Getting Oriented

Getting Oriented

Anchorage is a pedestrian- and bike-friendly city. Downtown is easily explored on foot, and several businesses here rent bicycles. You'll need a car for serious shopping and stays in the city longer than a day or two, and for expeditions. National car-rental agencies work out of the airport, downtown, and along Spenard Road. Rates range from $50 to $65 per day for small sedans with unlimited mileage.

Several companies have bus tours of the Anchorage area; their brochures can be found at the Log Cabin Visitor Center downtown. For a one-hour overview, hop on a trolley with Anchorage City Trolley Tours (907/276-5603). Gray Line of Alaska (907/277-5581 or 800/312-5581. www.graylineofalaska.com) has a city tour ($46) that lasts three hours.

Neighborhoods

Downtown. The city's cultural center, downtown, has a festive atmosphere on summer afternoons: the street lamps hung with flowers, the smell of grilled onions and hot dogs in the air along 4th Avenue. The streets are lined with art galleries and shops; the weekend markets promise good hunting for shoppers seeking souvenirs.

Midtown. Some 3 mi east of the airport, midtown is a newer neighborhood with an assortment of restaurants, shopping centers, and large hotels. The city's main library branch and a major movie theater complex are located a short walk from most hotels.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail & Kincaid Park. An 11-mi ribbon of asphalt beginning downtown and stretching to Kincaid Park, the popular Tony Knowles Coastal Trail traverses tidal marshes, moose-inhabited greenbelts, and bluffs overlooking the inlet, Mt. Susitna, and the distant Alaska Range. Kincaid Park offers 40 mi of trails for biking, hiking, and cross-country skiing.