Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That’s another interesting place. And if one is adventurous and in good physical condition, right by the reindeer farm is a big knob that sticks up several hundred fee, and there are a couple trails to the top, including one that is a long set of steps that wind up the side of the hill. From the top one can see all over the Matanuska-Sustina Valley, as well as up the Knik River to the toe of the Knik Glacier. Awesome scenery from the top of The Butte, as it’s called. But you have to be in very good shape.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

A word of warning. If you are anything like me and my wife, you will fall in love with Alaska and spend the rest of your life going back or trying to figure out how to go back. We have been up and back in our RV and flown up and back on military space-A a few times.
And don't think twice about driving up to Denali N.P. It's not dangerous, or even difficult. We drove there with the RV and camped for two weeks.
And it doesn't hurt to have a brother who has lived up there for more than 20 years.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Just a note regarding driving to and/or in Alaska. The Alaska Hwy, or Alcan as it’s referred to, is paved the entire way. For the most part is good, high speed road, although the speed limit mostly 55 mph, and for good reason in some places. Yes, there is road repair work in places to fix damage due to frost heaving. An alternate route, the Cassiar Hwy, is fairly narrow in places, curvy in others, but paved all the way. It runs from Hwy 16 in BC, to just north of Watson Lake on the Alaska Hwy. In Alaska, our roads are paved save for the Denali Hwy, the Hatcher Pass Road, the Steese Hwy that runs out of Fairbanks, and the Dalton Hwy that goes up to Prudhoe Bay. Otherwise, driving up here is enjoyable. “The Milepost,” which is considered the “bible of the Alcan,” is a great tool. You can usually find it at Costco, and I’m sure Amazon has it, too. It chronicals every major road going to, and in Alaska. Well worth carrying with you if driving.

EDIT:

I just checked, and “The Milepost” is available in the hard copy for $24.99, or the kindle edition (very handy) for $9.99. That’s for the 2019 edition. I don’t think the 2020 edition is out yet, but it says the hard copy is $34.99. I like the idea of the kindle version as you can put it on a tablet or laptop, and you don’t have to deal with a thick, heavy paperback book.

Chris Williams

We rented a car and drove to Homer for a couple of days. Lots to see and do in Homer and along the way. Homer is actually a very unique little town. I also flew out of Homer to Brooks River. That is a trip.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Gotta stop in at the Salty Dawg Saloon on the Homer Spit. It’s an iconic bar there. The Lands End hotel restaurant serves up some pretty good food, too.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Just want to point out that the Denali Highway is the old Denali Highway not the current access to Denali National Park. The old Denali Highway is quite a road trip all on it's own and well worth the two to three days that it would normally take although some speed demons aka southern 48'ers can and do cut a day or a day and a half of the trip. WHY? I don't know.

Seabastes

Tony, You are not giving yourself enough time, but based on that, a rental car and going down the Kenai Peninsula will give you a brief adventure to some of Alaska's best destinations. You would need to plan Denali for a later trip. Going to the Kenai, you can drive to Homer, or to Seward. I don't think you can do both based on your time schedule and really enjoy your adventure. The photo opportunities start in Anchorage and get betters you drive.

AlanD Loc: TC, MN

A short trip north of Anchorage is Eklutna Village with its Russian Orthodox chapel and unique cemetery with its spirit houses. Seward is also a short trip with many photography opportunities, including its harbor and a couple of glaciers along the way.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That is correct. Before the Parks Hwy was built, the only way to the Park was taking the Denali Hwy form the Richardson Hwy at Paxson. Or take the railroad from either Fairbanks or Anchorage. The road into the park is just referred to as Park Access. The Denali Hwy is 140 miles long, between Paxson and Cantwell. It’s paved for 8 miles from the Parks Hwy and 20 miles from the Richardson Hwy entrance. It’s quite a drive. We’ve done that, and I’ve ridden it on my motorcycle twice. Great adventure. Lots to photograph.

This is a shot of my friend crossing the Susitna River Bridge on his motorcycle. Taken with a Nikon S8200.

(Download)

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

2014 trip to Alaska, our itinerary during your time frame:
Highly recommend the trip to Seward, 2 nights, small boat ride into Kenai Fjords NP, we saw whale, orca, porpoise, scenery, and much, much more! Also the Sealife Center is in Seward.
Three nights in Homer, due to flight to Katmai. Flights to Katmai are frequently aborted due to high winds (and it happened on our 1st day/scheduled flight!) If you can, the trip to Katmai is... OH MY! My favorite place for photography in Alaska! And that is saying a lot!!! The brown bears were not at Brooks falls yet when we were there (same time frame as you are going!) But it is Wow, Wow Wow! We were along the coast, outstanding and varied photo ops!
Along the road to the Kenai peninsula it is scenic; Girdwood, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Portage Glacier... and watch out for wildlife!
In Anchorage, the museum is excellent. There is tourist shopping downtown. Earthquake park... beware of the mosquitoes, but not much else, Potter Marsh Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk on the south side, along Turnagain Arm.
If you find yourself with 3 extra days, the road to Valdez is the prettiest road trip in Alaska(?). At first it starts out blah, but then, Wow!!!

beannie

We were there in August 1996. Flew into Anchorage and did day trips. One trip we did was the Phillip's 26 Glacier Cruise 1-800-544-0529, https://www.phillipscruises.com/. They picked us up at our hotel in a Greyhound sized bus and drove us down to Whittier. Part of that trip included a portion with the bus on a flatbed rail car that went through a 2.5 mile tunnel. The Glacier cruise is on a high speed catamaran that travels about 110 miles of Prince William Sound.

We took the train from Anchorage to Denali and spent a night in the park hotel. We booked the Wild Life Tour which takes you about 65 miles into the park. We saw lots of wild life on that trip. We had enough time in the morning to hike down to Horseshoe Lake and back before our wild life tour left. Private vehicles were restricted to the first 15 miles of road in the park. To go beyond that, you take a park bus. The Wild Life Tour is worth the time and money.

Enjoy your trip and I hope to see some photos posted.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

You’ll be happy to know that you can now actually drive through the tunnel in your car.

BrHawkeye

Whatever you choose to do, you'll have a great time. Photographic opportunities are everywhere. Even after living in Alaska for more than 20 years, I departed without seeing everything I would have liked to. You can always go back ... you'll want to.