America's Windiest State Is A Scenic Gem Filled With Iconic Landscapes And Mountains (That's Nowhere Near Chicago)

Chicago might be known as the Windy City, but it's not the only one. Sure, the city experiences stiff breezes, as anyone who's stood on the shores of Lake Michigan in winter can attest, but Chicago isn't even in America's top 10 windiest cities. According to data from the Global Wind Atlas, later published by World Population Review, the windiest state is Alaska, thousands of miles away from Illinois.

Alaska tops the list with an average wind speed of 21.94 mph at a height of 328 feet — this metric is often used for analyzing wind speeds, as most modern turbines are at least 328 feet (100m) tall. Wyoming (21.48 mph) and Michigan (20.87 mph) came second and third, respectively, while Chicago's state, Illinois, fell outside the top 20, with an average wind speed of 18.10 mph. It makes sense that Alaska would top such a list. There's an abundance of untouched wilderness along Alaska's coast, in part because conditions in that corner of North America are so wintry.

If you're willing to brave the trying conditions in America's least visited state, you'll be well compensated. Alaska's landscapes are as breathtaking as anything else you'll find in the country, with glaciers and ice fields covering huge swaths of the state, polar bears roaming the tundra, and the volcano-riddled Aleutian Islands reaching across the Bering Sea towards Russia. You'll want to pack a windbreaker for your Alaskan sojourn, but that's a small price to pay for what you'll get in return.

Although Alaska's glaciers are shrinking, it's still one of the most glaciated regions on earth (beyond the poles), with around 23,000 square miles of the state covered in these masses of ice. Just outside Anchorage, you'll find the Matanuska Glacier, a 27-mile river of ice with its origins in the Chugach Mountains. Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, accessible by car in the summer months, also merits a visit. For the best views, hike the Glacier View Loop and Glacier Overlook trails. If you're keen to get the blood pumping, you can try the 4-mile, 3,000-foot ascent to Harding Ice Field.

For more mountain vistas, drive the scenic Dalton Highway north of the Arctic Circle. The 414-mile route travels from the town of Livengood to a frosty outpost on Alaska's northern coast known forebodingly as Deadhorse. Built in 1974 to help with construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline — which ferries oil across the state — it's a long, lonely road with sometimes treacherous conditions (including icy winds) and little in the way of amenities. However, it is also stunning, particularly on the Atigun Pass, Alaska's highest highway pass, where snow falls even in summer. Along the rocky slopes and on the tundra to the north of the pass, look out for wildlife, including Dall sheep, grizzlies, and caribou.

It's also worth exploring Denali National Park in the heart of the state. The park is known for its namesake peak, also called Mt. McKinley, which is North America's tallest at 20,310 feet. Join a mountaineering expedition, go off trail with a park ranger, test your long-range photography skills on foraging moose and grizzly bears, or enjoy a night of stargazing and solitude in the backcountry.