Seward to Denali
 

We are picking up an RV in Seward after cruising the inside passage. Our plan is to stay 3 nights on the Kenai then head to Denali. We have two children ages 8 & 16. Is it too far to drive from Seward to Denali in one day? We are planning to stay in Denali for three nights and see Anchorage before we fly out. Also, if it is too far to drive in one day, where would be a good place to spend the night enroute?

What time of year and on what day of the week will you make the drive? During the summer, it can take almost twice as long to drive between Seward and Anchorage on Saturday or Sunday than it might on a weekday.

We will be travelling midweek the second week of August.

Yes it is too much- you are looking at at least 9 hours of driving. As stated above- you can't count on always 55mph driving due to slow moving traffic and only a 2 lane road. I would stay at Beyer Lake Alaska state Park, should be about 6 hours, plenty for one day, don't rush and allow plenty of time for frequent stops. Along the way, consider- Eklutna spirit house tours, hiking Eagle River Nature Center, a stop at Talkeetna, etc etc etc.

We drove from Seward to Denali in one day during May (weekday). The drive from Seward to Anchorage is quite picturesque, and we made a number of stops. The ride from Anchorage to Denali was more "boring" (no offense anyone). We were lucky in that we did not get stopped by too many construction projects or slow moving vehicles. It was a long drive, but it can be done and it was not overly painful for us.

There is a big difference in May traffic and in season. Far less in May due to Denali Park not being open very far and tourist flocks not in full run yet. :) Summer can be downright bogged down. But hopefully you will find clear roads with few delays. :)

We drove denali to seward on June 23rd - denali to anchorage took about 4 hours ... anchorage to seward about 1.5. This was in a car, not RV.

You drove 125 miles in 1 1/2 hours???? There really wasn't any reason for the costly car other than transportation?? The Seward Highway has plenty to see along the way and in my opinion, enjoying the drive is part of the excellent trip.

Yeah, it was a bit of a whirlwind ... the poor B&B lady almost cried when I told her we weren't going to get there until 11pm so I put petal to the metal while my navigator wept .... since it was so late there wasn't much traffic and it didn't seem like 125 miles ... needless to say we left Anchorage after 8 and made it to the B&B in Seward by a quarter to 10 bed time :). Don't worry, we leisured out way back since we had a full week in the Kinai ... as to the costly car for transportation, I don't know what alternatives you found, but after looking at trains, buses, planes and boat, at $40/day the car was the most budget for 2 people!

The above trips are different. You at least backtracked and spent time, my only point is to do that. $40 is a decent rate with taxes. I recently got a $25 without.