I don't think you really have time to drive to Denali park, but you should take a couple of drives.
Drive down the inlet towards the Alyeska Ski Resort. It's the only ski resort in the world with the base as sea level. On the way down, you may get to see the bore tide coming in. Yes, they surf the bore tide. Google it, it's neat to see. You might also see some white Beluga whales on the drive down. On the other side of the road, the mountains that you're up against will have sheep and they just had little ones. At the ski resort, take the gondola to the top, then if you're feeling rich, have diner at the Seven Glaciers restaurant at the top. You can see seven glaciers from there. If you're not feeling quit that rich, down at the bottom, go to the Double Muskee restaurant. They don't take reservations, they're only open for dinner. The two best items are the pepper steak or the New York served with bernaise sauce. I just checked and the Sevenb Glaciers is closed from April 22 to May 23, but you can still go to the top I believe.
Bore Tide Clicky #1Bore Tide Surfing on YouTube Clicy #3Bore Tide Clicky #3Sven Glacier's ClickyAlyeska Ski Resort ClickyDouble Muskey ClickyTurnigan Arm Dall SheepDriving further down the inlet, you can drive through the train tunnels to Whittier. Yes, they still run freight trains through the tunnel. The longest one is three miles I believe, but I could be wrong.
Whittier Tunnel ClickyThen down the road a little further you'll come the Begich, Boggs Vistor center with glacier and ice burgs though this time of year, the lake they're in is probably still frozen.
Begich, Boggs ClickyAnd in the same area is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. I've never been to it, so I can't say anything about it.
Alk Widelife Center ClickyIf you want a longer drive, continue further down to Seward, spend the night and come back. You can round trip it in a day, but it's a long trip. Seward is a nice little town and has a good sealife center.
Seward Sealife ClickyAnd you can go north of Anchorage out past the town of Palmer to the Musk Ox Farm. This year's calves were born a month or so ago.
Musk Ox Farm ClickyAnd a ways past the Musk Ox farm is the Matanuska Glacier. In the summer, you can walk up the glacier. I'm not sure if those spots are open yet since it's not really tourist season yet. (And no, even during tourist season, we're not allowed to shoot at them).
Matanuska Glacier ClicyIf you go back through Palmer, headed towards Anchorage, just past Palmer, you can take a right and you'll be headed towards Denali. Again I don't recommend going up in the short time you have, but you can go up to the town of Talkeetna. This is where all of the climbers that are climbing Mt. McKinley fly out of.
If it's a sunny day, you have to charter a small plane and they'll take you up to one of the base camps on McKinley and drop you off for a while.Talkeetna ClickyThat will fill up your time.
Bill
