Alaska in September/October - crazy?
 

I've never been to Alaska and I am working on a long rtw ticket. I would like to visit Alaska and now I have the oppourtunity, but.....my travel dates aren't too flexible and I can't travel to Alaska until the end of Sept or early Oct. I will fly in and out of ANC, if I do include Alaska on this trip. Any advice about visiting Alaska in September or October will be appreciated. Am I better off visiting Alaska on a different trip? I know it is an expensive destination to visit and I would like it done right, I don't want to cut corners when I travel.

I live in Central Canada, I only mention this because some fodorites may read this thinking I live far from the US and will advice me based on the likeihood of me travelling back to the US in the near future.

Thanks.

Many of the nature tourist areas are mostly shut down by mid-September, like Denali and Katmai National Parks. So if you wanted to go bear-viewing in Katmai or visit Denali and ride the shuttle into the park you are too late.

Cities of course are still running but I wouldn't recommend a trip just to tour Anchorage or Fairbanks or the panhandle.

I've visited Alaska almost a dozen times, no trips later than mid-Sept (last week in August, first week in Sept is our favorite time) except for a couple of winter trips to Homer to watch the eagles, and I personally would not go in late Sept or early Oct. I would rather go to Banff or Jasper in Canada.

Simply put, you will have many more sightseeing options if you can come during the summer. However, Alaska does not "shut down" after September. If you want your trip "done right", spend some time (maybe 10-14 days) and come back during the warmer months.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Frankly, Sept - Oct is my favorite time, but be warned of a couple of things...

- It can be getting cold (as in below freezing) by mid-October; our son's birthday is Oct. 22 and we almost always had snow on the ground by his birthday (in Anchorage.) In early October (dates vary obviously) one sees "termination dust" on the tops of the Chugach mountains behind Anchorage; the line keeps moving steadily down the sides of the hills until one morning you wake up white.

- Many of the tourist-centric things, e.g. the interior of Denali Park, Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords shut up shop around the end of September, so if those places are priorities, check with the operators.

- Daylight starts getting pretty short, and the decline accelerates.

Now that's the bad news. The good news is plenty of autumn color, a real sense of energy and activity as people get ready for winter, lower prices in accommodations and probably for rental cars, and no challenges with respect to wardrobe.

To see what the autumn color looks like, here's a picture I took on Sept. 15 '08, at Mirror Lake (near Eklutna, not far from Anchorage.) http://gardyloo.us/sept08%20059as.JPG

Sorry, meant to say Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords <i>cruises and tours...</i>

Sorry, meant to say Prince William Sound/Kenai Fjords <i>cruises and tours...</i>

Doh.

Thanks for all the replies. I have checked on the dates for Denali and it closes on Sept 16 for regular schedules buses/tours. I also checked with my airline and flights to ANC are seasonal and end at the end of Sept. So, I would have to travel to Alaska and leave by Sept 30. I am having my doubts that Alaska is worth the money at the end of Sept for a first time visitor.

I've been twice - in November and in February. I enjoyed both visits.

On the first visit, I flew into Juneau for Thanksgiving and then we took the ferry to Haines. At Haines, I experienced one of my favorite travel memories ever - the congregation of bald eagles (from all over North America) at the Chilkat River. They were so numerous they looked like oranges in a tree. They were everywhere - in the trees, on the ground, just a few feet away. We continued up the Alcan highway to Whitehorse in the Yukon territory - just for the drive basically. Road conditions were excellent on the snowpack - although we were one of just a few on the road. We spent the night and then drove back. The drive. The ferry ride. The eagles. The hiking around Juneau. It was one of the best trips of my life.

The second trip I spent a week working in Anchorage and it happened to be the week before the start of the Iditarod. Loved walking around Anchorage and the city was full of pre-race excitement. The second week was spent in Fairbanks. Now THAT'S cold - Fairbanks in Feb! The weekend in between we explored around Talkeetna and took a sightseeing plane over Denali. Spectacular. Reading about the long trip in the summer to Denali, I think we may have taken the best option.

It's ALASKA! You may see and do things a bit differently than in the summer, but I absolutely loved both (winter) trips.

If you are looking for the "tourist" Alaska, with bear viewing and all that, you won't find it after mid-September. Denali and many of the famous sights will be mostly closed. But what you can find is the "real" Alaska, that the residents live every day.

Gardyloo spoke of temperatures below freezing by mid=October in Anchorage. We lived in the Interior (Fairbank) and will never forget our first October--on Oct 9 it was 9 below zero---and that was Fahrenheit, not Celsius.

Would I need to rent a car and drive around in late Sept? What can I see as day trips from Anchorage in late Sept? I am travelling solo and I hadn't planned on renting a car. I had orginally planned on visiting Denali and the glaciers near Anchorage and spening a day in the city. I was planning on booking day tours with tour operators from Anchorage.

I think a car is advisable; from Anchorage you can do day trips to Seward (2 hrs south) with a stop at Exit Glacier just before Seward, or you can go the other way (up the Glenn Hwy) to Matanuska Glacier, also a couple of hours from town. Just going down the Seward Highway to Portage Valley and up to the lake (and glacier) is one of the best hour-long drives one can experience anywhere.

If you can swing the expense (most likely around $150 - $200) a flightseeing tour out to Prince William Sound, or up over the Chugach mountains, is fabulous - 90% of visitors to Anchorage (I'm guessing) never see how close it is to some pretty sensational mountain and wilderness scenery visible only from above. If the snow has started to fly at higher elevations, it makes it all the more spectacular.

The drive along Turnagain Arm that Gardyloo recommends is very scenic. Once we were going to Seward and saw everyone pulled over to the side of the road, looking at something. Curious to see what it was, we stopped too. It was a pod of pure white Beluga whales swimming and diving in the water. There must have been at least 20 of them. What a nice treat.

If you drive down to Portage, try to stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center too. http://www.awcc.org It is all outdoors, so hope for dry weather.

If you can arrive before September 20th, you can even take the 26 Glacier Cruise on Prince William Sound. http://www.26glaciers.com/

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie