tammy63

Looking for help going north of Anchorage. We now know the Kenai Peninsula quite well where we own some land and plan to go up toward Denali June 30th for 5 days or so with senior parents.

Info:
Husband and I will fly into Anchorage on May 30th - take ERA
Aviation on to Kenai where we will take a rental car to pick up our stored truck and rv. We will take rental car back and park our RV on our land for the month of June. My parents will fly in to Anchorage on June 30th. We are going to pick them up in Anchorage and would like to take them up to Denali where neither of us have been. We need help planning 4-5 days. Do we go on up to Fairbanks/North Pole? Do we go to Talkeetna? What are the suggestions? We thought we would take our RV and camp wherever we go. Any suggestions on where to camp? Inside Denali park or outside the park? Should we go to Talkeetna? What should we do there? Should we go to Fairbanks and what should we do there? All I know for sure is that we would like to go to Denali and take a bus tour or ride into the park. Any suggestions on the best one to take? Please help me plan these 4-5 days!!!
THANKS!!!

Connie

We've been to Alaska twice and rented an RV. We enjoyed staying just INSIDE Denali N.P.-nice sites, wooded, spacious (not a parking lot).

We looked at Denali State Park and it didn't appeal to us. There is one section on the east side of the highway but it had no views and was unkempt. Another unit on the west side of the highway had fabuous views of Mt. McKinley (when showing) but it is literally, just a parking lot that you can park on overnight with your RV.

We took the 8 hour bus trip into the park. Save money and take the park's shuttle bus instead of one of the tour buses. They are all just old school buses. If it is warm, you will have the windows down and you'll get very dusty. Have all your things in an enclosed bag and bring some wet wipes to wipe the dust off. It's a long trip but you see lots of wildlife and scenery. Don't worry--they make lots of pit stops.

In Talkeetna, we enjoyed walking around the cute little town and enjoyed two restaurants. We overnighted there in their RV park (side by side style). We chose to do that because we had a 2 for 1 coupon from the Alaskan Toursaver Book for a flightseeing tour but you could only do it at 6 pm (not a problem--still lots of light). I've been a lot of places and done a lot of things but I'd have to say that flightseeing tour with glacier landing is one of my all time traveling highlights.

tammy63

Thanks Connie! I went to the Denali website and looked for the campgrounds. It looks like they are all "dry" camping. Is this the one you stayed in?
Campgrounds that I can drive
my own vehicle to:

Riley Creek Campground

Riley Creek Campground (RCC) is a 147 site campground located just inside the entrance to the park. There are flush and vault toilets available as well as potable water. There are no hook-ups. The RCC is adjacent to the Riley Creek Mercantile Camper Convenience Store as well as the Mercantile Laundry and Shower Facilty and Dump Station. Tents and recreational vehicles can be accomodated at RCC.

RCC is open year round, (one loop only during winter) with dry camping available from September through May.*

Fee: Drive In Site: $20 per night
Walk In Site: $12 per night
*Fee waived in the off season


How many days camping there do you recommend? Did you go up to Fairbanks? Would you say 2 days at Denali and 2 days at Talkeetna? We will taking the folks back down to the Kenai Peninsula for the rest of their trip. They will be with us a total of 10 days.

Connie

Yes it was Riley Creek Campground. With your RV, you can fill up with water (RCC has a water and sewer station), and use your propane and generator. If you don't want to use up a lot of water for showers, they have a fairly new shower house next to the store.

Two nights was enough at Denali for us. We got there one afternoon and went over to buy our shuttle bus tickets. The bus tour took the whole next day. We spent that night at Denali and then drove down to Talkeetna the next day. We walked around town and then took our flightseeing tour that evening. We only spent one night at Talkeetna. It's very small.

Of course you can always spend more time anywhere but this was enough for us.

Bill_H

There's one other campground for RV's INSIDE Denali at Teklenika at about mile 32 on the park road. This lets you drive 18 miles on the gravel road where other passenger vehicles are prohibited (with a handful of exceptions). Staying here offers a much different experience than Riley Creek. It's limited to hard-shelled campers because there are so many bears using the nearby river channel.

You can only drive in and out on your transfer days, the rest of the time you use the green shuttle busses to move inside the park.

Check it out (permits are difficult to get because there is limited space and high demand).

Bill

Bill_H

Here's a USPS link to the Tek campground ... http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisi...servations.htm ... maybe not what you are looking for since there is a 3 night minimum.

tammy63

Thank you both for being so helpful. I really appreciate it. I think the one closer to the entrance with more "amenities" may be better since we have the seniors with us! Our fifth wheel doesn't have a large water tank so having the shower houses close by should belp. I think if it were just hubby and I we would maybe like to try the challenge that Bill is talking about. I bet it is beautiful.

About how far in advance do you suggest making campground reservations?

Connie

I would do it as soon as you know your exact dates. It does fill up. There is even a waiting list.