As the year winds down and next summer's trip planning starts, a lot of travelers are setting their sights north. If Alaska is on your list, your timing is good. The Pretty Rocks Bridge is finished, and full bus service along the Denali Park Road returns in 2027, for the first time since the 2021 closure. While that's the headline, but there's something new in nearly every corner of the state.

If you only have a long weekend, Visit Ketchikan makes the case that you can still do Alaska. It's a morning flight of about 90 minutes from Seattle, and next summer brings a special reason to go. Neighboring Saxman, a community of about 400 just two miles south of town, is scheduled to host the Tribal Canoe Journey in 2027, with as many as 100 canoes arriving in late July or early August. Canoe families will paddle from as far as Oregon for a week of culture and dancing.

While you're there, lean into the logging history. You can watch the lumberjack show and then learn to throw a double-bit axe yourself, and the show's timber carnival raises scholarship money for Southeast Alaska high school students. Ketchikan is also the finish line of the every-other-year Race to Alaska, home to Dolly's House, and the jumping-off point for two very different lodges: Steamboat Bay for chef-driven luxury, and Waterfall Resort if you're traveling with a group.

Up in Juneau, Treadwell: Alaska's Lost Mine is one of the cleverest history tours I've heard of. You walk the ruins of a gold rush town while the story unfolds from the 1880 gold discovery to the 1917 cave-in, with 11 full-scale augmented reality scenes along three-quarters of a mile of trail. Everyone gets an iPad on a harness that shows the vanished buildings at true size, right where they stood. Groups are capped at 11, so it never feels like a crowd.

Another alternative is Haines Alaska. It's smaller than Skagway, with taller mountains and more dramatic scenery, and it's the start of the Golden Circle drive through Whitehorse. Viking, Seabourn and Lindblad's National Geographic ships all called there in 2026, which tells you who it appeals to. The Chilkoot River is known for bear sightings during the salmon run, no reservation required. Go in August or September, and hop over from Juneau on Alaska Seaplanes.

Visit Anchorage has a simple pitch: stay here and day-trip everywhere. The railroad, the glaciers and the only two roads out of town, one north and one south, are all at your doorstep. Downtown is worth a wander on its own now. A new mural on McKinley Tower along Fourth Avenue celebrates Alaska Native culture and storytelling across 40 panels, and more murals are going up through the city's "Beyond the Beige" program. There's also a new dual-branded Candlewood Suites and Holiday Inn with 193 rooms in midtown.

An hour north, The Mat-Su Alaska has a brand-new way to welcome visitors, and is rolling out the red carpet. The 9,400-square-foot Gateway Visitor Center near Palmer opened June 19 after nearly 20 years of planning, and it's a smart first stop. The valley's first nationally branded hotel, a 107-suite Home2 Suites in Wasilla, was scheduled to open in late 2026. From there, pick your flavor:

If you're up for a road trip, drive to Valdez and get on the water with Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises. The family has been running boats in Prince William Sound since 1971, which makes this their 55th year. The captains do the narrating, the cabins are heated, and lunch is included. The six-hour Columbia Glacier cruise is the shorter day. The 7.5-hour trip goes to Meares, a rare advancing glacier that's actively calving, so you'll likely see ice come off the face.

Prefer to let someone else drive? The Alaska Railroad has you covered. Its new Seward terminal opened in June, replacing mid-1960s dock facilities with the largest cruise terminal in Alaska, and railcars on the Denali Star and Coastal Classic are being refurbished with new seats. Here's a tip most people miss: the winter train is great. The Aurora Winter Train runs weekends between Anchorage and Fairbanks through May 9, 2027.

This is the story of 2027. For five summers, the lodges at the far end of the park road have been fly-in only. Now the road is back.

Camp Denali is the one to know if you want the real thing. Its 2027 season spans the summer and it's the only backcountry lodge with views of Denali from its 19 guest cabins. Think rustic but refined: no Wi-Fi, no TVs, guided hikes every day and a greenhouse on site.

Alaska Collection by Pursuit gives you two ways in. Day-trippers can take the Denali Backcountry Adventure, which resumes in summer 2027 and travels the entire park road with lunch in Kantishna. Stay overnight at Denali Backcountry Lodge and you get a creekside cabin and a massage in the woods. Pursuit also runs Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge near Seward, just eight cabins on Fox Island, and you arrive by boat on a Kenai Fjords Tours cruise.

If you'd rather pair Denali with a cruise, Holland America Line is having a moment. In 2027 it celebrates 80 years in Alaska with six ships and new guest rooms at Holland America Denali Lodge, a 60-acre property bordering the park. It also offers a seven-day Great Bear Rainforest cruise that adds the wild coast of British Columbia.

And in Fairbanks, Pike's Waterfront Lodge on the Chena River is a nice place to land before or after. It has added what's billed as Alaska's first therapeutic salt cave, part of a larger wellness area scheduled to open in September 2026. The 10-acre property is packed with touches that tell the story of Alaska.

Discover Kodiak will tell you the island is more than bears, and downtown proves it. The Kodiak Marketplace, owned by the Kodiak Area Native Association, welcomed the local food co-op in March. It's also home to the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Welcome Center, where you can ask questions and shop for genuine Alutiiq art. Grab a meal at Nuniaq, a Native-owned spot that mixes traditional and contemporary cooking with local ingredients.

A new ferry is on the way for the Homer–Kodiak–Aleutian chain route. The state identified an apparent low bidder in June and hopes to have it on the water at the end of 2028. And if you like a challenge, look up the Kodiak Mountain Series: three mountains in three days, about 20 miles and 8,000 feet of climbing, on June 17–19, 2027. Registration opens January 9, and it fills fast.

One last thing, wherever you end up: eat the salmon, and not just the king and sockeye. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is putting its energy behind pink and keta salmon, and its "Wild Made Easy" campaign pitches pink salmon as a clean, affordable everyday protein. Order it when you see it on a menu. That's Alaska right now: the famous places are reopening, and the lesser-known ones are finally getting their turn.

The fact-check notes from the first draft still apply, especially the 90-minute flight time and whether the Wasilla hotel has opened.