The microstructure of cementitious materials is highly sensitive to drying, as the fine pores generate substantial capillary stress during moisture loss. Various drying methods, including oven drying (OD), freeze drying (FD), solvent exchange, and supercritical drying have been extensively studied and their effects on the Portland cement systems have been reported. While these techniques are well-established for traditional cement systems, research on alkali-activated materials (AAMs) remains limited. In this study, a comprehensive evaluation of several drying methods – including oven drying at 105 ℃, 80 ℃, and 60 ℃; freeze drying; solvent exchange using isopropanol, ethanol, and methanol; and vacuum drying was conducted on high-calcium alkali-activated materials. The effects of different drying methods on surface area and thermal decomposition were assessed using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area using N2 gas adsorption and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at both early and later curing ages. The finding shows that the BET surface area of the high Ca AA-pastes prepared using the solvent exchange was much higher compared to the direct drying method, indicating better preservation of the microstructure. While the mass loss obtained from TGA showed that the all the drying method did not stop the reaction immediately after the drying methods were applied for 1-day aged sample, the solvent exchange seems to stop the hydration closer to the 1-day than those from oven drying. 28-day aged samples were not significantly affected by the drying method used in this study.