Location: Girdwood, Alaska Years Active: 1960 – Active Alyeska Resort – it’s been Alaska’s go-to since 1959. Love winter? You’ve got 1,610 acres for skiing and snowboarding on insane amounts of powder. In summer, ditch the skis and hit the trails. Keep an eye out for bears – they’re regulars around here. August means the…
Location: Anchorage, Alaska Years Active: 1969 – Active The Alaska Zoo isn’t your standard zoo experience. It’s rugged, focused on Alaskan wildlife, and sometimes, a little rough around the edges. Want to see a polar bear up close? Maybe even a brown bear searching for berries? This is the place. Don’t just go for the…
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Years Active: 1967 – Active Think you know Alaska? Pioneer Park will shake up those cutesy postcard images. This place is where the real Alaska hangs out – a little rough, a lot of fun, and packed with stories they don’t put in the guidebooks. It’s been a fixture since ’67, preserving…
Location: Anchorage, Alaska Years Active: 1999 – Active The Alaska Native Heritage Center is alive! Explore an outdoor village with real Native homes. Feel the energy of traditional dances. Artists share their stories – and their struggles. Ditch the crowds. Go early or snag an evening event ticket. You might even see artists creating live….
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska Years Active: 1905 – Active Listen, Chena Hot Springs Resort isn’t some fancy spa hiding in the Alaskan wilderness. It’s got history – over a century’s worth! – and a serious focus on geothermal power. They don’t just talk about being eco-friendly; they live it. Those hot springs? Forget those staged photos….
Location: Palmer, Alaska Years Active: 1959 – Active The Alaska State Fair is a wild celebration of everything Alaska has to offer. It’s part rodeo, part music festival, and pure Alaskan quirk rolled into one. August can’t come soon enough. Think those giant pumpkins are crazy? Wait until you see the monster cabbages at the…
Location: Spanish Fort, Alabama Years Active: 1976 – Active History buffs, brace yourselves. Blakeley State Park isn’t your standard dose of sanitized history. This place holds the real deal – Civil War battlefields, a crumbling 19th-century town… it gets gritty. Think less manicured lawns, more echoes of the past. But it’s not all war-torn. Trails…
Location: Birmingham, Alabama Years Active: 1998 – Active Forget dry museum tours – Birmingham’s McWane Science Center is a hands-on adventure! It’s where kids get messy, adults feel like kids again, and everyone leaves a little bit smarter. This place isn’t afraid to stir up a bit of curiosity…sometimes that means getting a little controversial….
Location: Gulf Shores, Alabama Years Active: 1989 – Active Think you know zoos? The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo isn’t your average animal park. It’s focused on the incredible wildlife you’ll find right here along the Gulf Coast. Get up close and personal with amazing creatures at Animal Encounters – a zoo favorite! Ever wanted to…
Location: Montgomery, Alabama Years Active: 1920 – Active Montgomery Zoo is where it’s at for a charming animal adventure. Sure, you won’t find elephants roaming, but you will get surprisingly close to a giraffe (seriously, they have feedings!). Monkeys will chatter at you, birds might steal your sunglasses, and who knows what the reptiles are…
