Alaska Itinerary Summer 2005
 

My family and I are starting to plan our vacation for the summer of 05 to Alaska. We consist of a family of five, Mom and Dad, 24 and 20 year old daughters, and a 12 year old son. The Summer of 02 we did do a cruise to Alaska with four days at the end touring the Anchorage area. We are leaning to renting a car vs a motorhome (sanity being the main factor)and staying at B&B's, inns, cabins, etc. along the way. This time we want to "get out" more and this is the tentative itinerary we have come up with. Please feel free to add, delete or offer any suggestions; especially those of you who have done this before and or know Alaska. EX-lodging, place to eat, and things to see or do. Looking forward to your response--and thanks in advance for your time.

Day 1-Arrive Anchorage. Check into B&B. Hang out in Anchorage.

Day 2-Drive to Palmer (state fair)?
Independence Mine and Hatcher's Pass
Flightseeing in Talkeetna
Night in Talkeetna

Day 3-Drive to Denali. Rafting on the
Nenana. Sightseeing in Denali.
Night in Denali.

Day 4-1st tour bus out to Eielson and
Wonder Lake. Night in Denali.

Day 5-Drive to Fairbanks. Pioneer Park,
El Dorado Mine. Night in Fairbanks.

Day 6-Day and night in Fairbanks. U of A
museum, riverboat cruise. North Pole?

Day 7-Drive to Copper Center or general
vicinity. Night.

Day 8-Drive to Valdez with stops at
Worthington glacier and Thompson
Pass. Kayaking with Anadry. Night in
Valdez.

Day 9-Ferry to Whitter and drive to Seward.
Seavey's sled dogs. Night in Seward.

Day 10-Kenai Fjord NP, Exit Glacier. Night
in Seward.

Day 11-Either drive to Kenai and Soldotna
or Homer. ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO
WHICH? Fishing and bear viewing.
Night.

Day 12-Fishing. Night.

Day 13-Drive to Portage Glacier. Wildlife
Center? Drive to Girdwood, Aleyska.
Tram and hike. Night.

Day 14-Drive to Anchorage. Night.

Day 15-Leave for the Lower 48.

We spent 10 days in August,just in the Kenai Peninsula, so I can't speak to anything north of Anchorage. Rented an RV; see my post "RV'n in the KP". We liked being flexible,if we liked a place we spent several days there. Do a search on "Alaska"; BudgetQueen and others give excellent advice! You are smart to start planning now! I bought the "Milepost" and wore it out before we left home!

Sounds like a pretty good itinerary. The road over Hatcher Pass doesn't open until early July but it sounds like you are coming end of August since you mentioned the fair. We enjoyed exploring the mine area. It's hard to imagine it used to be a thriving town unto itself before the war. If you go to the State Fair, keep your eyes open for a performance by Hobo Jim, Alaska's balladeer. He wrote the Iditarod Trail Song and entertains the mushers before the start of the race.
I think the Portage Glacier Visitors center is worth a stop as you leave Whittier. They have some interesting information about the earthquake. The town of Portage was abandoned afterwards. The Kenai/Soldotna area wasn't my favorite for scenery. It's pretty flat while Homer has dramatic scenery. You can look down on the spit before you arrive in town. The spit is fascinating. The drive above town also offer stupendous views. The Pratt Museum is small but well done. Take time to watch the videos of homesteading, etc. Your daughters might enjoy the shops. There were some very well done handcrafts and lots of beaded jewelry. The visitors center in Kenai is nice with a small art gallery. (You can also buy Hobo Jim CDs there.) If you need to stop for lunch on the way to Homer, stop in Kenai at Ski-Mos. It's a family place with good food almost across from the visitors center if I remember correctly. There are not a lot of choices from there to Homer.
While in Anchorage, there's good pizza and beer at the Moose's Tooth and it's convenient to the Seward Hwy. This summer Hobo Jim played a couple of nights a week in Soldotna, one night in Homer and one in Seward. You can read about him in Peter Jenkin's book "Looking for Alaska". Since you plan on a sled ride with Seavey, you might want to follow the Iditarod next March. The official website and Cabella's have interesting daily updates and stories.
The road between Anchorage and Seward is the area where you are most likely going to stop to look at something. In early August we were fascinated by watching the salmon swimming up Bird Creek and the fishermen. We also spent time watching the fishermen at the Russian River ferry crossing this June. The drive from Wasilla to Talkeetna isn't anywhere near as exciting until you start to glimpse the famous mountain. If you can't get a place in Talkeetna, we drove a little further and stayed at a cabin in Trappers Creek. The cabin was luxurious, fronting on a small pond with a little bit of a view of Mt McKinley. We paid $129 but it had 3 bedrooms. The kitchen was well supplied and you would just need to bring some groceries. There isn't any nearby restaurant. There was a group of cabins but it was very quiet and peaceful.

