We will be staying at the Kennicott Glacier lodge for 3 nights in August. Given travel time, we should have 2.5 days for activities.
We're considering a glacier hike with St.Elias guides and a flightsee tour with Wrangell Air. Does anyone have any experience with these outfits?
Also interested in some hiking, without going into the backcountry. Any recommendations?
Thanks!

I just saw a Globe Trekker show on PBS about this area the other night. I cannot help you, but try Tripadvisor forums. You may get more info.

MY

This is a VERY undeveloped area, so be sure to stop at the Park Service station and get all the latest information. http://www.nps.gov/wrst/index.htm

I like flying in and not taking the shuttles to McCarthy. A very bumpy road and flightseeing is spectacular scenery. You can not drive there with any major company rental car.

Last year we rode down the bumpy road Budget Queen refers to and next time I'm flying.. I spoke with several people who were staying at Kennicott Lodge that used Wrangell Air as a means to get to this remote area and all recommended Wrangell Air. I didnt use St. Elias guides for hiking simply because we didnt have time but we did use them for the tour of the Kennicott Copper Mine and it was cool. You cant enter the mine alone and they are the outfitter contracted with NSP. THere are hiking trails to Bonanza and another mine . Trails are well marked. Scenery is amazing as is this entire area because it is remote. Check out McCarthy also.. Its like stepping back in time.. Enjoy.

I, too, am heading to this area, but over Memorial Day weekend. This will be our first trip. Has anyone who has done this hiking trip before had any trouble with bears? Wondering if bear mace is a must? We're planning on doing a little hiking on our own, without the guides (but not down into the mine).

This is just a follow-up to this series of postings for anyone planning on traveling to the Kennicott-McCarthy area. My husband and I just returned from going there over Memorial Day. The gravel road the others talk about is a consideration for sure. It's about 50 miles long and is very bumpy. I'd estimate that it took us around 3 hours. Make sure you fill up with gas before you get on the McCarthy Road - the last place we saw to fill up was at Kenny Lake. To our knowledge, there are no gas stations in the McCarthy area. We didn't mind the bumpy road, but we'd suggest not driving a new or very nice vehicle - also 4-wheel drive helps. We stayed at the Currant Ridge Cabins. It's at mile 56.7 on McCarthy Road, and it was really charming. The owners were great, and the cabins are pretty luxurious for that area - full kitchens and bathrooms, with state of the art kitchen accessories. The only thing we didn't like were the mosquitoes. Even in a nice cabin, they seemed to be getting in somehow. We'd suggest taking mosquito netting (no kidding) for anyone planning on traveling to this area. As of Memorial Day, there was still too much snow to go hiking up to the mines. We did a do-it-yourself hike up towards the top of the Root Glacier, and it was good. Along the way, we passed several of the St. Elias guides. They seemed to know what they were doing, were very friendly, and their customers seemed to be having a great time. Had the snow been melted, we probably would've hired one to go see the mines. In addition, keep in mind that the Park Rangers give a free tour (overview of Kennicott - they don't actually take you into the mill, though) each day at 3:45 p.m. We took this tour and really enjoyed it. All in all, a beautiful place.

daph24ne, I hope you will post a trip report soon!