A lot of accurate advice from most everyone here although I will add my input, weighing in a couple factors and a few more details with the OP's crammed tight planned 10 day schedule :
First of all, the one factor somewhat going against the OP here is the month of August itself in reference to Denali Nat'l Park, which is by far the rainiest part of the year in the Alaska Interior.
The mainstay of the rainy transition is setting up for the later fall season which usually starts on average around the third week of July...this factor here is a mild concern for one that plans to visit the Denali Nat'l Park area in such a short timeframe with no flexibility on a tight schedule should it constantly rain, which means Denali will not be that scenic at all - but still would be an experience for a first time visitor.....for one that would enjoy Denali Nat'l Park the upmost, you need the very least high overcast or sunny days to really enjoy the area, which means the scenery aspect - the mainstake of Denali National Park.
However, any given day during the entire summer is a crapshoot for a sunny or partly cloudy decent day to experience Denali, it can also be a decent day with intermittent rain and or wind, the dismal days there are the low clouds and thick overcast with constant rain to where you will not see anything more than 10 miles visibility of just ground terrain.
Along the coastal areas of Southcentral Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula, mild and major rainy days are potentially more often to happen than sunny days as the coast redeems a wetter climate versus inland during the summer which is the normal there, so worrying about any potential rain in Anchorage and Seward is pretty much a non factor in August as coastal areas do not hurt scenery much with the ocean and close up mountain terrain in front of you.
Everything planned or shuffled around on the potential itinerary list can be doable but ending up exhausted like rag-ftw mentioned is not an understatement.....Any potential road delays, bad rainy weather days, or other far north mishaps that happen along the way during the 10 day trip - multiply it by ten.
I can certainly mention potential delays during the daytime for one enroute to Denali from Anchorage on the Parks Highway with the current road construction projects if not completed by August 2017 :
To make a lot better time heading
northbound on the Parks Highway, I would NOT commute thru the Wasilla and surrounding areas between 200pm to 700pm as there is potential peak traffic and will slow down commute...
-The corridor expansion at mile 45 thru 47 could be potential delays during the daytime...
-New railroad underpass at mile 91 in the Goose Creek area could be potential delays during the daytime...
-New railroad underpass at mile 100, one mile north of Squawkeetna Junction at Sunshine Creek (Talkeetna Spur Rd.) - one will see the Tesoro station is a real busy place at Talkeetna Junction...
-New railroad underpass with new connecting highway bypass at mile 194 at the south end of Broad Pass, 16 miles south of Cantwell.
The good news is between the Houston, Willow, Caswell Creek areas (mile 60 to mile 85) there are now quite a few added one to two mile stretches of intermittent passing lanes to ease out slower and congested traffic in comparison to the virtually entire two lane highway in the past, which was a breeze to commute in my camper twice last summer.
The catch 22 about all the places wanting to see in such a short timeframe here is there is an RV rental involved, which in my opinion the best way to enjoy a 10 day trip or any other trip with an RV is to take your time on a
leisurely pace while seeing the sights along the way upon the current routes chosen, while not worrying about a set schedule in which things in the far north can change on a moments notice sometimes to where any mishap on a crammed in 10 day schedule will not have any flexibility which you will have to cancel or miss other areas that were preplanned.
The drive from Anchorage and Denali Nat'l Park is enjoyable in many spots especially in an RV and not race to save time barrelling like a maniac, there are a handful of turnouts and rest stops along the way with free boondocking spots scattered along the highway corridor as well....about the post reference to respecting private property and no trespassing signs . . . .When you see these signs, they mean it !
If it were me juggling the best of this itinerary while having to commit to Denali, I would reserve the school bus ride to Eielson Center and commit on having to be there that day which would be luck of the draw for weather.....I do not know if they still have the stand by waiting list method for non reserved patrons but I would not count on cancellations as many people from abroad come to visit....I would only commit for two to three days at most in the Denali Nat'l Park area depending on weather if it's for three days.
As far as staying in a campground within Denali Nat'l Park, I'm with 2gypsies post on not committing beyond Savage River for such a short timeframe to visit....Sanctuary and Teklanika campgrounds are farther in the park as to experience those areas one would get the fullest enjoyment if they can commit to staying longer in the Denali area as you can hike and explore more fully within the areas with a better chance to hit a day or more of good weather should one arrive while the weather is not so favorable....as Sue posted - if committed to Teklanika campground, no commuting by vehicle until leaving.