Read all posts here and it will be very asy to decide which company to chose for your day bear watching trip. Bear watching is an all day trip you would have to spend more than just one night in Homer. If you really want to go bear watching add one more night to Homer and forget about spending a night at Girdwood.

I would put your Exit Glacier visit on the same day you get there and take the longest Kenai Fjord boat tour- Northwestern Fjord instead. Longer is better here. The 6 hour runs are no longer enough for me. I too agree- you need more time in Homer and skip Kenai/Soldotna other than passing through or adding 2 more days for both areas. The driving distance is longer than you are realizing and as mentioned- the bear tours are all day leaving early morning returning early evening- HOWEVER, one day's are iffy, consider at least an overnight tour. As for Hatcher Pass- again very slow driving and verify if your car rental will allow you to drive it- loaded with stones past the mine and unpaved. For 5 if you want the B&B route- be looking now for accomdations- most do not even allow 3 in a room so you may be looking at 3 rooms and certainly at least 2. For some "authentic" Alaska fun- look at 2 upstairs rooms at the Talkeetna Roadhouse- two of the three rooms have 2 beds. AND the breakfast shouldn't be missed. :) Day 2 is too much- you need to split it into 2 days if you include the fair and the slow drive on Hatcher Pass. Request each area's visitor guide and get away from the "popular" attractions- especially in Fairbanks- loads of hidden gems.

I, too, would recommend Exit Glacier.But, I would take some things out of your itinerary and definatly add Homer and Seward. You won't be sorry. In Seward, you can take all sorts wonderful day cruises that shouldn't be missed.
Also, I WOULD NOT recommend staying in cabins. At the last minute, we changed our minds about staying in a cabin when another Fodorite also recommended that we did not stay in a cabin. Oh, were we glad we listened! Every cabin that we passed where we had considered staying looked so nice in the brochures, but when we saw them, they were awful!
Also, do yourself a BIG favor. (This, too, was recommended to us by several Fodorites) obtain a copy of the Milepost. This is a thick tour book all about Alaska. You may want to look and see if your local library has a copy, or you can purchase it for about $25.00 at a major chain bookstore. That may seem a little steep for a tour book, but I promise you it will be your best investment for your trip to Alaska. Have fun, I know you'll have a wonderful time. When you get through with your trip, don't forget to give us a trip report.

In defense of cabins! Here's the website for the cabins where we stayed north of Talkeetna
http://www.gatecreekcabins.com/spring_summer.htm

The cabin we had was wonderful and it included an arctic entry and a deck looking toward Denali/Mt Mckinley. They might be too quiet. We were there on a Monday night and did not see a single ATV. We were however warned there were moose and bears in the area.
Cabins as well as b&b's vary in condition and quality like they do anyplace. A cabin like this would comfortably sleep your family whereas we paid $90/night for a room over the garage and cold bagels in Seward.

What are the dates of your trip?
I would stay two nights in Valdez and only make a short stop for lunch at Copper Center. In defense of a full day trips to watch bears. Do search here on this forum under "bear watching" and you'll learn that many people who went on a day trip to see bears have great experiences. You DO NOT have to go on an overnight trip to see bears.
I agree about visiting Exit Glacier on the same day you get to Seward and then taking the longest Kenai Fjord boat tour. Also make your resevations ASAP

Someone on these boards posted a recommendation to see Exit Glacier in the morning, as in the afternoon you are facing into the sun.
Better to move Exit Glacier to Day 11 on the way to Soldotna/Homer?

