Choosing just a few favorite day hikes is truly an absurd task given the tremendous variety and quality of the hiking near Anchorage. Depending on conditions, wildlife, our mood, etc., we could go 100 different ways on any given day. Still, we'll give it a go with the idea being you may not have nearly as much time as we did so if you can only do a few hikes, the below is generically what we'd recommend.
Anchorage Area:
Our favorite day hikes within ~1.5 hours of driving from Anchorage. Click on the hikes below to learn more!
Further on the Road Network:
Our favorite day hikes a bit further from Anchorage. Click on the hikes bit below to learn more!