keith

we're arriving from our cruise in seward on aug 30th. we're flying out of anchorage on sept 4th, in the evening. so we have 6 days, 5 nights, and we're trying to plan the best itinerary. doing both homer and denali seems difficult - lots of driving/traveling. is it worth trying to do both, or if we're going to cut one part out, which one? the posts on the board seem more partial toward homer. if we want the best possible experience in the timeframe we have (not necessarily the most touristy trip), what should we try (and it's getting close!!!). thanks.

Alan Cleveland

Keith,

Denali is beautiful, but not overly representative of Alaska. The scenery is awesome and inspiring, but there is no sense of community among those who live in the area. One of the things that enhance an Alaska visit is getting a feel for the lifestyle of the resident population. Denali has very little local life with most of the businesses being staffed by tourists and boards on the windows at the first hint of snow. To Alaskans, the park is generally regarded as a joke since beautiful scenery abounds statewide. Bopping between Seward and Homer is not a bad option if you are wanting to get a feel for the state.

John

It's the logistics that make Denali a problem. If you arrive on the 30th the soonest you could arrive at Denali would be that night. You'd be arriving too late to go into the park proper. So that would happen the next day, and take all day, so you'd need to spend a second night at the park. The third night you'd only be able to get to Homer by driving all day, and wouldn't see anything on arrival. That would require all of the fourth day. You wouldn't get back to Anchorage until the fifth day, having driven more or less all day for 3 of your 5 days, and spent a 4th day on the shuttle bus inside Denali Park. That's a lot of time spent looking out the window of a vehicle.

The other factor is that there's no guarantee of seeing the mountain at Denali, although you will undoubtedly see lots of wildlife.

The flip side is that Homer and Kachemak Bay offers fairly similar scenery to that which you will have seen (and plenty of it) on your cruise. Denali and the interior would at least be a break from coastal scenery and environment.

One advantage Denali would offer (by car, not by train) is the chance to poke around places like Cantwell or Hatcher Pass or Eklutna or other towns, as well as Anchorage en route.

Whichever choice you make (and I concur you really don't have time for both) I'd strongly suggest that if you can afford it at all that you include a flightseeing trip on a float plane from Lake Hood in Anchorage as part of your itinerary, or, if it's out, a flightseeing trip toward Denali from one of the operators in Talkeetna. There's nothing quite like flying in a light plane toward the mountain and realizing it's twice or three or four times as high as your altitude. Fills the sky, and that's no lie.

rqf

Missing DEnali would be a big mistake. I have done, twice, exactly what you are doing post cruise - renting a car for six days. Both times I drove to Seward and did the tour to Kenai Fjord NP. Then I drove back through Anchorage to DEnali where I made it a point to take the Wildlife tour. From Denali went to FAirbanks before returning to Anchorage following a different route. You can get a feel of life in Alaska on the circle route I followed

steve

What is the purpose in going to Denali? Is it to see Mt. McKinley? Weather is such that that can't be guaranteed.

Is it to see wildlife? What can you see there that you might not be able to see elsewhere?

It's a long drive to Denali. We stopped at the entrance and took a nice hike to a lake where we saw moose, but we decided against taking the bus into the park as there was no wildlife (except wolves - which we ended up seeing crossing the road later in the day) that we had not already seen on our trip in the rockies.

Kay

It depends on your interests and how you want to spend your time. We love to experience local culture, see wildlife, see snowcapped mountains, and take day hikes. I've only been to Alaska twice in June and July, but never on a cruise or in September. So, our preferences might overlap with activities and sights you have experienced before you arrive and the season may change the experience.

Our highlights: Drive between Seward and Anchorage with Kenai Fjord day trip (whales, glaciers, birds)and the area around Seward for hikes. Valdez for sea kayaking to a glacier, mountains, bears, and hiking. Denali for views, sense of scale, hiking, wildlife (bus driver helps you spot), rafting, and we did talk with some locals in the area. Overnight flight to Barrow for culture, Arctic Ocean.

