allisonperry4466

Planning a trip to Alaska can be overwhelming! We are doing a 12 day trip in June 2024 and I have a good idea of the areas I’d like to visit. Flying into Anchorage, renting a car, staying in that area a night or two, and then hoping to do 2 nights in Denali, a few nights in Palmer or Girdwood, then 3 nights in Homer….. originally I thought I would finish with 3 nights in Seward. However, I then stumbled upon Cooper Landing and the Kenai River and it looks beautiful! I’m wondering if we should spend our 3 nights in Cooper Landing instead and just drive to Seward to do the whale watching and explore that area? I am interested in wildlife and my husband is interested in fishing. I know everyone has their own opinion, just curious to hear from anyone that’s familiar or visited those areas and why you’d pick one over the other. Thanks in advance!

dfrostnh

I think you need to figure out your driving times, there's a big difference between Palmer and Girdwood. cooper Landing is about an hour from Seward. Based of which boat trip you might take, what ti e would you have to leave in the morning. Plus if it's an all day boat trip you won't have time to explore Seward. I enjoyed the aquarium. We saw otters swimming around the boat docks.
i thought the drive to Talkeetna was a bit boring. We did not go to Denali. But the Seward Highway from AK south is beautiful with places you will want to stop. I thought Boggs visitors center at Portage fascinating to learn more about the great earthquake. I know you said wildlife and fishing but pointing out some “distractions” along your route. Basically if google maps says 3 hours from Anchorage to town of Kenai, it could ne an entire day because of stops.
Also check fish times for a June visit. You might be too early to see combat fishing in Russian River. We also took a nature cruise from Homer and it is very different from Seward's. Preferred Seward, Major Marine's longest trip. Good chance to see moose in Kenai area. In June some were hanging around suburban area with young.

Gardyloo

Your husband should moderate his expectations about fishing if this trip is in June, and especially if you choose Cooper Landing.

Most years, there's a decent run of king (chinook) salmon in the Kenai River drainage, indeed, most of the Cook Inlet region. However, for the past couple of years, and quite likely next year, the June king salmon sport fishery throughout the region has been canceled due to diminishing stocks (probably thanks to climate change.) Now there will still be okay fishing in the Kenai River (from Cooper Landing) for trout and Dolly Varden char, but whether that is enough to justify swapping Cooper Landing for Seward would be doubtful in my mind.

From Seward, you can do a Kenai Fjords cruise (can be bumpy so bring motion sickness meds) where you'll see lots of wildlife - whales, seals, otters, birds, etc. - and your husband can go fishing in Resurrection Bay for halibut and other saltwater species, as well as trout and Dollies in nearby rivers. So in my mind Seward would be a twofer compared to Cooper Landing. More choice in accommodations and places to eat, too.

As dfrostnh suggests, I'd watch out for too many hours on the road eating into your time. The ongoing road restrictions in Denali, coupled with the middling chances of seeing the mountain and the comparative congestion around the park entrance - caused by all the cruise-tour and other packaged tours only having access to the same, limited parts of the park that are open - would discourage me from making the trek to Denali at all. No idea of your budget, but, if possible, a flightseeing tour of Denali from Anchorage (google Rust's Aviation) could give you a terrific opportunity to see the park from the air, saving hours and hours of uninspiring driving.

dwooddon

As usual, Gardyloo is the guru for all things Alaska. I have one additional suggestion. While Palmer is slightly interesting and Girdwood slightly more so, I would give each one only an hour or two or skip them altogether and replace them with a side trip to Homer. The views are astounding and there is a great deal more to see and do in Homer and its environs than in the Matsu or Girdwood areas.

cgenster

We just returned from Alaska. It was never on my bucket list of places to visit, but I am so glad I went. We flew into Anchorage stayed one night, then drove to Seward. It took us a long time to get there because stopped at every scenic outlook. It was majestic. I’m still in awe of the scenery.

We stayed in Seward for a couple of days, we did the whale watching boat tour from there. Hiked to the beach, where we saw lots of eagles and walked around Seward’s quaint downtown.

