Entry No. 19 — the Anchorage file — filed under: science
Anchorage Lightspeed Planet Walk (the hunt for Pluto)
A scale-model solar system where one walking step equals the distance light travels in a second. The Sun and inner planets cluster downtown, but Pluto is marooned about five-and-a-half hours away at the Kincaid Chalet — built in 2003 by a local high-schooler and the Rotary Club. The fun is the absurd scale, not the plaques.
The story
In 2003, an Anchorage high school student named Eli Menaker convinced the local Rotary Club to help him build something quietly maniacal: a scale model of the solar system where every single walking step represents the distance light travels in one second—roughly 186,000 miles per stride. Most cities build tiny garden solar systems that fit inside a single park. Anchorage laid theirs out over ten miles, stretching from the sidewalk grid of downtown all the way out to the coastal woods of Kincaid Park.
The real trick is the temporal reality check. Walk from the three-ton Sun station hidden at 5th Avenue and G Street past Mercury (5th & H) and Venus (5th & I) to Earth at 5th and K, and it takes precisely eight minutes—the exact time it takes a photon from the real Sun to reach your face. Keep walking onto the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, though, and the absurd scale reveals itself: Jupiter hits at 45 minutes, Saturn at an hour and twenty, and poor dwarf planet Pluto sits marooned five and a half hours away at Kincaid Chalet.
Nobody walks the whole five-and-a-half-hour stretch unless they are trying to prove a point. The local move is an intentional split-screen trek: do the downtown inner-planet dash on foot, then drive out to the Kincaid Chalet parking lot to hunt down Pluto and work your way backward toward Neptune along the treed coastal cliffs.
What it's like
Arriving at 5th and G, you will need to duck around the back southwest corner of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts to spot the Sun marker, which is easy to miss if you aren't looking down at curb level. Downtown, the inner planet markers sit flush along 5th Avenue, so watch your footing while scanning for the small plaques. The vibe shifts abruptly once you hit Mars at Elderberry Park and transition onto the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, where the walk turns from urban sidewalk stroll into a breezy, forested coastal hike. The catch? The outer planets are miles apart, and summer brings thick swarms of mosquitoes through the woods. Your best bet is driving straight to the Kincaid Chalet lot, parking, and hunting down Pluto first before walking back toward Neptune along the coastal trail under the lingering summer daylight.
The move: Skip the easy inner planets — drive to Kincaid, find the lonely Pluto marker, then walk to Neptune/Uranus together as a tiny pilgrimage to the edge of the solar system.
📍 Before you go The Sun marker hides on the back, southwest corner of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts at 5th and G; the inner planets march west along 5th Avenue, so look down at curb level or you'll walk right past them. Pluto sits several miles southwest at the Kincaid Chalet, far enough that nearly everyone drives there directly rather than walking the whole route. Park at the chalet lot, then wander the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail toward Neptune and Uranus on foot. Summer's long daylight makes the Kincaid leg the best window, though the wooded trails get buggy. Pair it with Point Woronzof's inlet overlook on the drive out.
- 📍 Downtown to Kincaid Park
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Sun station at 5th Ave & G St, Anchorage, AK; Pluto at Kincaid Chalet
Hours: Outdoor markers anytime; Kincaid Park daylight hours best
Pair it with
- Alaska Escape Rooms — Located right at the 5th and G starting line next to the Sun station, offering a quick indoor puzzle challenge before you launch into the solar system.
- Hotel Captain Cook - Haunted Women's Restroom — Sitting just a block or two off the downtown 5th Avenue path near Earth and Mars, it gives you a creepy local ghost story to break up the planetary march.
- The Last Blue Whale (a.k.a. the "Whale Drowns Men" statue) — Positioned downtown right near the inner planet stops, this dramatic 1973 bronze whale sculpture makes a quick, oddball pitstop along 5th Avenue.
- Spenard's Neon Palm Tree — Located along the drive out toward Kincaid Park in Spenard, making it an easy roadside detour between downtown and Pluto.
Good to know
How far is the walk from the Sun to Pluto?
The full route stretches roughly 10 miles from downtown Anchorage (5th Ave & G St) along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail to Kincaid Chalet, taking about 5.5 hours at a normal walking pace.
Do I have to walk the whole route to see Pluto?
No. You can drive directly to Kincaid Park, park at the chalet lot, and locate the Pluto station on foot.
Where exactly is the Sun marker located?
It is tucked on the back, southwest corner of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts at the corner of 5th Avenue and G Street.
Is the Planet Walk free and open anytime?
Yes, all stations are outdoor public markers and free to visit anytime, though visiting the Kincaid Park end during daylight hours is best.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Atlas Obscura · frommers.com
last checked: 2026-06-06