50states

Hi Guys,

We are traveling to Alaska (10 day trip) starting from Anchorage and then passing through Seward, Whittier, Matanushka, Talkeetna, Denali and back. We are not camping anywhere (staying in B&Bs). We are planning to do glacier walk tour near Matanushka.

Please list out the must haves/essentials for Alaska during this time of the year.

deladeb

Flight from Talkeetna that flies over Alaskan Range and Denali-one of my best days ever! Layers, gloves, hat, hood on any trips on the water. The animal rescue place (Alaskan Conservation Corps?) on road to Seward, near the turnoff to Whittier. You will love it.

dfrostnh

Sorry, Whittier is the only place I would not go back to but all we did was one overnight because DH wanted to drive thru the tunnel. I know it has probably changed a lot in the past several years but with only 10 days, I'd knock something off your list.

In 2004 there was a heat wave and DH had to buy some short sleeved shirts! We also should have brought sunscreen. That year we didn't need gloves on the Kenai Fjords boat trip.

Keep in mind that once north of Wasilla, there's no more big grocery stores and hardly anything at all until you get to Talkeetna. Keep plenty of water in the car and make sure you are gassed up. Even Talkeetna is very small. The summer solstice is very popular in Talkeetna so hope you have lodgings booked already if you will be there then.

50states

@deladeb - did you mean to suggest Alaskan Wildlife Conservation center in Girdwood, AK? (http://www.alaskawildlife.org) Thanks!

50states

@drostnh - thanks for the info...we got everything booked and we are not really staying in Whittier (doing a morning cruise)

sunbum1944

I loved Talkeetna- cute little town. There are some nice restaurants. We happened to be there on Jul 4 so the whole town was out. We went on a river float from there- it was interesting but not too exciting. Next time I would choose something a little wilder.

The ranger station is an interesting stop. They monitor the climbers on the mountain- when we were there, they were arranging a helicopter rescue.

In Denali we visited a sled dog breeding/training center- Husky Homestead. It was a very interesting presentation- and we got to hold the pups. The has been in the Iditerod several times and is quite a story teller.

It was very warm when we were there too and I loved having it be light until nearly midnight.

hpeabody

When in Seward do the longer Kenai Fjords Catamaran, Major Marine, I believe it is. In Denali, I can recommend river rafting, flight see (float plane) with glacier landing (so much fun tromping through the snow on the glacier) If you do a National Park tour into the park, take Tundra Wilderness over Natural History for sure. The weather can be pretty unpredictable, be prepared, so yes, layers. Enjoy!

deladeb

Yes, That's it! Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center...we loved it. We took an early morning cruise out of Whittier 2 summers ago, 3rd week in June. Rainy morning and overcast all day. Our guide said it had been sunny and hot the day before. She prefers the cloudy days because the blue in the glaciers is more prominent. We saw hundreds of bald eagles and dozens of otters and 5 explosive calving episodes. On the Wildlife trip down in Seward we saw a glacier calve twice but it wasn't as loud, Plus we saw sea lions, orcas and humpbacks. We took the longer cruise 7 or 9 hours which included the dinner at a private island. The time flew by quickly. Oh yeah, hot chocolate chip cookies are waiting for you on the boat in Whittier. Layer up, including windpants.