rollingwoods

Hi. After three nights at the Denali Lakeview Inn in June 2007, we (me, wife and teenage daughter) thought we might spend our last night in Talkeetna--take a boat trip, visit a kennel, and it's an easy trip back to ANC for our early afternoon flight. But our trip has been lengthened a little because of frequent flyer seat availability. So now maybe it's 3 nights in Talkeetna, which puts the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge kinda out of our budget. What experiences do folks have at other places there? We thought maybe Swiss-Alaskan lodge, but I just read a post that seemed to think that other places would be better.
Thanks!

dfrostnh

When we could not get accomodations in Talkeetna (didn't plan ahead) we stayed in Gate Creek cabins. The cabins are wonderful but there is no nearby restaurants. They are at least 30 minutes from Talkeetna. Definitely reasonable for a whole cabin but the location is way out on a gravel road. Have you considered staying in the Palmer or Wasilla area? Hope you are making a visit to Independence Mine. If that's not already on your agenda, the extra time would allow it.

BudgetQueen

I've already commented, but 3 days is way too much at Talkeetna in my opinion. The boat tours are so so as well, again my opinion only speaking on Alaska.

Also- there is no remote comparism to the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge and the Swiss lodge- which is like a roadside motel. Also not in a convenient location either, out by the airport, by it's self. No problem with a car.

Frankly I would suggest you rearrange your routing and take advantage of your extra time, rather than- being harsh wasting it.

You are a LONG way off and changes can easily be made at this point, again, my suggestion.

rollingwoods

Thanks, folks. BudgetQueen, you've opened our eyes to other possibilities. We're now seriously considering spending the three nights in Seward. All day drive from DeNali but looks like there's lots more to do. And we'll still have time to get to the ANC airport on the last day since our flight isn't until the afternoon.

BayouGal

Two nights would work nicely in Seward, and a night in Anchorage might be better since you could take the daughter bike riding on the Tony Knowles trail, hiking, and/or shopping downtown Anchorage. Anchorage has lots to see and do, and some great restaurants, too. Or instead of Anchorage, Girdwood would be close for your flight home, or how about staying at Hatcher Pass near the Independence Mine that last night?

rollingwoods

Good ideas, BayouGal. Actually we're going to be in Anchorage at the start of our trip and will take your suggestions. We don't like to pack/unpack a lot so tend to stay in one place for a few nights.
As of our current thinking, our trip will be:
Ar. June 19 evening
3 nights Anchorage @ Spring Hill Suites
3 nights aboard Cruise West on PWS
3 nights Denali Lakeview (Healy)
3 nights Seward
Lv July 1 early afternoon
My daughter's a marine mammal fan (spent a week learning to train them last summer) so I expect she'll want to spend extra time at the Sealife Center.
We're guessing the trip from Seward to Anchorage for the flight home should not be too bad since it will be a Sunday morning. Any opinions on that?
The only "rough" day I think will be the long trip from Healy to Seward. But if we get an early start and take our time with two drivers I'm hoping it's do-able. What do you think?

rollingwoods

Also, where are Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine? Can't find them on my map.

caligirl56

We drove from Denali to Seward in one day. We had been staying inside Denali, so took the early bus out in the morning, got to the park entrance around noon, and started our drive then.

It was really no problem at all. We arrived in Seward around 7:30 p.m., I think. We stopped once for lunch, stopped to snap pictures of a moose and her calf, stopped again for maybe 45 minutes in Talkeeta (the mountain had just come out!), and again for probably 1/2 hour along the Turnagain Arm to wait for the "bore tide".

The Turnagain Arm is an absolutely beautiful drive--we did it several times (and made lots of stops) during our 2-week visit, because we drove from Anchorage south to Whittier and to Girdwood several times. Be sure to plan time to stop along there when you drive to Whittier for you PWS cruise--just in case you're in too much of a hurry when you drive down from Denali.

(Talkeetna is also worth more than the 45 minute stop we made during our drive from Denali to Seward--but we had spent a day there as we drove up to Denali. There are some good restaurants, shops--and it's just a fun town to walk through. Also--lots of the Denali flightseeing tours leave from there.)

We are like you--we don't like to switch hotels all the time. If you are staying 3 nights in Seward, consider hiking up to the Harding Icefield on one of the days--spectacular hike (a bit strenuous, but worth it!!). Also be sure to take a Kenai Fjords cruise--you will see different wildlife/scenery than you saw in PWS.

dfrostnh

Independence Mine is 68 miles north of Anchorage. You will have to go in from the Wasilla side because Hatchers Pass doesn't open before July 4. Otherwise it goes thru to Palmer. Here's a link:
http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/indmine.htm
It's a very interesting historical site in the mountains.

BayouGal

When we were planning our last trip, 2005, very few people were familiar with Denali Lakeview Inn. We stayed there and LOVED it. I continue to sing its praises here - please let us know how it was after your visit. I hope Terri, the Manager is still there. Terrific gal, very helpful.

We did the 9.5 hr Kenai Fjords NW Glacier boat tour out of Seward and saw orca and humpbacks. We were extremely blessed to see a humpback breach near the boat. I hope you will consider this boat tour for your daughter, if the PWS trip doesn't take you out further west to the areas where whales might be found.

Here's another link for Hatcher Pass, the Lodge link: http://www.hatcherpasslodge.com/

We spent at least 2 nights at each stop, and 3 will be nice for you. You will not run out of things to do and see, and you will enjoy it even if you spend a large part of the time just looking at the incredible views.

We had a great picnic lunch at a park in Talkeetna - cool little town, with incredible views of Denali, if she's peeking out of the clouds.

Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned!

rollingwoods

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Yes, Terri is still managing at the Lakeview and I've had delightful email exchanges with her.
Now for the long wait until next summer!

BudgetQueen

With so many "distractions" along the way, I do not recommend Healy/Seward in the same day- consider breaking it up with Talkeetna in between, then Hatcher Pass, on the way to Seward- better would be Anchorage, since the Seward Highway can really eat up a LOT of time. It's a bad place to be with stuff happening- wildlife, McKinley, beauty etc and have to be on a marathon drive due to the distance you need to cover.

If marine wildlife is a priority, PWS isn't the area, compared to Kenai Fjords. Much more viewing here is glaciers.