Honestly, most people look at a map of the United States and see Alaska tucked away in a little box near Mexico. It’s misleading.
In reality, the place is massive. It’s huge. If you cut Alaska in half, Texas would become the third-largest state. Alaskans love telling that joke to Southerners. But size is just the tip of the iceberg—literally. When you're planning a trip up here for 2026, you realize quickly that the "Last Frontier" isn't just a nickname on a license plate; it’s a warning that things work differently here.
From towns where everyone lives in one building to the fact that you can basically walk to Russia if the water freezes just right, Alaska is weird. It's beautiful, sure, but mostly it's just strange. Here is what you actually need to know about the 49th state before you pack your bags.
1. The Shoreline is Endless
You’ve probably heard that Florida or California have a lot of beaches. They do. But they don't even come close to Alaska. If you measure the tidal shoreline, Alaska has over 34,000 miles of it. That is more than the rest of the lower 48 states combined.
Think about that.
Most of it isn't white sand and palm trees, obviously. It’s rugged, barnacle-covered rock and glacial silt. If you took a boat and tried to follow every nook and cranny of the coast, you'd be at sea for years.
2. A 13-Year-Old Designed the Flag
In 1926, the territory of Alaska held a contest for kids to design a flag. A 13-year-old orphan named Benny Benson won. He lived in Seward at the time. He chose a blue background for the sky and the state flower (the forget-me-not), and he put the Big Dipper and the North Star on it.
The Big Dipper represents the Great Bear, symbolizing strength. The North Star represents Alaska's future as the northernmost state. Benny actually won a watch and a $1,000 scholarship for his work. Not a bad haul for a middle schooler.
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3. You Can't Drive to the Capital
Juneau is the only state capital in the U.S. that you cannot reach by road. There are no highways leading in. None.
If you want to get there, you’re taking a plane or a boat. This makes politics in Alaska pretty interesting, as lawmakers have to fly in from across the state just to do their jobs. It also means the cost of milk is probably higher than you’re used to because every gallon had to catch a flight or a ferry.
4. The "One-Building Town" of Whittier
Imagine a town where almost the entire population lives under a single roof. That’s Whittier.
About 270 people live in the Begich Towers, a 14-story former Cold War army barracks. It has the police station, a grocery store, a post office, and a health clinic all inside. Most of the kids go to school through an underground tunnel so they don't have to deal with the 80 mph winds and massive snowfalls outside.
To even get to Whittier by land, you have to drive through a 2.5-mile long, one-lane tunnel that switches directions every half hour. If you miss the last opening at night, you're sleeping in your car.
The Reality of Alaska’s Size
- Total Area: Over 663,000 square miles.
- Population Density: About 1 person per square mile.
- Comparison: If Manhattan had the same density, only 16 people would live there.
5. It’s the Most Volcanic State
People think of Hawaii when they think of volcanoes. Mistake. Alaska has over 130 volcanoes and volcanic fields. At least 50 of them have been active since about 1760.
The 1912 eruption of Novarupta was the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. It created the "Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes" in what is now Katmai National Park. It was so powerful it sent ash all the way to Algeria.
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6. Dog Mushing is the Official Sport
While the rest of the country is obsessed with football, Alaskans are into dog mushing. It became the state sport in 1972.
The Iditarod is the big one. It’s a 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. It commemorates the 1925 "Serum Run," where mushers and their teams saved the town of Nome from a diphtheria outbreak by delivering medicine across the frozen wilderness when planes couldn't fly.
7. The Sun Doesn't Set (or Rise)
If you go to Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) in the summer, the sun doesn't set for about 80 days. People are mowing their lawns at 2:00 AM. It's disorienting.
Conversely, in the winter, they go about 65 days without seeing the sun at all. It’s just "civil twilight" for a few hours. You have to take Vitamin D supplements and use "happy lights" just to keep your brain from turning into mush.
8. It’s Technically in the East and West
This is a great trivia fact to annoy your friends with. Because the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian, Alaska is technically the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the United States.
Semisopochnoi Island is so far west that it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. Maps usually just cut the line to make it look pretty, but the geography doesn't lie.
9. Giant Vegetables are Normal
Because of those 20-hour days of sunlight in the summer, Alaska grows some absolutely monstrous produce. We’re talking 138-pound cabbages and 65-pound cantaloupes.
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The Matanuska Valley is the hotspot for this. The soil is rich from glacial silt, and the plants just never stop photosynthesizing. If you visit the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, you’ll see pumpkins the size of small cars.
10. They’ll Pay You to Live There
Basically. Since 1982, the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) has sent a check to every eligible Alaskan resident. It’s funded by the state's oil revenues.
The amount changes every year based on how the stock market and oil prices are doing. Usually, it’s between $1,000 and $3,000 per person. Even kids get it. If you’re a family of five, that’s a decent chunk of change just for sticking out the winter.
What This Means for Your 2026 Trip
Alaska isn't a place you just "wing." If you’re coming up here in 2026, keep these things in mind:
- Book your rental car now. Seriously. There is often a shortage, and prices can hit $200 a day in the peak of July.
- Layers are everything. It can be 75°F in Fairbanks and 45°F in Seward on the same afternoon.
- Respect the moose. More people are injured by moose than by bears every year. They look like goofy horses, but they are 1,500-pound tanks that will stomp you if you get too close for a selfie.
- The "Mosquito" is the unofficial state bird. They are big, they are aggressive, and they don't care about your "natural" lemon-eucalyptus spray. Get the DEET.
If you're heading to the Interior, check the aurora forecasts. 2026 is expected to be a strong year for solar activity, meaning the Northern Lights will be putting on a hell of a show. Just make sure you get away from the city lights of Anchorage or Fairbanks to see them properly.
The best way to see the state is usually a mix of the Alaska Railroad and a rental car. The train takes you through sections of the wilderness where there aren't any roads, giving you a glimpse of the "real" Alaska that most people never see from a cruise ship deck.