We didn't think much of the drive to Homer just because it is long and that's when we couldn't see any mountains while we saw Denali for days. Anchorage is OK for museums.

The trouble is the distances. You do have to choose, fly, or spend a lot of time in the car.

Postal

My family and I spent two weeks on the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage in September 2000 and still hated to leave. We didn't drive to Denali but could see the mountain clearly each morning from Anchorage, which was a better view than many of the people who drove all the way there!

The scenery in Homer was breathtaking and the hiking in and around Cooper Landing and Seward was great. We saw more moose in Anchorage than we did on our "road trips" and we saw every creature possible on the six hour Kenai Fjords boat tour. If you're at all curious about Homer, by all means go! I would recommend three nights in Homer and two in Seward.

Alan Cleveland

Concur with Postal. You will likely see more moose and geese in Anchorage than anywhere in Alaska. Strangely, both seem to be exceedingly fond of the airport area.

As for "Anchorage being good for museums" ABSOLUTELY! And then some! It is, and always will be one of the prettiest towns of its size in the world. For those unfamiliar, there are also bears, wolves, wolverine, and lynx within the Anchorage City Limits. It was also named as one of the best trail cities in the world if I remember right.... you can get the scoop on that from the ACVB. Indeed, great museums, but, just take a few seconds to recognize that 300,000 people still happen to be residing within the confines of an awesome wilderness.

Connie

On a recent trip (our first) we went down to the Kenai first then headed up to Denali.

We did the 8 hour bus trip and were glad since we never saw wildlife anywhere else but we couldn't wait to get back down to the Kenai.

The drive to Denali is boring, there isn't much we were interested in seeing/doing going up or in the Denali area and the scenery on the Kenai is much better. The Kenai is lush and green. The Denali area is arid.

Yes, we are glad we did it once but won't go back again.

If my time was limited, I would skip it and see all of the Kenai.

Marta

There are so many beautiful places to visit between Seward and Denali.

I completely agree with John who said that "Homer and Kachemak Bay offer fairly similar scenery to that which you will have seen (and plenty of it) on your cruise."

Instaed of staying near or in Denal Park you could stay in Healy which is a small village north of the park's gate. I think 10 miles north. Or south of Denali there are simple Perch cabins.
It is easy drive to the park from both places.
I would do this:
Seward 1 night
Girdwood 2 nights (with many stops on the way there from Seward including most of the day in Hope)
Denali 2 nights (with many stops on way including a flightseeing trip over Denali from Talkeetna)

Because your flight departs late I would leave Denali area early and plan on spending a few hours in Anchorage

s

No one has mentioned the white water rafting that is available near Denali. It provides a very exciting experience. The ride from Anchorage to Seward is a scenic one but if you are not into fishing what do you do in Seward once you have taken a cruise to the national park and spent an hour or so visiting Exit Glacier.

kt

There is a lot to do in Seward if you are a hiker. Otherwise I agree with you "S"
I would change the above itineray and stay one night in Talkeetna instaed of Seward. And yes Keith, don't forget whitewater rafting

JD

I concur with John (jfsevy....) -- our family has traveled both areas extensively, and his pros and cons are right on target. May depend simply on what....floats your boat! The biggest draw of Denali is not the mountain (despite the brochures). You can see The Mountain more consistently from the Anchorage area; once inside the park, "low-lying" clouds may obscure your view, even if the top of the mountain is "clear." If you want variety, Denali is a fine option -- the huge mountain valleys in the region are quite different from the coastal mountains. Each time our family has taken the shuttle bus in (to Eielson Visitor's Center), we have seen grizzlies numbering in the teens, and as close up as immediately beside the bus. This is an indescribable thrill that transforms a busload of adults into giddy 5-year-olds!

You'll enjoy your trip most if you make a choice between the 2 locales....and take things at a slower pace. Enjoy!