first timer to Alaska: Homer or Denali?
 

We'll be visiting Alaska for 10 days in late June and early July (6/26- 7/5). It will be our first Alaska trip. We’ll fly in and out Anchorage and pick up rental car there. We are interested in doing some Glacier bay cruise, kayaking, hiking, dog sledding, flightseeing tour and floating/rafting. Originally I wanted like to go to visit Whittier, Seward, Homer, Denali and some other interesting places along the way. And then realized that visiting all those places in 10 days might be a little too overwhelming. I'm still debating whether to keep Homer or Denali park on my list this time. I don't have a plan to go to a bear viewing trip in Homer but have heard so many other wondering things about that place which is very tempting, for instance, hike in Kachemak Bay State Park across the bay, a 1/2 day halibut trip, sea kayaking, see spit and etc. With the help from one of the Alaska experts, here is my itinerary at the moment:

Day 1 (6/26) arrive at 6:45pm, Stay overnight in Anchorage

Day 2 (6/27) Drive to Whittier and take 26-glacier cruise (1-5:30 PM). Possible stops on the very scenic drive there: Potter Marsh, Beluga Pt, Wildlife Conservation Center, 1 hr. roundtrip walk to Byron Glacier. Overnight Girdwood.

Day 3 (6/28) Ride the tram (or do that the night before, whichever has clear weather for a good view). Hike Winner Creek Trail. Drive to Seward (2 hrs). Visit SeaLife Center and kayaking with Sunny Cove (maybe 6 to 9 pm.?) Overnight Seward

Day 4 (6/29) Northwestern Fjords tour (9:00am - 6:00pm) Overnight Seward.

Day 5 (6/30) Morning: either Godwin Glacier or Ididaride sled dog tour. Hike Exit and Harding Ice Field. Evening drive to Cooper Landing (1 hr) to overnight.

Day 6 (7/1) River float (2 or 3 hrs) and hike to Russian River Falls (2 hrs), or drive to Six Mile for morning whitewater rafting. And then drive to Talkeetna (5.5 hrs from Cooper Landing) to overnight.

Day 7 (7/2) Flightseeing. Drive to Denali (2.5 to 3 hrs). Hike entrance trail, see free Ranger sled dog demo. Overnight Healy.

Day 8 (7/3) Shuttle to Eielson (8 hrs) or Wonder Lake (11 hrs). . Overnight Healy

Day 9 (7/4) morning in Denali? Drive back to Anchorage (5 hrs), stopping in Talkeetna if flightseeing is cancelled on day 7 to try again. And then drive to Matanuska Glacier on our way back to Anchorage. possible activities (today or tomorrow): hike/bike Tony Knowles Coastal Trail or hike Flattop Mt., zoo, Alaska Wildberry. Overnight Anchorage

Day 10 (7/5) Native Heritage center, attend the weekend market for unusual souvenirs, more activities in Anchorage. Be at airport by 7 pm for 9:10 pm flight home.

Should I spend day 7-9 in Homer instead of Denali?

Thanks in advance!

You are underestimating time needed for Denali return day, with stopping in Talkeetna, for a rescheduled flight AND considering Matanuska Glacier??? My only option there is to HIKE, it, it isn't worth a "look" from the road in my opinion. AND with that you need to look at the longest trek. The short one, barely get out on the ice. So, you can probably see, this really isn't doable.

Instead, I suggest you just consider, if not rescheduling a Talkeetna flight, you may just want to look at Hatcher Pass, and driving to Independence Mine, with entry from the Palmer side.

Only you can decide if you want Homer, or Denali Park, both certainly are very worthwhile areas to tour. Pick one. :)

Thank you so much for your advice! I appreciate it. I'm planning do a "midnight sun" (6 to about 9 pm) ice fall trek offered by MICA on that last evening. And then stay overnight in Palmer. I will do some more homework for my trip. Hopefully I can finalize my Alaska itinerary next week. By the way, should hikers' bell be good to keep the bears at bay? Or bear spray is a must? If so, do you know if bear spray is available in most of the grocery stores in Alaska or only in outdoor gear stores.

For avoiding bears, I use an empty soda can with pebbles in it. Makes a lot of noise will little effort. :)

This is a very good suggestion! Thanks, BudgetQueen!