Then we went to Sterling, which isn’t too far from Cooper’s Landing, and stayed a couple of days and the guys fished/snagged salmon in the Kenai River.

We then went to Homer for a few days. Deep sea fishing charter for halibut, and explored Homer Spit. We survived a tsunami warning, and then headed north to Palmer.

One night there, then on to Willow where we booked an airplane ride to Denali with a glacier landing out ot Talkeetna. We stayed in a cottage on Nancy Lake and were able to catch enough trout for a couple of days. Explored Hatcher’s Pass and Independence Mine.

We did a lot of hikes, but my two favorites were Russian River Falls where we saw a mama bear and her cubs fishing for salmon, and the glacier view trail where we saw the Matanuska glacier.

The bears

MichelleY

We loved Seward.

Madam397

There is more to do in Seward depending on your interest. In addition to whichever boat ride you select and in our case in 2021, we did the 4 hour Resurrection Bay Cruise as I know with some of the longer cruises, it is suggested to take seasick medication the previous night. Had seen many glaciers on previous Alaska cruise years before and depending on the weather you will see glaciers across Katchamak Bay in Homer and we did see glaciers on the 4 hour cruise. We also did the trail walk from the parking area/visitors center at Exit Glacier. In addition to the SeaLife Center, we really enjoyed the Seavey Iditaride dogsled ride which isn't all that far from the Exit Glacier. We learned a lot about the sled dogs, the Iditaride itself, mushers and their gear and we got to see the cute puppies.

Girdwood - the tram at the Alyeska Lodge, very scenic if not a foggy day. Not too far from Girdwood is the Wildlife Conservation Center which is highly recommended. We stayed one night at the Alyeska Lodge as it was a good stopping point on our way back to Anchorage at the end of our trip, driving from Homer.

MichelleY

We went to the Seavey’s also. Very fun and interesting.

allisonperry4466

I just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions! All very helpful. I was actually on the fence about visiting Denali and this discussion has helped me tremendously. I’m going to eliminate visiting there but book a flight seeing tour instead. I will also plan to stay in Seward instead of Cooper Landing, definitely seems like a lot more to do in Seward. So thank you for taking time to provide your thoughts as it did help! I’m going to firm up my plans and start booking within the next 2-4 weeks. I’m so excited!

Madam397

I have family in Kenai and it is closer to 4.5 hours to Anchorage. What you need to understand about driving in Alaska is that except for the immediate area around Anchorage is all two lane roads. This is not like traveling the interstate highways in the lower 48 with rest areas and so on. There are plenty of scenic pull-outs along the way and many will have an outhouse or two, but no restrooms of the sort you are used to.

christym907

Agree about the flight seeing to Denali instead of going there. Glacier landing is great fun too. and then you get to spend a little time in Talkeetna. The other thing about driving in Alaska in the summer is road construction. And there are only two lanes. They are working on the road between the cut off to Kenai Peninsula and Seward. and they will be there next summer too. Expect delays.

tomfuller

I advise against staying in any Anchorage hotel after you arrive. IMO the good ones are rather expensive and the cheaper ones range from bad to horrible. If you are lucky enough to get a flight into Anchorage before about 3PM, rent the car and drive out to Eagle River. My wife and I liked the Microtel in Eagle River which is near a Fred Meyer department store. There is also a gas station nearby. This gives you a good head start on the way to Denali or Fairbanks. When we went to Alaska, we arrived in the morning and had the car rented (4WD Subaru Outback), and wandered around Anchorage for a few hours before driving out to Eagle River to check in.
On the Kenai Peninsula, we stayed at a B&B high on the hill above Homer. We did a long day trip over to Seward and hiked up the Exit Glacier on the way back to Homer. You might be able to get a boat trip out of Homer or Cooper Landing.
Plan on getting to Fairbanks. There is a good museum at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. They have some small dinosaur skeletons found in Alaska. Driving north out of Fairbanks there is a place where you can actually stand under the Alaska Pipeline.
It is unfortunate that the Park will not have the bridge constructed until sometime in 2026 in the area where the massive landslide happened. We really enjoyed the Eilson Visitor Center which was the western end of our bus tour.