Looking for a free day trip from Anchorage? Palmer, Alaska is the perfect basecamp for exploring on your family Alaska road trip. Located in a historic farming valley, this beautiful area is surrounded on three sides by amazing Alaska mountains. The city of Palmer, Alaska is the perfect summer getaway from the overwhelming Alaska cruise crowds and step into one of the best Alaska small towns.
I’m not an Alaska trip planner. Just a travel mom who – like you – researched things to do in Palmer, AK and was able to experience the beauty of the MatSu Valley Alaska this summer. Plan your Alaska family trip easier with this new favorites for food, history, and shopping in Palmer. I’ve been there and can recommend them all! I even found an amazing Palmer RV park.
Don’t stress making an Alaska trip plan. If this is the end of your family Alaska adventure, you may be ready to quit spending (lots of) money and just relax – like we were! OR it’s raining as it also was on our day in Palmer!
Here’s how to spend your day in downtown Palmer for free on your family Alaska trip.
Affiliate disclosure: When you click and purchase a link in my post, I may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. I promise to only recommend products or places that I have personally want, used, or researched. Thanks in advance for the gallon of gas. 😉
Where is Palmer, Alaska
Palmer AK is a great stop on your Alaska RV trip to stop for the night between Denali and Anchorage. If heading south from Denali NP, the city of Palmer, Alaska is an easy 2.5 hour drive on Route 3 to Wasilla. The traffic gets a bit heavier at Route 1, but it’s an easy one hour drive on toward Palmer. You’ll drive through scenic mountain views – including views of Denali – until reaching Wasilla.
Palmer rests in the historic farming area of Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley, where the Matanuska and Knik Rivers meet. This means flat land offering views all the way to the mountains which surround the town on three sides. It’s one of the “must see” areas in Alaska.
Located about an hour northeast from the Anchorage airport, this is a great place to spend the night before your Anchorage flight or turning in your RV or car rental.
Where to Stay in Palmer, Alaska
With our Alaska RV rental, our family needed a Palmer RV campground. Located only five minutes from the Palmer, AK downtown, you will feel like you are in a remote Alaska town driving past the Palmer airport and fields. There’s even a beautiful red barn right at the turn in. With mountain views surrounding you, go for an evening walk along with country roads after dinner.
For our first RV trip, we had water and electric hookups to make our stay easier. To lessen the stress of a crowded camper, we learned to head to the nearby bath and shower house; this was super clean. There’s even a laundry room right next to the camp office and a fire pit if you’re gathering with friends. Although there isn’t a sewer dump here, there are multiple in town with easy accessibility.
As our reservations were made ahead of time online through RV Share, it was easy to just drive in to our site and start our visit to Palmer, AK.
If this Palmer campground is fully booked, check out the nearby Matanuska River Campground located at the other end of Palmer in the Matanuska River Park. However, I’ve seen that campground; Springer RV Park has views that can’t be beat.
There are several places to fill up with gas and propane right down the road. If Palmer is the end of your great Alaska road trip, t
How to Spend a Day in Palmer
- Eat Breakfast at a Local Favorite Palmer Restaurant
- Learn History and Plan at the Palmer Visitor Center
- Grabs Gifts at Local Palmer Stores
- Palmer Bookstore: Fireside Books
- Snack on Homemade Ice Cream
Start Your Day at Noisy Goose Cafe
Palmer, Alaska restaurants are mostly locally owned. Eat like a local with breakfast at The Noisy Goose Cafe. My family enjoyed chicken fried chicken, eggs, french toast, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos, and more. All were great! And, this parking lot is big enough to park your RV.
If you’re not visiting this Palmer favorite at breakfast time, no worries; you can get breakfast all day! With large portions, your kids might be willing to share this meal, or if you’re like us, declare this is the one eat-out meal for the day. Eat up! 🙂
Side note. Prepare yourself to wait for a bit because everyone knows that — is a great stop. Their wait area is pretty small, so if it’s raining, this might not be the place for you. Expect to pay at least $20 for each entree, but the portions are big.
Learn at Palmer Visitor Center
Any visit to Palmer, Alaska should start at the local Palmer Visitor Center right in downtown. Friendly locals will advise you on current events and nearby hikes. Also called the Palmer Museum of History and Art, there is history section and even displayed work and souvenirs from local artists.
With a small souvenir area and even local books provided by local Fireside Books, this is a great place to pick up a unique gift. They even have postcards and cards painted by local artists. Grab one, include a unique (flat) Palmer sticker, buy a stamp, and put it in their outgoing mail slot. Perfect to brag about say hello from this cute little Alaska town.
Grab yourself a cup of free! coffee or tea, and sit down to watch the video about Palmer’s history. When you have learned all about the history of Palmer through the video and exhibits at this free local museum, head out to the showcase garden. With its farming history and record-breaking giant vegetables, this showcase garden is a great stroll outside to explore local flowers. If you find some Alaska flowers you love, you can even grab some seeds inside the visitor center to grow your own at home.
If you’re in your RV, the parking lot right across from the Palmer Visitor Center is the perfect place to leave it parked to walk across the road and do some shopping.
Grab Unique Gifts at Poppy Lane
Even after visiting innumerable “souvenir shops” on our Alaska cruise ports, Denali Park, Seward, and between, Poppy Lane was declared by the girls and myself to be the perfect little store. We even decided if we opened a store, we would want it to look like this one.
