Alaska National Parks - Land and Cruise Package

Arrive in Fairbanks, the largest city in Alaska’s interior and a key gateway to the state’s northern wilderness regions. Meet your Adventure Guides and settle into your included hotel stay before beginning your introduction to the region’s vast northern landscapes and welcoming community.

After breakfast, join your Adventure Guides and fellow travelers for a full-day exploration of Fairbanks, a city founded in 1901 during Alaska’s Gold Rush era. Begin at the Museum of the North, located on the University of Alaska campus, where exhibits trace the state’s natural and cultural history—from ancient artifacts and Native art to modern scientific discoveries shaped by Alaska’s northern Interior environment.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, an engineering achievement completed in 1977 to carry oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Continue to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, home to an acclaimed collection of early automobiles and period fashions that capture the innovation and optimism of the early 20th century.

After breakfast, set out along Denali Park Road for a guided exploration led by a local naturalist. This scenic route offers insight into Alaska’s dynamic ecosystems and the enduring forces that shaped them across the Alaska Range. Watch for wildlife in their natural habitat and take in views of snowcapped peaks that have inspired generations of explorers.

Pause midday for lunch surrounded by the quiet grandeur of the park before returning to your hotel to prepare for the evening’s entertainment. At the Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre, enjoy a hearty meal paired with an engaging retelling of frontier life during the early 1900s Gold Rush—a lively glimpse into the humor and resilience that defined this era.

Behold a landscape shaped by time and legend, where dense forests rise to alpine slopes, and the great peak of Denali commands the horizon. Once known as Mount McKinley, the mountain’s original name Denali, meaning “the high one” in the Koyukon Athabascan language, reflects the deep connection Alaska Native peoples have long held with this land. Accompanied by a trained naturalist, learn how Denali became a symbol of both cultural reverence and conservation, preserved as a national park in 1917 to protect its wildlife and vast wilderness.

As twilight settles over the range, the fading light casts a golden glow across the tundra and glacial valleys. Grizzly bears wander through open meadows, moose feed near quiet streams, and the sounds of the wild fill the evening air, a reminder that Denali remains as untamed and awe-inspiring as it was centuries ago.

In the morning, board a deluxe dome railcar for a scenic journey from Denali to Anchorage. As the train winds south, panoramic windows reveal river valleys, distant peaks, and the vast expanse of the Alaskan wilderness along the Southcentral rail corridor.

Anchorage, founded as a railroad construction camp in 1914, has grown into Alaska’s largest city and a gateway to both commerce and adventure. Framed by the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet, the city balances modern life with proximity to untamed nature. On clear days, Denali rises on the horizon, a striking reminder of the frontier spirit that continues to shape this northern hub.

Kenai Fjords National Park reveals the meeting point of mountains, glaciers, and sea. Established in 1980 to protect nearly 700,000 acres of coastal wilderness, the park showcases the slow, powerful movement of ice that has shaped Alaska’s southern coast for millennia. As you travel through these waters, watch for humpback and orca whales, sea otters drifting through kelp beds, and puffins nesting along the cliffs. Your captain and naturalist guide share insights into the park’s geology, marine life, and the early explorers who first charted these fjords.

Conclude the day in Seward, one of Alaska’s oldest communities, founded in 1903 as the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad. Over dinner with fellow travelers, take in the town’s harbor views and relaxed pace.

Traveling north toward Anchorage, visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a 200-acre sanctuary established in 1993 to protect and rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Chugach Mountains, the center provides a rare opportunity to observe Alaska’s native species up close, from brown bears and bison to caribou and wolves. Knowledgeable staff share insight into the center’s ongoing conservation efforts and Alaska’s broader history of wildlife preservation.

After your visit, return to Anchorage for an evening of rest at your hotel, preparing for the cruise portion of your Alaskan journey.

After exploring Alaska’s national parks, take a short flight from Anchorage to Juneau, the state capital since 1906. Nestled between the Coast Mountains and the Gastineau Channel, Juneau is the only U.S. capital unreachable by road, accessible only by air or sea. Upon arrival, enjoy a group lunch before checking into your hotel, where mountain and harbor views reflect the city’s unique setting within the Tongass National Forest.

Founded during the 1880s Gold Rush, Juneau has long balanced its frontier heritage with a vibrant modern culture. In the evening, explore its historic streets, lined with shops, galleries, and landmarks that speak to its mining past and maritime ties.

Once on board, settle into your spacious stateroom and take in the views as the ship departs port. Keep watch from your private balcony or one of the observation lounges as these waters are home to humpback and orca whales, often seen breaching in the distance. Join your fellow guests for cocktail hour, followed by regionally inspired dining and evening entertainment featuring live music or expert lectures that bring Alaska’s history and wildlife to life.

Haines sits where the Lynn Canal narrows between steep mountain walls. Join an eagle-watching expedition through the Chilkat Valley, where more than 200 species of birds thrive. Paddle the quiet waters of Chilkoot Lake or taste history at Southeast Alaska’s first distillery.

A designated World Heritage Site, Glacier Bay is one of Earth’s grandest living ecological wonders. American Cruise Lines is among the few granted access to these protected waters. From the deck, watch immense glaciers meet the sea as harbor seals rest on floating ice. Onboard naturalists interpret each sight with insight into the park’s evolving ecosystems and the centuries of Indigenous presence that long preceded exploration. Guests may also experience a guided hike along forest trails or visit Glacier Bay Lodge.

Founded by Norwegian fishermen, Petersburg remains a working harbor where tradition meets innovation. Explore its docks and canneries or venture out on a guided flightseeing or jet boat excursion for sweeping views of the LeConte Glacier. In town, stroll through “Little Norway” and continue “out the road,” as locals say, to Falls Creek Waterfall, where salmon often gather.

Watch glaciers that have shaped Alaska’s coastline for thousands of years, waterfalls fed by ancient ice, and wildlife once essential to the survival of Indigenous communities—seals, sea lions, and the seabirds that still follow these same migration routes today.

Once governed by four different nations, Wrangell holds one of Alaska’s most layered histories. Visit Petroglyph Beach to see ancient carvings etched into the rocks or join a jet boat trip up the Stikine River—a vital corridor during the Gold Rush. A local expert will guide you through the botanical wonders of Tongass National Forest, home to some of the world’s oldest temperate trees.

Journey through Endicott Arm, a fjord formed by ancient glacial movement and defined by granite cliffs that rise steeply from the water’s edge. As the ship travels deeper into the channel, narrow streams tumble from the cliffs, and harbor seals rest on drifting ice. Humpback whales and bald eagles are often seen nearby, drawn by the nutrient-rich waters of the fjord.

At the far end, Dawes Glacier comes into view—a massive tidewater glacier that descends from the Stikine Icefield. When ice breaks free and falls into the sea, the sound rolls through the valley, a vivid reminder of Alaska’s ongoing transformation.

Enjoy breakfast on board before heading home. Transportation to Juneau International Airport is included for a seamless end to your journey.

Itineraries are subject to change.