Saturday

4) 8 A.M. Fuel Up

Head to the Spenard neighborhood and grab a cappuccino at Kaladi Brothers Coffee, the excellent local coffee roasters. Then wander a few doors down to Middle Way Café. The popular local joint in a strip mall often features seasonal local ingredients and offers vegan and gluten-free items (a vegan Reuben sandwich, for instance, is $12). There is something here for everyone, though, including avocado toast topped with meats like Alaskan reindeer sausage ($12).

5) 10 A.M. Head for the Hills

The eastern backdrop of Anchorage, the Chugach Mountains, hold many hiking options, from the steep-and-gorgeous Bird Ridge to the fun scramble of O’Malley Peak. If you want to take a quick hike to amazing views, and don’t mind crowds, head to Flattop Mountain, among the most popular hikes in the state. The summit requires a 200-foot scramble. But you don’t need to do that to enjoy views of Denali and the mountains, with the waters of Turnagain Arm and the city laid at your feet (not to mention feasts of dwarf blueberries in late summer). Want a guide to provide commentary or to calm your bear-anoia? Try Ascending Path.

Inside the Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop. Credit Joshua Corbett for The New York Times



6) 1 P.M. Baked Bliss

“First-timers get a cookie,” said the young woman behind the counter at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, presenting a pretty great chocolate chip. You like this place even before ordering the porchetta sandwich with its cracklings and orange zest ($11), or the bread pudding studded with golden raisins ($4.50). This year, the James Beard Foundation tapped the head baker, Carlyle Watt, as a semifinalist for outstanding baker. His skill is evident in a range of items, like organic croissants, which have a touch of whole wheat ($3.50), and sourdough breads. “What really keeps people coming here, though, are the scones and chocolate-chip cookies,” Mr. Watt said.

7) 2 P.M. Spin the Seashore

Outside is where Anchorage shines. Even if you have only an hour or two, the best, quickest escape is to hop on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, a beloved public trail that winds along the waters of Knik Arm and Cook Inlet for 11 miles. Rent a bike at Pablo’s Bicycle Rentals downtown ($10 to $15 an hour), catch the paved trail a block away and start pedaling toward wooded Kincaid Park (itself home to about 15 miles of single-track mountain-bike trails). The mostly flat trail soon enters glades of ferns and birch where you might see a moose. On a recent ride I saw a black bear and her cubs. The tide flats over your shoulder are your constant companion. So is the smell of alder. It is the smell of Alaska.

8) 4:30 P.M. Scream for Ice Cream

Anchorage rarely gets hot — the average high temperature in August is 64 degrees. But that is warm enough for ice cream. Drop by Wild Scoops, where Elissa Brown serves up her small-batch ice cream. Fear not: the line moves fast, as Ms. Brown scoops out flavors that often feature local ingredients, like blueberries from Talkeetna, and Alaskan birch syrup for the zingy birch-chipotle nuts. A scoop of the Alaska spruce tip ($4, but a buck more will get you a waffle cone scented with cinnamon and star anise, and, really, why not?) will transport you to a stroll through a damp spring forest.

The bar at South, a restaurant. Credit Joshua Corbett for The New York Times



9) 6 P.M. A Little Mermaid

The Bubbly Mermaid could feel right at home in Brooklyn or Seattle. It hits the mark between trendy and twee. The centerpiece of the tiny space is the bar, formed from a chunk of a former fishing boat. Ask the blue-eyed mermaid standing in the bow to pour you a sparkling wine from almost a dozen open bottles (most around $12 to $30 a glass). Study the wall for the nearly three dozen hot and cold oyster offerings like the warm St. Jacques (with a scallop, shiitake and Mornay) or the cold Hipster shooter (with kale, sriracha and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer). But the place also serves oysters plain, from sweet British Columbia Kusshis to Hump Islands from Ketchikan that taste like a gulp of fresh saltwater. The house-made mignonettes that accompany the plain ones are flavorful. But don’t use them. For all the fun experiments on the wall, a great oyster needs no clothes.

10) 8:30 P.M. Strip Mall Surprise

You may think Google Maps has steered you wrong as your search for the best seafood in town ends at a strip mall near the airport. But Anchorage is a city of strip malls that occasionally harbor surprises. Beyond the parking lot lies an oddly quiet, candlelit space that serves great seafood: Kincaid Grill. You will pay for that excellence: The fresh-caught halibut special on a recent visit was $44. The half-dozen Kodiak Island scallops on a bed of risotto ($30) don’t disappoint, and neither does the wine list, with two dozen pours by the glass. Dinner only; reservations recommended.