Alaska Guide and Deals

Rockin’ B Riding Club’s 2.5-acre ranch boasts an indoor and an outdoor arena as well as a network of wooded paths for private rides. These facilities are home to seven school horses, who help teach young riders equestrian basics during camps and lessons alongside veteran instructors. Using the Certified Horsemanship Association curriculum, teachers focus on the basics of English- or Western-style riding but also throw in lessons on how to groom horses and how to tell the difference between a mare and a tall four-legged table.

The crew at the helm of 907 Paintball lives for the thrill and the team spirit fostered by the game of paintball, and they strive to share that experience with their community. Amidst mountains and verdant trees, they've fenced in an outdoor field, populating it with strategically placed inflatable obstacles and Rubik's cubes for a physically and mentally challenging match. Welcoming players of all skills, the crew arrange games by only pitting paintballers of like skill level against each other. The staff boasts a spotless safety record to date, strictly adhering to all safety measures with the utmost vigilance.

The Musk Ox Farm director Mark Austin is the first to admit that Maple, a three-day-old musk ox calf, is the cutest thing in the world. Her thin legs take wobbling steps. Her fine fuzz tickles her giant mother’s belly. And when she ambles through the pasture after nursing, her bright pink tongue wags from the side of her mouth. And Maple is just the beginning: 11 more calves are on the way this spring season, and the farm will soon burst into a flurry of feeding, combing, inserting microchips, tending to mothers, and, of course, greeting visitors.

Though he acknowledges the endearing quality of a baby musk ox in spring, Mr. Austin worries that visitors to The Musk Ox Farm might get so caught up with the new calf that they miss the farm's larger project. “I’m trying to battle the perception we’re a roadside attraction. It’s not just about getting out of your car and snapping a photo of a musk ox for your Alaska photo album.”

Not that Mr. Austin hasn’t snapped a few photos of Maple himself. He simply hopes the spectacle won’t overshadow the nonprofit farm’s scope, which begins and ends with the animals themselves. Although the majestic species is about 600,000 years old, domestication efforts began only 60 years ago by Farm founder John Teal. Every spring, the several-hundred-pound animals shed their qiviut, a thick under wool, some of which the farm ships to the native knitters’ cooperative in Oomingmak. There, members knit the wool into delicate lacy garments that they eventually sell to supplement their subsistence lifestyle. So when Mr. Austin looks at Maple, he sees not just a huggable calf, but the source of positive economic change for rural native Alaskan women. “The animals are fascinating,” he says. “But it’s the big picture that gets me up in the morning.”

Alaska Fighting Championship pits some of the state’s toughest combatants against each other in cards packed with intense mixed martial arts matches. Season after season, AFC sets the stage for homegrown fighters to showcase their skills. From lightweight to super heavyweight, AFC events feature bruisers of all makes and models, each vying to climb the ranks and become a champion in their weight class. All AFC matches unfold at George M. Sullivan Sports Arena, where fans can sit close enough to the action to hear punches land and feed the fighters handfuls of candy between rounds.

Having adopted the nickname of Alaskan aviation innovator Bob Reeve, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots have had the state's history in their lifeblood since they first took the field in 1969. Over the years, the Pilots' rising collegiate stars have won the National Baseball Congress World Series—held in Wichita, Kansas—five times. Each game, up to 5,300 baseball fans can pack the stands at Mulcahy Stadium, which was built back in 1953 when every American was legally obligated to eat a whole apple pie during the seventh-inning stretch.

What began as a colony farm built by the U.S. Army in 1935 became, by the mid-1950s, the childhood home of Reindeer Farm's head honcho, Tom Williams. After studying the habits of Scandinavian and Siberian reindeer herders in high school, Tom began to understand why the antlered creatures were considered the "cattle of the North": The brisk Alaskan climate suited their dense coats and languid presence at pool parties. In 1987, after years of practicing law throughout Alaska, Tom ventured to Canada to meet his first herd of reindeer, which he kept corralled next to a tiny sign and donation jar on the modest farm. Since then, that initial herd has blossomed into 150 reindeer, who graze beside 35 elk, 13 horses, one bull moose, and one surprisingly well-adjusted bison. Now a petting zoo, the farm has grown alongside the herd, with guided tours, scavenger hunts, and horseback rides treating guests to an up-close and hands-on experience with the majestic animals. Located in the colony's original chicken coop, a gift shop provides guests with any number of collectibles to commemorate their visits.