Alaska
Wild About Alaska: Glaciers & Wildlife With Your Family
Program No. 24150RJ
Alongside your family, explore Alaska by foot, train, raft, dog sled and boat to get up close to towering glaciers and awesome wildlife.
Enroll with Confidence
We want your Road Scholar learning adventure to be something to look forward to—not worry about. Learn more
Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
7 days
6 nights
15 meals
6B 4L 5D
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Anchorage, AK
2
Musk Ox Farm, Native Heritage Center
Anchorage, AK
5
Glacier & Wildlife Cruise
Seward, AK
7
Program Concludes
Anchorage, AK
At a Glance
Picture it: Floating down a clear river past jaw-dropping glaciers. Smiling from ear to ear while excited Huskies pull you and your family through the wilderness. During one unforgettable week in the wilds of Alaska, make memories that’ll last a lifetime as you explore some of the country’s coolest landscapes – literally! Experience train rides to amazing glaciers, wildlife walks through the forest and a rafting adventure while searching for moose and bears along the way. Learn about the animals that call Alaska home, all delving deep into the wild with your family.
Activity Level
Let's Go!
Walking for up to two miles on sometimes rocky terrain, possible long periods of standing, floating down river for 3.5 hours, and dog sledding for 2 hours.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Visit the SeaLife Center, where you’ll learn about marine animals during two hands-on activities, a scavenger hunt and trivia, and explore among the sea lions and seabird habitats!
- Sail past massive glaciers in Kenai Fjords National Park as the experts help you search for local wildlife like whales, otters, puffins, sea lions and more.
- Learn about Alaska’s long history of dog sledding at the Seavey Iditarod Racing Team's facility where the three-time champions train, enjoy a ride through the wilderness and meet the puppies-in-training.
General Notes
This is a family program for participants, their adult children and grandchildren ages 8 and up. For a comparable grandparent adventure for grandchildren ages 8-12, check out "Wild About Alaska: Glaciers & Wildlife With Your Grandchild" (#24149).
Suggested Reading List
(13 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Wild About Alaska: Glaciers & Wildlife With Your Family
Program Number: 24150
Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled: A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska
A narrative of a series of dog sled trips on the winter trails of the Alaskan interior.
Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People
Excellent account from a significant Native Leader, born in a sod iglu, and the struggle for Native self-determination.
Fodor's Alaska (Full-cover Travel Guide)
More than 25 detailed maps, color photos, recommendations from locals, up-to-date coverage on Juneau, Glacier Bay, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Skagway, Ketchikan, Hines, and many other areas!
Alaska Earthquake 64: Where Were You?
Thirty years after the great Alaska earthquake which occurred on Good Friday of 1964, the Homer Library collected 50 first-person amusing and terrifying reminiscences from residents who experienced the earthquake. This book contains these stories and is illustrated using 40 black and white photographs, including photos of many of the Alaskans who contributed their stories.
Alaska's History: The People, Land and Events of the North Country
This is a small, easily readable "digest" of Alaska's history. It is great for a quick overview and it is a good size for tucking into a suitcase or reading on a plane.
Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land
This book tells the entire story of Alaska, from its early inhabitants to its current challenges.
Guide to the Birds of Alaska
In the new 6th edition, this guide to the birds of Alaska includes more than 900 full-color photos, 22 new species, name and systematic changes made by the American Ornithological Union, updated status and distribution charts, map of Alaska's six biogeographic regions, and much more.
Alaska's Wild Plants: A Guide to Alaska's Edible Harvest
This guide book includes descriptions and photographs to Alaska's most commonly found wild edible plants. You will also learn about what plants to avoid. This Alaska Pocket Guide includes more than 70 of Alaska's wild edible plants.
The Dragline Kid: A Gold-Miner's Daughter from Hope, Alaska
This hilarious book provides a glimpse into mining life on the Kenai Peninsula starting in the late 1940s.
Alaska
In this fictional book, as the characters struggle to survive, the author guides us through Alaska's dangerous terrain and includes highlights of Alaska's history.
The Raven's Gift
A post-apocalyptic tale set in Alaska for teens/young adults.
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod, an eleven hundred and eighty mile sled-dog race through the Alaskan wilderness. For seventeen days, Paulsen and his team of dogs endured blizzards, frostbite, dogfights, elk attacks, insomnia, hallucinations in a relentless push to carry on.
Guide to Marine Mammals of Alaska
This book covers all 29 marine mammal species of Alaska. Each whale, porpoise, dolphin, seal, sea lion, walrus, sea otter, and polar bear is described and illustrated. Color photos and surface profile drawings show all Alaska marine mammals and compare similar species, and color range maps show distribution.