Poppy Lane is actually made of thirty vendors, but it feels like one cohesive store. One open, beautifully-designed store with great prices. Have I mentioned it was perfect and our favorite store of the trip? (The guys in our Alaska family trip probably won’t be that excited by it.)
After visiting innumerable tourist souvenir shops, this is the first one that felt like a “real store”. While there are some Alaska- and Palmer-themed items here, they are unique. It’s a good thing we only had carry-on bags for the trip, because I would have bought birthday and Christmas presents for the next year. I thought I could go online and purchase those gifts, but their online presence doesn’t have links. Boo! Leave an extra bag and just buy stuff in person.
Ready for another snack? There’s even a cafe upstairs with coffee and baked goods. Although we didn’t try any, the reviews say that we missed out by not getting one of their croissants. Bah!
Get a New Book at Fireside Books
Life rule that we should all adopt. Always stop at local bookstores like Fireside Books and give them your support. This 15-year-old Palmer bookstore has a great combination of new and well-priced used books throughout their shelves. The well-read staff will give you suggestions of your next read. Make sure you check out their Alaska book section, and take an Alaska story of history home with you.
This Alaska bookstore even has a unique story and connection to a Pulitzer Prize Nominated Book. While working at Fireside Books, Eowyn Ivey read a traditional Russian folktale and, combining it with her love of Alaska, wrote her debut novel, Snow Child. Of course, I had to get it! This Alaska-wilderness story combines the 1920s with bit of fairy tale magic. The illustrator is even a friend of the bookstore! Snow Child was a great addition to the other Alaska books I picked up in Victoria’s Monro’s Books. (Check out my Alaska reading list!)
If it’s a rainy day and you need a place to hang, take your new books over to the Palmer Library for some quiet reading time. It’s what the cool kids (like me) do for fun.
Be Inspired at Viridian Plant Co.
Yes, I know houseplants probably aren’t the easiest souvenir to take on your airplane home, but you may just need some plant supplies or inspiration. Viridian Plants is a beautiful store, and with a selection of teas to drink at their countertop, grab a warm drink and hang out among the plants! My kids declared the store felt very “New Mexico”, and it does. The perfect peaceful, beautiful place for your day in Palmer.
Big Dipper Ice Cream
Located right next door to Viridian, Big Dipper Ice Cream will lure you in with the smell of the made-in-store waffle cones. This local ice cream parlor is a Palmer favorite, making their unique flavors and all the mix-ins in store. My chocolate ice cream had brownie bits and caramel chunks which had both been made there in the store. The flavors change with the season, so ask which one is their favorite. This is the real, homemade ice cream that you want on your great Alaska trip.
Tip: Everyone is going to want to try yours, so get a bigger size. Make sure you snag your free waffle cone chip before they steal yours though!
More Things to do in Palmer
There a lots of day trips you can take from Palmer, but most will require 30 minutes to two hours. And most of these have an additional cost. Many of these sites are available on a pre-booked Anchorage day trip; check Viator to see lots of options.
Local Palmer Hikes – Check out this Palmer/ Mat-Su hiking list for suggestions of more free Palmer adventures. Hope you have some dry weather! The Babb Arboretum has a trail that ends near our Palmer RV park, but it was too wet.
Matanuska Glacier – If your Alaska trip is land-based, consider a visit to Matanuska. This is one of Anchorage’s top sights often visited one cruise port days. As we had seen many amazing glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park on our Princess Cruise trip and in Palmer at the Kenai Fjord, we didn’t add this. The trip from Anchorage to Matanuska is 100 miles and only 60 miles from Palmer, so save some driving time.
Palmer Musk Ox Farm – We didn’t do this because we had seen them at the Alaska Conservation Center. Take the kids on a farm tour and learn about this ancient animal.
Reindeer Farm – We also saw reindeer (caribou) at the Alaska Conservation Center. If you haven’t been around reindeer though, go say hi! We still talk about our hike up to the reindeer in Scotland.
Palmer Alaska Fairgrounds – This is the location for the yearly Alaska State Fair, and there are additional events throughout the year. When we were there, it was the Alaska Scottish Highland Games.
Hatcher Pass – At the top of all Palmer must-see lists, Hatcher Pass was unfortunately a no-go for us as RVs are not suggested on this mountain pass.
Suggested Books about Alaska
I love to read about where I’m headed before our family trips or pick up some books set in or about our destination. Here’s what I’ve read or am currently reading about Alaska!
- Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey; this Alaska author also has multiple other books
- Great Alone – Kristin Hannah; another great Hannah book. Might be my fave on the list.
- Alaska – James Michener; this tome is on my list but it’s a classic!
- Monkey Beach – Eden James; this was one of my British Colombia finds. It give a great insight into local First American life.
Thanks for stopping by my little corner! Here’s to your next adventure.
I’m Bobbie. As transplants from Texas, my family of six is on a mission to discover all of Georgia’s amazing places, experience amazing road trips across the United States, and create a homeschool life along the way.
Want to adventure like me? Reach out! I’d love to chat. Stop by my Instagram or Pinterest page to discover more of our adventures.
Want to work with me? I’d love to work with your destination and tourism board to help other family travelers see all you have to offer.
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