If you are a AAA member our AAA office in Phoenix sells the Milepost for ~$16.00, a little better price than local chain bookstores.

Message: Someone on these boards posted a recommendation to see Exit Glacier in the morning, as in the afternoon you are facing into the sun.


That must have been an optimist posting. You realize the chances of your even seeing the sun there may be about 5%.

If purchasing the MILEPOST, be certain to do so after 3/05 for the new edition. Walmart in Anchorage has plenty of copies too. Frankly- I wouldn't place Exit Glacier as a priority - it is NOTHING like it was 5 years ago and has receeded significantly. Go when and if you have time.

Patrick, where did you find this scientific information?
'the chances of your even seeing the sun there may be about 5%'

We spent 6 days driving around part of Alaska after our cruise this past July. We would definitely recommend B&B's. We stayed in Touch of Wilderness (near Healy just North of Denali) and thought it was great. I would not recommend the Denali Princess hotel; it was the most expensive and "worst" place we stayed at. The dog sled demo at Denali is worth going to. We also enjoyed Seavey's Ididaride and Exit Glacier.

I agree that you do not need to spend overnight in Katmai to see bears. We went eight times with Emerald Air on day trips and every single time we observed between 40-75 bears. We are going again in July 2005 and then in September 2005. May I suggest you rent a cabin in Homer? For 5 people this should be an ideal accommodation. They all have full kitchens so you can prepare your own breakfasts or/and lunches. Check out this website wwww.cabinsinhomer.com Homestead restaurant in Homer is very good. Do not miss Pratt Museum also in Homer.

You won't be able to drive from Seward to Homer and take a bear watching full day trip on the same day. I would stay in Homer for 3 nights and skip overnight in Girdwood. With three nights in Homer one day you can go bear watching, the next day fishing. Day trips to Seldovia or/and Halibut Cove are geat activities too. We always enjoy hiking across Katchemak Bay.
It is about 5 hours drive from Homer to Anchorage and you could plan on a few hours stop in Girdwood. If it is a clear day a lunch at the Seven Glaciers restaurant is a great way to spend time and from the top you could hike for miles. Views are magnificent but go only on a clear day.

I'd consolidate days 5,6, and 7 into two and gain more time for the Kenai Peninsula stuff. On a trip as short as this five nights in the Denali-Fbx-Copper Center stretch is at least one day too many.

Jenkins' book is the literary equivalent of a tourist trap, IMHO.

You never know when you'll see bears in Alaska. I saw two (a mother and cub, obviously) crossing the road between Girdwood and Seward, as well as moose all over the Kenai Peninsula, Dahl sheep above the road along Turnagain Arm, and beluga whales in the water there.

I recommend a stop in Cooper Landing to eat, Kenai Princess Lodge for a lovely meal and view, or Gwin's Lodge for rustic and historic.

Thank you to everyone who has responded for the great recommendations. We have made changes to our itinerary based on the many suggestions received. I do have one question for BudgetQueen; What are those "hidden gems" you spoke of in Fairbanks? We are possibly thinking about omitting those days but would like to hear your suggestions regarding getting away from the "popular" attractions. Thanks.

I think your itinerary sounds great. Would concur with most of the recommendations here for slight modifications. You may have seen our trip report as we did a very similar itinerary this past July. My only real regret about our trip is that I spent so much of it feeling tired (and I'm only 34!). The constant moving around from place to place is tiring and makes it more difficult to relax and truly enjoy the magnificent surroundings. If I were you, I'd think about consolidating a bit--maybe skipping Fairbanks and spending an extra day in Valdez. Valdez the town isn't too charming, but I could go on and on about the beautiful surroundings. I really wish we'd had a extra day there to do some hiking after our kayak excursion (Anadyr is very good, by the way). We also really enjoyed driving the Denali highway.

Good luck planning and remember to make your reservations far, far in advance!

I agree, much too much driving