Lisa,

So 3 by the time you get out of Anchorage and into Talkeetna it will be around 6 or so - which is about right time wise.

My wife just stayed a night at the McKinley Princess Lodge 40 miles north of Talkeetna and 100 miles south of the park. The mountain was out and the view was incredible she says - probably some of the best views of Denali anywhere. It is pricey though but a great experience.

Since you are heading to Denali the next morning anyway, you might plan on staying right in or nearby Talkeetna.
Try going here for lodging -
http://www.talkeetnachamber.org/visit-talkeetna.html

I stayed at the Fairview Inn many, many years ago but have no real memory of the place. I am sure there are many good B&B's around there.

The Mckinley Princess looks awesome. Do you think this may be in too remote of an area, too far out of town?

What do you think about Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge?

I have a new, revised, potential itinerary...what do you think?

Aug 13: Arrive, drive to Talkeetna
Aug 14: Explore area around Denali, overnight
Aug 15: bus into Denali/Wonder Lake
Aug 16: leave Denali then to ??
Aug 17: ??
Aug 18: drive to Kennicott Glacier Lodge, overnight
Aug 19: Fly in hike in Wrangell-St. Elias, overnight Kennicott Glacier Lodge
Aug 20: Drive to Valdez, overnight
Aug 21: overnight Valdez
Aug 22: ferry from Valdez to Whittier, then ??
Aug 23-Aug 29: Kenai penninsula, bear watching, fishing trip, kayaking (amongst glaciers, any recommendation on outfitters?)...
Aug 30: return to Anchorage for flight home

I checked prices on the car ferry from Valdez to Whittier and it was $300. Does this sound right or should I wait and see if the price changes or if there is a special?

So what do you think??? Is this too rushed?

Thanks again for your time
Lisa

<b>The Mckinley Princess looks awesome. Do you think this may be in too remote of an area, too far out of town?</b>

This lodge is very isolated from any towns (though just off the main highway). Most of the visitors are doing a Princess cruises tour package after the cruise and are bussed from lodge to lodge each day (or two). One day there is plenty.

Views of McKinley are great when she's 'out'.

Bill

Re. Talkeetna, I have just booked the Talkeetna chalet B&amp;B it seems to get good reviews. Although they are being a bit slow at organising my deposit and confirming my booking. Check it out for yourself at talkeetnachalet.com.

Lisa, that is smart staying in Talkeetna, Bill is right about it being too far out. But truly that lodge is spectacular.
Do you have lodging at Denali yet?
The bus into Wonder Lake - is that the park bus or a private bus? Best deal is the park bus.
After leaving Denali, you could take the Denali Highway and get to Paxson or Glenallen that night - then the next day drive the gravel road to McCarthy. The drive over the Denali Hwy and the drive to McCarthy/Kennicott are both on gravel roads - check with your insurance and with the car rental companies about that ahead of time as they are particular about that.
You cannot drive directly to Kennicott Lodge - rather, you park your car on the near side of the river, walk over the bridge to McCarthy and from there you take the Lodge shuttle to Kennicott - which is 5 or 6 miles away. It is pretty awesome getting there so do not dismay.
What will you do in Valdez? There will be much of the same sort of wildlife thing as on the Kenai Peninsula.
As to ferry, $300 sounds about right if that includes the car and both of you. With the price of gas, it is not a bad deal - it would be at least a 5 hr drive.
You might consider just overnighting in Valdez and catching the ferry the next day - probably one ferry a day so you could time your trip around that. That could give you an extra day just to relax either in Seward or Homer.
I will check on some outfitters for Kayaking and post back. I know Whittier has glacier kayaking but I am not sure about Seward.
That is a lot of driving but are doing an aweful lot is a relatively short amount of time.

Hello again,

We do not have our lodging in Denali as of yet. I have been trying to book the park bus into Denali for the last few days but there online reservation system is down. I know I could call but I'll wait a few more days first.

We have just booked our first night to stay in Talkeenta at Denali Fireside Cabins and Suites. It seems like it is in a good location...I hope.

We also booked 2 nights at Kennicott Glacier Lodge and allowed 2 days after the lodge to get on the ferry. I am not sure yet what we plan to do in Valdez but I was thinking if we allowed 2 days between Kennicott and the ferry that would allow us more time in Kennicott if we decide. Or somewhere else. I really don't want to be rushed. We were looking into doing a fly-in hike while at Kennicott with Kennicott Guides. Do you have any opinions on this?

The ferry seems to run twice a day to Whittier but one takes twice as long (I assume it makes stops). So I went ahead and reserved the ferry that is faster, just under 3 hours if I remember right. This gets us into Whittier around 3pm. Do you think we would have a hard time finding a place to stay if don't make any reservations ahead?

Bill, thanks for the suggestion about Talkeenta Chalet but we went with Denali Fireside instead due to the location...I hope we made the right decision.

Thanks again,
Lisa

Most things really don't open till Memorial Day weekend - not surprising that you cannot get online with them.
There are tours of the Kennicott mine which are really interesting - if adventurous, you can scramble up the side of the mountain to the old mine sites (or at least you could 15 years ago. Now that the Park Service has it, I don't know.) As to guided hiking, I have no clue - most likely not a lot of options but I would certainly link to the Kennecott Lodge website to see if they link or recommend any outfitter guides for that sort of thing - they refer clients to one another and need to maintain their reputations.
In Valdez, you can take a wildlife charter - Stan Stephens Tours was the big boy in town - maybe still is. If you do that there you might want to skip the one in Seward because alot of it will be similar (although they both would be spectacular).
You probably will be okay just showing up in Whittier - not the prettiest town in PWS though. Check the Chamber of Commerce website if you want to book something ahead of time - B&amp;B most likely.
Get some bug dope and pepper spray for bears.
If you hike off the beaten path by yourselves, tell someone where you are going and when to expect you back. Hiking here is not like the lower 48 - we don't need any more Chris McCandless' romanticizing the harsh brutality of the Alaskan Wilderness.

I have yet another question...Any recommendation on the best places to go white water rafting. I see there is a trip in Denali, are there any other that are recommended. We would be looking for the most rapids and great scenery ( we definately do not want just a float down the river)

Thanks

Lisa

Several options there, in Denali (just outside the park) - several outfitters there. Also, Kennicott and Valdez should have whitewater raft trips. Kenai has some too - Sixmile Creek is Class VI and V - near Hope AK.
Coming from Chicago, I think anywhere you go whitewater rafting here will be scenic.

Oops - meant Class IV and Class V

My husband and I took a rafting trip in Denali on the Nenana River. There were two options...paddle or sit and we chose the latter. It was the greatest trip, around 2 hours if I remember correctly. I think we went through Class V rapids. They outfitted us so that we were completely waterproof and we had a blast. I can't remember the name of the outfit but we signed up for it at Denali, not ahead of time. Hope this helps.