I would go on impulse upon visiting Talkeetna for a sidetrip if still committed to Denali, and that's only to commit upon a flightseeing tour which would mean if the weather is decent enough while present within the surrounding area....PA12DRVR's post totally makes sense and one to consider if skipping Denali which would save an extra couple days on committing more to the Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral areas.
The Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula areas are so much more flexible for a short visiting timeframe as one could visit the other areas mentioned without worrying about committed reservations as such, as within Anchorage and along the way to Seward - one could stop at the Native Heritage Center in Anchorage or the wildlife conservation center on impulse along the way....I would only stop in Girdwood if I were to commit to the aerial tram overlooking Turnagain Arm on Mt. Alyeska - and that would be also upon impulse and good weather.
While commuting on the Seward Highway corridor upon leaving Anchorage towards the Kenai Peninsula, if all possible for safety reasons avoid commuting here during Fridays as many people escape to do their fishing and recreation on the weekends and a few can get intoxicated in the process, as even though the roadway is truly scenic - it can also be deadly as there are many accidents and more than a handful of careless drivers that will drive flat crazy it is appalling - when these events do occur, it will delay traffic and feature some gridlock while officials investigate all the injury and fatality accidents if needed to shut down the highway for an undetermined amount of timeframe.....on Sundays heading back into Anchorage the craziness of traffic along this stretch can be hit or miss depending on the tide you could say.
enblethen wrote:
If it is cloudy at Denali the school bus ride will be a waste! It must be clear or mostly clear or you will not see any of the mountain. Even animals "hide" when the weather is crappy!
I am sorry but this statement is just clearly not true about the weather or the animals.
As far as a general cloudy day, it won't be a waste...however if it is a purely crappy weather day - I totally agree with enblethen's post...
In July 1998 when my sister visited for the first time - I had reserved and purchased the old special deals they used to have at the Fairbanks visitors center for $30 which totalled six of us to go on the school bus ride....
Weather was great in Fairbanks when driving out however once we were in the Alaska Range and Denali, this real nasty weatherfront kicked in and it was purely miserable....we went to the Eielson visitor's center along on the trip, it was thick low clouds, windy and constant rain medium and hard as it was a waste of a 6 hour trip virtually stuck sitting in a bus - I even guaranteed to the kids that at least some squirrel would make an appearance and that didn't even happen....the rainy weather only let up for 20 minutes at Toklat River where they seen a few surrounding nearby mountains as the low clouds and distant fog covered everything again and rained hard, heater on full blast, side windows condensating - overall it was ok as everyone on the bus including me took it in stride while dressed for it.
I never had much luck seeing too much wildlife within Denali Nat'l Park compared to others but have seen a few sheep, a fox almost everytime around the Savage River area and a grizzly bear with cubs from a great distance.
Out of the many RV road trips I have taken here in the far north of Alaska and throughout Western Canada, almost everytime I never meet my itinerary planned agenda and schedule....it was the flexibility factor that got me by more so then the few areas that I had to cancel out if I became more than a couple days behind schedule.
With that said, hope this helps in detail to what the OP will plan on, as I definitely would keep all the Seward things to do in the plans for sure while Denali is still doable, but in between other things to see plans and permitting weather would be on impulse for me while commuting in between these locations on what timeframe would be remaining.
If decided to skip Denali all together, I would opt for exploring more areas in the Kenai Peninsula including Homer or perhaps 3 to 4 days exploring Valdez and back to Anchorage in an RV while spending 4 to 5 days exploring the Seward area...you can't go wrong there either.
One last important recommendation :
BRINGING EXTRA PAIRS OF BINOCULARS IS A MUST !
1975 Ford F250 2WD Ranger XLT (Owned June 2013)
460 V8- C6 Trans- 3.73:1 (196K Total Mi)
2000 Fleetwood Angler 8ft Cabover
Air Lift 1000 (Front)
Hellwig 3500 lb Helper Springs (rear)
Hellwig Front and Rear Sway Bars
Goodyear G971 LT Series (siped)