Please help! Alaska itinerary for RV newbie.

[greeholiday]

RV newbie here, planning a family trip of 6 (kids aged 12 to 14) to Alaska in August. Below is our tentative itinerary. It has a couple of long drive days, but appreciate feedback if this seems reasonable to see the highlights surrounding Anchorage and welcome any tips. Family is most interested in hiking, kayaking, seeing amazing wildlife and experiencing the quirky side of Alaska – but trying to keep activities within a reasonable budget.

Day 1 Fly from East Coast to Seattle (decided to do this to avoid arriving in Anchorage at 2am!)
Day 2 Tour Seattle, adjust internal clocks
Day 3 Early flight to Anchorage, get RV, provision RV, drive to Talkeetna with stop at Musk Ox Farm. In Talkeetna, either do flightseeing trip, zip lining or fishing. RECOMMENDATION ON CAMPGROUND IN/NEAR TALKEETNA SO WE CAN WALK TO TOWN AND RESTURANTS?
Day 4 Drive to Denali National Park. Visitors Center, dog sled, overnight at Savage River Campground (boondocking for 2 days)
Day 5 Take Denali bus trip into park + hike, overnight at Savage River Campground
Day 6 Drive to Girdwood. Hike Winner Creek, pan for gold. RECOMMENDATION ON CAMPGROUND NEAR GIRDWOOD?
Day 7 Drive to Cooper Landing  with stop at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center; take half day fishing charter and/or hike Russian River Falls. Overnight at Williwaw CG or Portage Valley CG?
Day 8 Drive to Seward, visit Alaska SeaLife Center, kayak trip into Resurrection Bay, hike Harding Icefield. We hope to overnight at the Seward waterfront RV park, but worry that it is Silver Salmon Derby and there might not be spaces with hookup available. SUGGESTIONS? SHOULD WE HEAD TO HOMER INSTEAD AND SKIP SEWARD?
Day 9 Full day Kenai Fjords cruise
Day 10 Return RV (evening) with stop at Exit Glacier. Late departure from Anchorage

Appreciate all your assistance.

[Grit_dog]

I'd fly into Anchorage. If you got 1-2 weeks, Fbks would not make my list of places to see or to have to drive in and out of to see the rest of the sites.
Regarding the statement about it impacting the kids regardless of pace. That is spot on.
After spending a year and a half there, mine beg to move back.....regularly.

[AKsilvereagle]

Upon my last long post on this topic, I stopped short of also considering arriving in Fairbanks and returning the RV to Anchorage and flying out as I thought about that before....

A friend of mine in Fairbanks back in 1997 had worked for one of the RV rental companies as I ran into him one day in Wasilla to my surprise as he was flying to Anchorage and driving back RV's to Fairbanks when needed, so I would believe at least one of the rental companies would cater to customers picking up an RV in Fairbanks and dropping off in Anchorage or vise versa....

The reason I didn't mention the recommendation is because I do not know of today's current policies and changes that might pertain with the RV rental companies or the airlines charging more for "one way fare" tickets upon different arrival and departures these days, or if it was even worth the potential extra expense in comparison....

When I looked into expenses upon my sister's first visit to Alaska, they just planned to arrive in Fairbanks and see Denali since her husband only allowed 7 days vacation time to visit, so after comparing airline charges and wanting them to see more of Alaska in such a short timeframe, I highly recommended flying to Anchorage as I would meet them there as they could rent a car which they felt more comfortable with, brought an extra CB radio along and hooked it up in the rental car as we communicated along the way back to the Fairbanks area which was convenient....

The round trip to Anchorage was like $160 cheaper versus what they charged for Fairbanks at the time on that particular day for a group of four...and a $220 car rental expense was a pretty good offset including seeing a day in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula that wasn't even in the plans, which included their experience driving to Fairbanks and returning the car rental to Anchorage and flying out....

Their only extra expense was staying overnight in Anchorage which I was willing to pay for them just so they can experience the southcentral and Anchorage area which my BIL paid me back later on and said it was way worth the extra expense seeing more of Alaska (I had one of four places me and my Mom could stay at on short notice upon friends in Anchorage just showing up at their doorstep)

They sure got to see a lot more in 7 days in stride than just staying in Fairbanks and seeing Denali in their original plans.

Three years later... my sister, her husband and the kids returned for their second visit to Alaska which was two weeks as they rented an RV in Anchorage, stopped by my residence for four days, seeing Denali on a better weather day than the first time, and did the road system loop seeing Valdez and taking the Glenn Highway back to Anchorage as they knew how to plan accordingly after their first visit.

If flying to Fairbanks is in comparison worth it or not much more expensive in airfares and RV rental rates, I'd say go for it as you would save an extra day from backtracking and spend that extra day doing something else.

[greeholiday]

Is it possible to rent an RV in Fairbanks and return it to Anchorage? This could allow us to go from Fairbanks to Denali and then on to Anchorage without having to double back. Flights into Fairbanks and out of Anchorage are about the same as R/T to Anchorage.

thanks all!

[zb39]

Just go and do it. You will have a great time and the kids will talk about it forever, mine still do. You don't want to come back and tell everyone " well I got a lot of rest there" Vacations are for running hard and doing new things. You can rest up when you get home. JUST DO IT!!!

