macksix

My husband and I are tentatively planning a trip to Alaska in September. We would leave NY on the 4th (labor day weekend) and spend about 10 days driving/flying around the state. We would mostly just be sightseeing and doing some light hiking. From what I can tell, some businesses and attractions start closing in mid-Sept, so we would be going at the end of the season. I was just wondering if the Alaska experts or residents have any thoughts about the timeframe. Too late? Still a nice time to go with less crowds? Some regions better than others at that time of the year?
Any help or advice is greatly appeciated! Thanks.

Bill_H

Last week of August and first week of Sept are, I feel, the best time to visit Denali ... bears are feeding in the open on blueberries so easier to see than mid-summer, caribou and moose are shedding velvet from their antlers and getting ready for the rut, so pretty active and easy to see ... usually see more wolves then too since the pups are bigger and need to feed more often. And the tundra is usually red/orange/yellow instead of just green. Tundra olors fade pretty quick and sometimes the road closes early with heavy snow in early Sept but the bears and big game animal viewing is good even after the tundra has changed to brown.

So with your schedule I'd go to Denali first (or better, try to get there a week earlier).

Coastal bear viewing is good in many places in Sept ... Brooks Camp at Katmai is a sure-thing in September, typically 15-30 bears hanging around the platforms. You can do a day-trip from Anchorage or Homer. Our favorite Alaska trip was to go to Denali for a week in late Aug, then next week to Katmai, either Brooks or one of the coast areas with a salmon run.

Kenai is pretty good mid-Sept (Seward, Homer, etc). I think I'd skip the Pribilofs that late though (but probably not on your itinerary).

macksix

Bill, thanks so much for your reply!

BudgetQueen

You would be best to determine, what your priorities are??

IF you happen to have a high priority to see puffins, then you would need to head directly to Seward and on a boat tour, first, then follow it with Denali Park. Shuttle buses stop mid month.

So do your homework, and list, the areas you want to see. If you want trip planning and routing, then repost.

macksix

Thanks Budget Queen. We'll do some additional research and then repost with more detailed questions.

macksix

OK. I am adding a few details to see if I can get some additional guidance. We are definitely going to Denali, so I am thinking two or three days there. Per Bill H's recommendation, I am putting Denali first because we are getting there so late in the season. We have seen a lot of recommendations for Homer, so two or three days there as well. My husband wants (actually insists) that we go to Juneau, which I know is accessible really only by air from Anchorage, so three days in Juneau. That leaves about two days for Anchorage which I think is probably ok. So the order would be (not counting travel days):

Day 1 Anchorage
Day 2 Anchorage to Denali
Day 3 Denali
Day 4 Denali
Day 5 Denali to Anchorage
Day 6 Anchorage to Juneau
Day 7 Juneau
Day 8 Juneau
Day 9 Juneau to Anchorage (fly early)/Anchorage to Homer(car)
Day 10 Homer
Day 11 Homer
Day 12 Homer to Anchorage
Day 13 Fly to NY.

Actually, I think I need to shave off at least one day. Perhaps drive back to Anchorage from Homer late on Day 11? Another option might be to take a late flight (if they are available) to Juneau on Day 5.
All suggestions are welcome!!

Gardyloo

If he really has to do Juneau, then just arrange a multi-city flight routing, NYC > ANC > JNU > Seattle > NYC and revise your schedule accordingly. That will make for much more efficient use of your time in Southcentral Alaska. There are several flights from ANC to JNU daily, as well as JNU-SEA.

If you want an even better feel for SE Alaska and for what in-state travel is like, take the Alaska Airlines "milk run" flight from Anchorage to Juneau, which stops in Cordova and Yakutat en route.

macksix

Thanks Gardyloo!

tiga123

Most shops on the Homer spit close after labor Day weekend, so I would try to get down here before that as they have lots of sales. If you like to fish, there is good halibut fishing here as well and you can enter the tournament for $10 to catch the biggest fish and the prize is about $40000.00. There are also many other prizes. You'll certainly have an adventure! It's beautiful here. Good Luck and enjoy

macksix

Thanks tiga. We can't really leave NY before the 4th, so do you think we should skip Homer and go somewhere else? If you have some suggestions, we would really appreciate it. Thanks.

Bill_H

We can't really leave NY before the 4th, so do you think we should skip Homer and go somewhere else?

Actually most of Homer is still open during your stay, even if some of the more touristy shops on the spit close. Still plenty to do there so I would definitely not drop it from the itinerary.

If you do decide to skip it (due to distance or can't get out of Juneau for a day due to weather or whatever) then Seward is a reasonable alternative, but Homer in Sept is fine. Latest we've been there in Sept was the 18th and it was still going strong.

macksix

Thanks Bill. I appreciate all of your feedback. I think we are going to take Gardyloo's suggestion of flying into ANC and out of JNU, so we should be able to fit Homer in easily without worrying about getting back from Juneau. I am glad I started looking into all of this earlier rather than later. Alaska requires lots of planning! I know it will be worth it though

macksix

OK. We have revised the itinierary and are looking for one more round of feedback.

Day 1 - JFK to ANC
Day 2 - Anchorage sightseeing
Day 3 - Drive to Denali
Day 4 - Denali
Day 5 - Denali to Seward (long drive I know - 8 hours?)
Day 6 - Seward
Day 7 - Seward to Anchorage (leisurely drive)
Day 8 - ANC to JNU
Day 9 - Juneau
Day 10 - Juneau
Day 11 - JNU to JFK

Again - any comments are appreciated. Juneau is a definite, as is Denali, but we are open to rearranging. We will be there the first part of September. Thanks

Gardyloo

Because of time change, I don't think you can go JNU-NYC in one day; by the time you get to a connecting airport (Seattle) the flights to the east coast will have already departed, leaving you either with an overnight flight, or spending the night in Seattle and going the next morning. That would put you into day 12, unless your shorten your Juneau stay by a day (which wouldn't be a disaster IMO.)

macksix

Thanks Gardyloo. Do you think 2 1/2 days in Juneau is too much?

Gardyloo

Do you think 2 1/2 days in Juneau is too much?

Personally, yes. I like Juneau, it's very picturesque, but it's not very big, and in September the weather can be seriously poopy. Also, if this is still early September, there can be a lot of people off cruise ships inundating the downtown area, wandering around the glacier, etc. I think a day and a half would be more than sufficient, but others might disagree.