Alaska
Mar 9, 2024 12:16:42 #
The weather here in September can be iffy, at best. Just make sure you bring good raingear and cold weather apparel. I don’t know if Major Marine and Kenai Fjords Tours are still operating in September. Labor Day usually signals the end of our tourist season. I would prefer the train trip to Denali. There are amenities available that you can’t get on a bus. Just be aware that you will be lucky if you get to see Denali, the mountain. I agree, the fall colors should be very nice.
Mar 9, 2024 13:17:51 #
If the weather is good: Take there cruise either through College Fjords in Prince William Sound. Or if wildlife is you thing then take the cruise through Kenai Fjords. You get glaciers and wildlife in Kenai Fjords. Other wise take the train to Denali or Fairbanks. Wingpilot has a good idea too. Enjoy the Great Land.
Mar 9, 2024 14:54:17 #
Be aware that the bus rides into Denali NP are only going a few miles into the park now due to the massive landslide that is taking them years to bridge over it.
Mar 9, 2024 15:43:32 #
cahale wrote:
Wife and I did Alaska in 2015. One land item was a bus trip (images below) using "Denali Backcountry Adventure" to the innards of Denali. It was a 12-hour round trip. The bus trip was scary as hell with narrow roads overlooking many 500-1000 foot drops (ie. at times, the bus's tires would only be 2 or 3 feet from the edge of the road...and past that would be a drop over the cliff to below). If one vehicle met another going opposite direction, and the road was too narrow to accommodate both, there was a protocol that one of the two would have to backup to a wider section of road. Nevertheless, we were consoled that the bus driver had made the trip many hundreds of times over the past 20 years. To get past a certain point in the road to Denali in a private or rental car, you have to get permission, and register your trip. So renting a car to Denali is the last thing we would have done.Rent a car and go where no man has gone before. That puts you in control.
1. The Bus to Denali
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2. A pause on the Bus Trip overlooking one of the scary drops/cliffs.
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3. Denali Backcountry Lodge was the deepest part of the trip into Denali. Took 6 hours to get there, one-way.
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4. Dall Sheep. Unlike humans, they had no fear of walking on high cliffs.
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Mar 9, 2024 15:45:23 #
bobbyjohn wrote:
Wife and I did Alaska in 2015. One land item was... (show quote)
Looks like a fun trip! Love those sheep. Unfortunately that road has been damaged and is not longer open.
Mar 9, 2024 17:01:08 #
texasdan wrote:
I am taking family on an Alaska 7 day cruise in September. It ends in Seward and we are planning to stay a few extra days. My question is, photographically should be stay in Seward to take the coastal cruise or take the train to Denali? We can only stay an extra 2-3 days, so we can't do both.
One of our sons and his wife live near Anchorage. We have been there a couple times. I would suggest and recommend the train to Denali. You will have taken the waterway cruise to Juneau, take the inland tour by train and see some of the interior. Also, seeing Denali would be much more impressive (in my mind anyway) than more ocean travel. Neither time my wife and I have been to Alaska have we seen Denali, due to the weather. But then, we were in a rented car and did not get that close to the mountain. We did take a train from Anchorage to Talkeetna which is still quite a distance from Denali.
Mar 9, 2024 21:54:11 #
bobbyjohn wrote:
Wife and I did Alaska in 2015. One land item was... (show quote)
Lovely shots and great scenery 🩵🥇🩵
Mar 10, 2024 08:40:05 #
V2volk
Loc: St. Louis area
ricardo00 wrote:
Looks like a fun trip! Love those sheep. Unfortunately that road has been damaged and is not longer open.
Oh that is too bad, hopefully they will fix it. When I went I took the long trip back to the lake.
Mar 10, 2024 09:01:19 #
rwww80a
Loc: Hampton, NH
Stay in Steward. Get off the boat. You can take the train to Anchorage. Local tours are available. Take to local National Park boat cruise to see Kenai Fjords National Park. Drive or take the train to Whittier. Plenty to see in a few days.
Mar 10, 2024 13:30:58 #
V2volk wrote:
Oh that is too bad, hopefully they will fix it. When I went I took the long trip back to the lake.
Yep nature has a way of playing havoc with one's plans. When we went in 2016, we also drove all the way in and stayed at the cabins there. Now, according to the Denali Park site, ". . . park operations are currently altered due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. The closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in place through summer 2026 . . ." So one has to fly in to stay at the cabins we went to. Too bad, it was beautiful there. But the road typically closed in mid-September anyway due to winter conditions. Loved getting up and seeing the peak:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60519499@N00/28448307906/in/photolist-Js4gVH-Jtx59L-JXsd9G-JXJmKs-Kiok1M-KkT1Pm-LxXrB9
Mar 10, 2024 14:58:36 #
texasdan wrote:
I am taking family on an Alaska 7 day cruise in September. It ends in Seward and we are planning to stay a few extra days. My question is, photographically should be stay in Seward to take the coastal cruise or take the train to Denali? We can only stay an extra 2-3 days, so we can't do both.
Denali
Mar 10, 2024 22:25:22 #
texasdan wrote:
I am taking family on an Alaska 7 day cruise in September. It ends in Seward and we are planning to stay a few extra days. My question is, photographically should be stay in Seward to take the coastal cruise or take the train to Denali? We can only stay an extra 2-3 days, so we can't do both.
The train versus Denali bus:
Mar 11, 2024 10:00:54 #
wds0410
Loc: Nunya
texasdan wrote:
I am taking family on an Alaska 7 day cruise in September. It ends in Seward and we are planning to stay a few extra days. My question is, photographically should be stay in Seward to take the coastal cruise or take the train to Denali? We can only stay an extra 2-3 days, so we can't do both.
Personally, I would take the boat tour of Kenai Peninsula which was fabulous. Denali, in my humble opinion, wasn't that great.
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