River journeys in Alaska can have the makings of saga: heroic and leisurely at the same time. The scale of Alaska's features—mountain ranges, wilderness areas, coastal fjords, and yes, wild rivers—boggles the mind. Alaska's environments are many, including coastal rainforests, tundra, glacial fields, and alpine areas. We've picked out trips that explore several environments in a single journey.

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The Alsek and Tatchenshini are two arms of the same river. Both begin in Canada's Yukon Territory, and join before entering Alaska at the northern edge of Glacier Bay National Park.

The upper Alsek arm offers big-time scenery. If you ever wondered what North America looked like when it was covered with glaciers, take this trip. This is a land of huge glaciers, ice dams, terminal moraines, and raging rivers. Four-mile-long and well-named Turnback Canyon is deemed unrunnable: Rafters must either take an arduous portage around it or jump it in a helicopter.

The Tat arm serves up more wildlife and tamer whitewater—nothing higher than Class III. Sightings of Yukon moose, bald eagles, and grizzly bears can almost be guaranteed. Most trips start at Dalton Post. When the Tat and the Alsek finally meet, the river becomes a mile wide at spots. Immense glaciers come almost to the river's edge and paddlers must contend with icebergs. The environment changes dramatically near the coast, with tundra giving way to luxuriant coastal forest.

More on the Alsek/Tatshenshini Rivers

Talkeetna River
Difficulty: Class IV
Season: June through mid-September
Trip Length: Four days

The Talkeetna offers the chance to experience the interior of Alaska on a shorter river trip. The Talkeetna starts near Denali National Park, famous for both its wildlife and its eponymous peak, the highest in North America. The Sluice Box is the whitewater highlight of this trip—a riotous 14-miles of Class III to IV whitewater through a narrow slot canyon. Four species of salmon spawn in this river, so no trip on this river is complete without a grilled salmon dinner.

Chitina/Copper Rivers
Difficulty: Class I to III
Season: June through mid-September
Trip Length: Five to ten days

Wrangell/St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest national park in the United States. At 13.2 million acres it is more than six times the size of Yellowstone. And here's another superlative: the Wrangell/St. Elias Mountains are the highest coastal mountains in the world. They contain the largest concentration of peaks over 14,500 feet in North America, and have more vertical relief than the Himalayas.

The Copper River system drains these mountains. A favorite river trip starts at the eerie ghost town of McCarthy and then follows the Kennecot, Nizina, Chitina, and finally the Copper River to Prince William Sound. Floating down from the interior of these majestic mountains, river trippers experience braided glacier streams, canyons, and the intricate Copper River delta.

The wildlife is terrific. In the interior, you might spot Dall sheep and mountain goats. And when you hit the Copper River Delta, the party really gets jumping. Be on the lookout for moose and bison, grizzly and black bears, and wolves. The lower Copper River is breeding ground to 10 percent of the world's trumpeter swans. In Prince William Sound there is an excellent chance to view humpback whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, bald eagles, and puffins.

More on paddling Wrangell/St. Elias National Park

Sixmile Creek is a comfortable distance from Anchorage. However, it is not a comfortable river. Sixmile has similar character to many Washington and Oregon whitewater runs: lush forest, deep canyons, and tremendous rapids. The river is easily accessible from Seward Highway. Sixmile Creek has three distinct sections. The Upper Canyon rates a Class IV . The toughest stretch is the lower canyon, where the river rampages along at a constant Class V for two killer miles.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has frequently been called the Serengeti of North America. Immense herds of caribou share the tundra with grizzlies, musk oxen, wolves, dall sheep, foxes, water fowl, and raptors. The Hulahula starts high in the north slope of the Arctic Range and flows into the Arctic Ocean. A trip down this river offers a chance to experience one of the most pristine—and fragile—ecosystems left on earth. Treasure it.

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