[Grit_dog]

First, don't listen to the "you'll be too busy to enjoy your vacation" posts. You're also a rvnet newbie and this place is primarily senior citizens.
You're not taking a weeks vacation to AK to sit and relax....heck you'll get eaten alive by skeeters if you stop moving.
Here my reccomendations, living in Seattle and having spent a couple years living in AK recently.
Skip Seattle, waste of a day imo compared to more time in AK.
Skip Girdwood, nice but too close to town.
Spend a couple 3 days on the Kenai Peninsula. Cooper/Seward are a good combo. PM me for a salmon or trout fishing hookup there if interested.
Skip the fjord tour and put that $ into a better fishing trip for halibut, or split up that day. Glaciers are awesome up close. The rest you see heading out to fish but come back with only pictures vs a lot of fresh halibut. 50/50 on that one whether you want just scenery or are really into fishing.
Take the 5 days or so left and go to Talkeetna, Denali, do the Dnali Hwy if you can and head back to town. Catch the reindeer farm on your way back thru palmer.

Few other things to consider. Midnight sun. Can pack a lot of fun into a day with that much daylight.
Camping except for Denali and around town can be wherever you can get off the road. Best part of the deal having a RV. Roll all day. Stop n make camp at a pullout.
Reccomend Hatcher pass for an easy half day jaunt and the mine is super cool

Plus you'll spend time stopping to see the sights along the way, it's magical.

It will be AWESOME

[Veebyes]

Way too much planned in far too little time. No time allowed to stop at the turnouts for simple oooooh & aaaaah appreciation of the scenery. It looks like a tourbus cattle tour.

Denali needs a minimum 2 nighter at Tek. Basically the day you get there, a day on the bus to the end, then out the next day.

[AKsilvereagle]

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 !

[PA12DRVR]

greeholiday wrote:
As we have a relatively short trip, what do other think of skipping the long drive to Denali and stay a few nights at Talkeetna campground instead, taking a flightseeing trip if the weather is clear? Thanks.

I would do this. Perhaps I'm jaded, but you'll see more (whether it's mountains, animals, or whatever) in a 3-hour flightseeing tour (admittedly needing good weather) than you'll see on a day-long road trip, even inside the park.

Look to book a flightseeing trip from Talkeetna that is not limited to the mountain...you can then see some of the other spectacular scenery in McKinley area even if the mountain is clouded over. Remember, with the possible exception of weather being on one side or the other of the mountain, if it's too cloudy to see from the air, it will be too cloudy to see the peak from the ground as well. Of course, you'll see the slopes from the road trip, but one can see the slopes of mountains other than Denali.

As others have noted, I'd suggest dividing your trip into two and coming back next year...do either a North or South portion one year and the other the next.

Speaking from direct personal experience flying over as well as climbing partway up, Denali/McKinley is spectacular when seen up close...but the standard view from the bus gives you a view of a big mountain, but not that great of a view and nothing anymore scenic than other views of other mountains along the road to Fairbanks.

I'd skip Denali if you're interest is "just" seeing the mountain. If you want to devote 4 days to a week to camp, hike, etc, Denali's a great place....but to me it's not worth the time or the angst caused by glitter gulch to just try to see the mountain.

[2lazy4U]

Excellent advice from rag-ftw.

[2gypsies1]

greeholiday wrote:
As we have a relatively short trip, what do other think of skipping the long drive to Denali and stay a few nights at Talkeetna campground instead, taking a flightseeing trip if the weather is clear? Thanks.

From Talkeetna it's only 150 miles from Denali. Denali is the main focal point for anyone visiting Alaska. I sure wouldn't miss it.

Quite often the flights don't happen because of weather. That mountain makes it's own weather and it's quite different from Talkeetna. Therefore, you can't be assured that you can fly there. We know of folks who waited days before they were able to fly.

You can never be certain you'll see the mountain from any other location - Anchorage Visitor Center or even from the state park. Your best chance is along the bus ride in the park itself. The bus heads toward the mountain and even if it's cloudy or rainy, the clouds can part and you'll have that mountain right in front of you.

Don't skip Denali!

[rag-ftw]

Here's another opinion for you. Your schedule is very ambitious. I would suggest you pick an area and concentrate on seeing the sights there. i.e. Anchorage-Whittier-Seward-Ninilchik-Homer-Anchorage is a full week in itself. Anchorage-Palmer (musk ox & reindeer)-Copper River-Kennicot-Valdez is another full week. Anchorage-Talketna-Denali-Palmer-Anchorage is a week. Pick one and have time to enjoy the trip and not just drive up and down the highway!
I guarantee you will be exhausted if you try to do everything you have on your current itenerary.
We have spent a total of 12 months up there over three trips and still haven't seen everything on our list!

[johnwalkerpa1]

One thing to consider...when you say that you are an RV newbie, does that mean you have no experience at all with an RV? If so, you should consider that some of the things that experienced RVers take for granted will take you more time until you get the hang of things.

Its not a big deal and none of it's rocket science, but if its all new, you'll want to leave more time for things like taking on water, dumping your tanks, stopping for gas, backing into campsites, leveling etc.

[pegdiver]

We had 2 signs - Our last name and a we are out but will be back.
One went on the campsite post or a chair in the site; the other was thumb tacked to the table if there was one. Used large print - stiffened with cardboard - put in a clear binder sheet and taped the open ended. Put thin rope in the holes and could tie it to things. Easy to carry and easy to replace.

[2lazy4U]

You can see Denali from a great lookout as you drop down into Talkeetna. I would take the flight over the mtn and see it from there then go on south and save the park for another time. Talkeetna is a nice little town, though very touristy. There's so much more of Alaska to see, don't spend too much time there.