It is very addictive. Blueberries, Salmonberries, Raspberries and many other berries are all over Alaska. With nearly 50 types of berries in Alaska, most of which are edible, it is no wonder that the fruit has been a mainstay of the Alaska Native diet for centuries.
Alaska berry picking brings out Alaskans in droves to their favorite spots. In Alaska there are plenty of berries to go around and you can go picking all you want. Remember, bears also love berries and they have the right-of-way. Sing, make noise or wear bear bells so they hear you coming! Alaska has many similar berries that are poisonous. Leaf identification helps very much so. The edibility of some depends upon the maturity of the plant. Highbush cranberries are tastier before maturity, while others, like northern red currant, are tastier afterward.
Crowberries and alpine bearberries are among the berries that look tasty all the time, but, in fact, never are — at least not off the plant. This is worth noting because crowberries, which grow on a low, green, shrub-like plant, are often plentiful and untouched in the Anchorage area.
They are also said to be best when picked after a good frost. The Alaska berry picking season is anywhere from late August to late September. Very sweet in taste they are far superior to their cultivated cousins. Wild blueberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, niacin, manganese, carbohydrates, and dietary fibre.
They also contain little sodium or fat. Generally higher elevation produce sweeter berries. Blueberries get very dark near black when they are ripe and about to fall. That is the best time to pick due to taste and sweetness. Salmonberries ripen in early August. On moist, sunny slopes in Alaska, the Salmonberry plants can form impenetrable thickets. They are a close cousin of the raspberry.
The juicy fruit, which looks like a yellow or orange blackberry, is a welcome trailside snack, though too bland for some tastes. Native Alaskans ate not only the berries but also the tender young shoots. Numerous birds and animals also feast on the fruits, which may be abundant in good years.
The deep pink flowers are distinctive and may occur along with the fruits. The Raspberry is a plant that produces a tart, sweet, red composite fruit in late summer or early autumn. The fruit is not a true berry but a cluster of drupelets around a central core. Very small, but very tasty. An Alaska Berry Picking favorite.
Crowberries are common in bogs and alpine meadows. Very bland raw, but sweetened in a pie, incredible! The crowberry is similar in appearance to a blueberry. It is a light green, mat forming shrub which grows in areas similar to that of the partridgeberry. Their flowers, male, female, or both sexes are purple-crimson, inconspicuous, and appear May to June.
The season usually begins in July and lasts until the first snow. Read our accessibility statement. Throughout the month of August blueberries become ripe and people go out picking!
In fact, August is when most wild berries in Alaska become ripe including raspberries, crowberries, salmonberries, cloudberries, and more. There are two main precautions when picking berries in Alaska.
The first is not to eat any berries that are white - these are poisonous. Stay alert to your surroundings, and if you see an animal, move to another berry patch. If you are going to freeze them, lay them on a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze before placing in a container.
This will make getting them out a lot easier! Ester and Murphy Domes Blueberries, low-bush cranberries, crowberries Directions: From the tops of the domes, follow side trails to the south sides and look for berry patches. Goldstream Valley Blueberries Directions: Park at the pull-off on the north side of the curve on Ballaine Road and follow the signs for the Blueberry Preserve. Birch Hill Low-bush and high-bush cranberries, currants Directions: From the Birch Hill Cross-Country Ski Hill lodge, follow the cross-country ski trails into wooded areas, and look for berries in the understory of the forest.
Berry patches are located within the old burn area. A wildfire has burned much of the area, and it has been replenished with blueberry patches. Chena Lake Recreation Area Blueberries, raspberries, low-bush and high-bush cranberries Directions: Once you have accessed the Chena Lake Recreation Area from the Richardson Highway, blueberries and cranberries can be found along the bike path that runs around the lake.
Raspberry bushes grow along the river near river the boat launch. As the trails climb in elevation, you will begin to find low-bush cranberries, crowberries, and more blueberries.
Skip to main navigation Skip to main content. Berry Picking in Interior Alaska. Common Edible Berries of Interior Alaska Alaska Blueberry - Vaccinium uliginosum Alaska blueberries are low-growing shrubs that grow in tundra, open woods, old burn areas, above timberline and in low-lying bogs.
Raspberry - Rubus idaeus Raspberries grow on woody, prickly shrubs. Low-bush Cranberry - Vaccinium vitis idaea Look for these plants in rocky or peaty forest soils.
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