Five Alaska Photography Locations You MUST See!!

The Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjords National Park

Alaska is a state of incredible natural beauty. Wildlife, mountains, glaciers, flowers… It is a photographer’s paradise. There is an endless list of photography locations to visit, all of which will provide stunning landscape photography that will dazzle your friends and social media followers. But here are five Alaska locations for landscape photography and wildlife photography that you shouldn’t miss the next time you’re visiting the Last Frontier.

Hatcher Pass

One of Alaska’s great playgrounds is Hatcher Pass. Located just outside of Palmer, Alaska, Hatcher Pass is accessible, dynamic and spectacular. Casual hikers can find excellent views along the road, from the Hatcher Pass lodge or at the historic Independence Mine. And even more drama is available to the more adventurous with one of several long day hikes, such as the Gold Mint Trail or Reed Lakes, or for backpackers who take on the ultra-classic Bomber Traverse.

Kesugi Ridge (Denali State Park)

A lot of travelers make a beeline for Denali National Park when they reach Alaska, and for good reason. But some of the best views of Denali and the Alaska Range are found in Denali State Park. And though some of these views can be seen when you drive the Parks Highway north from Wasilla towards Denali National Park, the very best views come from Kesugi Ridge, a raised escarpment in the Talkeetna Range that parallels the highway. A classic multiday Kesugi Ridge backpack trip is the best way to experience the numerous compositions for photographing Alaska that Kesugi offers, but for those with less time, several trailheads allow you to day hike up to ridge and find those classic views of North America’s tallest mountain and its friends.

Kachemak Bay State Park

Located a short boat ride from the scenic coastal town of Homer, Kachemak Bay State Park is a relatively accessible wonderland for adventure and photography. Individual locations are numerous, but some favorites include Grewingk Glacier Lake, the town of Seldovia, and Grace Ridge.

Harding Icefield

Though the Harding Icefield Trail, known locally as the “H.I.T,” is a strenuous nine mile hike that gains nearly 3,000’, it epitomizes Alaska and climaxes with an astonishing view of the Harding Icefield, the largest icefield entirely in the United States. The Harding Icefield and the many glaciers that flow off it form a continuous sheet of ice approximately 1,000 square miles in size. It is one of the crown jewels of Kenai Fjords National Park. The sheer scale of the icefield is almost impossible to believe when you stand its edge from the end of the H.I.T.

Boat tour

All right, this feels like a cop-out because it isn’t really a location. But one of the best ways to see and photograph the stunning coasts of Alaska is on a boat tour. From the sea you get views of some of the most beautiful but otherwise inaccessible terrain in the state. In the process you’ll almost assuredly see whales, puffins, sea lions, and other Alaska wildlife. There are many locations from which you can launch on a boat tour, but some of the best include Glacier Bay National Park, Prince William Sound, and Kenai Fjords National Park.

Here is the video:

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The Hardest River I've Ever Packrafted (Video)

Welcome back to another adventure story from the Land of the Midnight Sun! 

As a whitewater kayaker of almost 30 years, I was skeptical the first time I saw an Alpacka packraft. They looked flimsy, light, easy-to-flip. What could you really paddle in a duck boat like that? But when I slid my legs into one and pushed off into the water, my expectations were blown away. 

Not only do these little boats make paddling the off-the-roads rivers and creeks in Alaska possible, they do so with remarkable ability. But just how far could I push these tiny rubber boats? Class III? Class IV? Class V?

This is the story of the hardest river I’ve paddled in a packraft.

In southcentral Alaska lies a range of jagged mountains. These gnarled peaks stab into the sky like a serrated cutlass. Though the highest of these peaks touches only 8,849 feet, no one doubts that these mountains, draped in glaciers and shrouded in mystery, are among Alaska’s most scenic and most treasured. These are the Talkeetna mountains.

Within the Talkeetna Mountains lives one of Alaska’s most popular playgrounds, Hatcher Pass. Hatcher Pass is a wonderland. Immensely popular for backcountry skiing, hiking, climbing, and photography, Hatcher Pass is natural beauty at the highest level but far more accessible than other Alaska ranges such as the Wrangells or the Brooks or even Alaska’s crown jewel, the Alaska Range, home of Denali. As you drive the winding road that carries you into the Talkeetna Range, it is hard not to notice the tumbling stream chugging along beside you. And as a kayaker and packrafter, it’s impossible not to imagine tasting yourself in its frisky rapids.

And so finally we meet the main character in this story: the Little Susitna.

Although the Little Susitna could be thought of as a peer or even competitor to Sixmile, as both are roadside runs of similar length and difficulty, their character couldn’t be more different. While the rapids of Sixmile tend to come in short, pool-drop constrictions and ledges, the Little Su is a never-ending maze of gumdrop glacial boulders and technical rapids that test your technique, endurance and skill. The takeout beer never felt as hard earned for me as it did at the end of the Little Su. In just five miles we’d navigated countless boulder gardens, scouted a dozen rapids, and survived at least six near flips.

But enough talk, let’s plunge into the action.

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Hatcher Pass: Photography Wonderland

 

Cabins are available at the Hatcher Pass Lodge

In Southcentral Alaska, just off the Mat-Su Valley, is a veritable paradise for outdoor recreation and photography: Hatcher Pass. 

Hatcher Pass is famous as a convenient and spectacular destination for outdoor recreation. Easily accessible from some of Alaska's most populous munipalities, Hatcher Pass offers quick access to quintessential Alaska features, like deeply crevassed glaciers, cloud-scraping peaks, and endless hiking trails. With myriad campgrounds, backcountry huts, and even the Hatcher Pass lodge, options are abound for your head to hit the pillow after day spent exploring this wild paradise. It is hard to imagine a more perfect setting for an Alaska adventure.

For landscape photographers, Hatcher Pass is a dream. Steep peaks with jagged ridge abutments, tumbling streams dotted with gumdrop granite boulders, ambrosial alpine lakes and even historical intrigue at the Independence Mine State Historical Park provide plenty of fodder to frame up in your camera lens. Abundant wildflowers in the summer and endless trails curling through the rugged Talkeetna Mountain Range provide enough subject matter for a lifetime. If you are a landscape photographer visiting or living in Alaska, Hatcher Pass should be at the top of your list.

A random peony mid-channel in the 
Little Susitna River in Hatcher Pass made for
a great photo subject

Mountains as far as the eye can see at the Hatcher Pass summit

Alpine brooks make for perfect leading lines in 
a landscape composition

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
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