After much consideration, I have come up with the following itinerary. Does this sound like a good choice, bearing in mind that there are two kids,7 and 17, and parents over 65?

Aug 4- arrive Anch 1:00, pick up SUV and drive to Garden Gate B&B. Musk Ox Farm and dinner.

Aug.5- Independence mine/Hatcher Pass hiking
Aug.6- Matanuska Glacier hike with MICA guides. Maybe Knik Glacier boat tour, time permitting. Garden Gate bothe nights.

Aug.7- drive to talkeetna and do Mckinley flightseeing tour. Continue to Denali Lakeview Inn in Healy for 3 nights.

Aug.8-early shuttle to Fish Creek, with some hiking in park. Maybe dinner show or Northern sky light show in P.M.

Aug.9-explore first 15 miles of Denali on our own. Do some hiking. Possibly a raft trip or horseback ride in the afternoon.

Aug.10- Drive Denali to Seward at a very leisurely pace, stopping for lunch and light hikes on the Anc-Seward leg of the drive.Time permitting, maybe take the Alyeska tram in Girdwood. 3 nights at the Holiday Inn Express in Seward.

Aug.11-Kenai Fjords 6 hour cruise with Renown Cruises.. explore Seward/hike in pm.

Aug.12- Sea Life Center and Exit Glacier

Aug.13- drive to Anchorage. Do tram ride here if unable earlier. Possibly see Portage Glacier, if inclined.

Aug.14- Alaska Native Heritage Center and other general sightseeing

Aug.15- 7:00am flight home to NJ

Still don;t know where to stay for the 2 nights in Anchorage.

Does this sound OK, or is it too ambitious?
Am I missing anything that is a must-see/do?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

That sounds very similar to our trip in August 2005. You can click on my name for a trip report. I'm glad you are taking time to enjoy each place you visit, rather than rush in and out.

Hi birder!
Read your very excellent trip report. I am going to eat at some of your suggested restaurants. May also consider the Wonder lake destination at Denali.

ljv, thanks. If you go to Wonder Lake, I would highly recommend that you get off the bus at the Eielson Visitor Center and do some of the hikes near there. I don't know if this visitor center will be open in 2006. If it's not, then only a few people will be there, and you'll have the mountains, the river bed, the wind all to yourself. That was one of my most precious moments, not just in Alaska, but in all my travel memories. It just looked and felt so wild. Lone caribou travelling down the river bed. Mt. Kinley filling the sky. I actually wanted to climb down into the river bed but it was getting late and we didn't know how long it would take (since we were sure it was further than it looked, and it would be all uphill on the way back). In any case, don't be afraid to get off the bus. They purposefully send buses out with 4 empty seats so they can pick up people who disembarked earlier. We got on and off the buses all day and never once had to wait to get back on.

Wonder Lake was great - so beautiful, and again, we were the only people there (except for some campers that showed up later). A gray jay hung out while we ate lunch at the picnic table overlooked the lake - he was hoping for a tid bit or two. Not a single mosquito to be found in early August.

That said, it was a long day on the shuttle bus, but well worth it - I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

No matter what you decide, you will have the trip of a lifetime - enjoy!

No Eielson will be closed for at least another 2 years. The only suggestion I have is you are probably underestimating your Denali Park/Seward drive, it's at least 9 hours with stops.

Also early August has a long history of significant bug problems at Wonder Lake, the above poster was very lucky. I would definately have a portable DVD and games with plenty of extra batteries, twice what you think you'll need. Rarely are kids this young interested in scenery, which is a significant portion of the Park Road. Have a pair of binoculars for each person, my personal recommendation is at least 10 power and wide angle for marine wildlife, so my 10x50's are just perfect for me.

BQ - I'm wondering when was the last time you visited Wonder Lake in early August? It's not just that I was "very lucky." I almost didn't go to Wonder Lake because of your advice that it would be buggy, but was encouraged to do so by the park personnel. After our lunch at Wonder Lake, we got on the next bus and I expressed my surprise to the bus driver about how there were no bugs. He said, "Um, of course not, our mosquito season is almost always over by the beginning of August." He acted like I was a little weird for thinking otherwise.

So I'm wondering why the park people have such a different view than you. Perhaps you haven't been to Wonder Lake in early August in a while and things have changed?

I am always updating information and have contacts with several Denali Park drivers. This year had big problems at the wonder Lake campground until about 8-7, direct information. I was there 9-1 with a snow blizzard. I am just giving my opinion, for a sure thing, I will never go before mid August.

Well, I would suggest that you don't dismiss others who have actually been to Wonder Lake in early August. (And you were dismissive - you said I was just lucky.) Four different park personnel told me that mosquitos are not a problem in early August: my Fish Creek bus driver (who was encouraging me to switch to the Wonder Lake bus when we stopped at Toklat), the two rangers at Toklat, and my bus driver from Wonder Lake. We had a picnic there and walked a good portion around the lake. We did not have bug spray on, and didn't have any problems. Plus, I'm the type of person, if there's a crowd of 20 people together and only one gets bit by the mosquito, it will be me - I don't know why, I'm always getting bit when no one else is.

We spent three nights in Kantishna Lodge in early August and did not have any problems with mosquitos.