discoveries can change your plans. Leave some room in your itinerary to adjust.
6. Consider combining a road trip with a cruise: A cruise can be a great way to experience Alaska’s coastal scenery and wildlife before or after your road trip. See our Ultimate Alaska Cruise Guide if you’re considering adding one.

Packing Essentials for Your Alaskan Road Trip Itinerary

When planning an Alaskan road trip itinerary, packing the right gear can make your days on the road and trails much more comfortable. Here’s what we recommend bringing along:

• Hiking pants: Helpful for protecting your legs on wooded and brushy trails.
• Fleece jacket and rain jacket: Weather can change quickly, so layers and rain protection are important. Long-sleeved UPF 50+ shirt: A lightweight option for sun protection and added coverage from insects.
• Hiking poles: Helpful on steep, muddy, or uneven trails and stream crossings.
• Compact binoculars: Great for spotting wildlife while hiking or exploring.
• Dry bag: Useful for fishing, kayaking, canoeing, or keeping your phone and camera dry.
• Bug spray: Especially important during Alaska’s summer mosquito season.
• Water bottle or hydration backpack: Keep water accessible during long hikes and active days.
• Polarized sunglasses: Helpful during Alaska’s long, bright summer days.
• Walking or hiking shoes: A good pair of comfortable, supportive shoes is essential for exploring Alaska’s trails.

Final Thoughts: Crafting Your Perfect 10-Day Alaska Road Trip

Alaska is an incredible destination, and planning a road trip here takes some work. But the freedom to explore at your own pace makes it worth the effort.

Our first Alaska adventure taught us just how much there is to see, and we’re already looking forward to returning. On our next trip, we’d love to spend more time in Wrangell–St. Elias and finally experience the bears at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.

A 10-day itinerary gives you a great starting point, but don’t feel like you have to follow it exactly. Choose the destinations that interest you most, allow plenty of time for the drive between them, and leave room for the unexpected. Some of our favorite Alaska memories came from the places we didn’t plan on stopping.

Whether this is your first Alaska road trip or you’re planning a return visit, we hope this guide helps you build an itinerary that works for you.

Have questions about planning your Alaska road trip? We’d love to hear from you. Share your ideas or experiences in the comments below!