Is there parking available at the Anchorage RR station? We anticipate staying at a B%26amp;B with no shuttle. If we drive to the station in our rental will we be able to park? Or should we take a taxi?
(We will be travelling in August)
Parking at Anchorage RR
What will you be doing with the rental car after you board the train? Or are you just looking to park for a short time while dropping off your luggage?
I recall parking across the street from the train station when I went inside to purchase my ticket. It costs a bit but not expensive.
If you mean longer-term parking, get rid of the rental car before boarding the train - no need to have a rental car sit in Anchorage when you are not there unless you are just gone for the day and returning the same evening, or if you got some super rental car deal that would somehow make it worth it to have the car sit around unused for a few days at a time.
Please clarify if you need longer-term or shorter-term parking.
John
Parking at Anchorage RR
Thanks for the post FTI...we will be in AK for a week and will have a rental car. We are interested in the Whistle Stop guided hike to Spencer Glacier. Since my original post I%26#39;ve found out that we can pick up the train at the Portage parking lot so we will probably drive to Portage rather than get on the train in Anchorage. I saw on the Toursaver website that there is a 2 for 1 coupon for the Whistle Stop tour.
We are also planning on taking a 4 hour Prince
William Sound cruise the day after the Whistle Stop guided hike. I see there is a 2-1 coupon for the cruise as well. (We visited AK last year and went on a Resurrection Bay cruise and thought we would try Prince William Sound this year) We are sticking with the 4 hour cruise because we are traveling with an 8 year old and the 4 hour cruise seems like a good fit.
We were originally going to stay in Anchorage the 1st two days, but I%26#39;m now thinking that we will stay around Coopers Landing for the first two days and travel to Portage and Whitter from there.
For the next 3-4 days we would like to make our way down to Homer and back up to Anchorage and home. We will likely stay at least one night in Homer. We would like to take the Alaska Center for Coastal Studies tour/hike across Kachemak Bay on one of our days.
Other activities I am looking into is the mild float on the upper Kenai and a 1/2 horseback ride.
If anyone has suggestions regarding accommodations in Cooper%26#39;s Landing, Homer, and points in between I%26#39;d love to hear your suggestions. We don%26#39;t need top of the line..clean and comfortable will do.
Also welcome are suggestions regarding outfitters for horseback riding and other ';things to do'; suggestions. We won%26#39;t be doing a bear watching tour as that is out of our price range, and quite honestly we found on our last trip that we didn%26#39;t need to break the bank to see beautiful sights and enjoy ourselves. We enjoy hiking but I prefer to go on guided hike as I a bit nervous about running into bears on our own.
Thanks!!
If you%26#39;re going to be in the Portage/Whittier area the first 2 days, Cooper Landing is a bit far for you to commute. I%26#39;d suggest either Girdwood, Hope, or Summit Lake Lodge at milepost 45.
Don%26#39;t forget to see the Wildlife Conservation Center if you didn%26#39;t last year (or even if you did!). Also, from the Begich-Boggs parking lot you can do the easy 1 hr. roundtrip hike to actually walk on Byron Glacier and look for iceworms. There is an Iceworm Safari there too, I think Tues. %26amp; Sat. at 3 pm, if that happens to fit in with your schedule.
Glacierlady always says the horseback riding in Cooper Landing is great, so you should be fine there. The raft should be fun too.
Also near there is the 2 hour hike to Russian River Falls, where you might see bears. If you%26#39;re concerned about bears, just be sure to talk or sing or otherwise make noise as you walk along. As long as you don%26#39;t surprise a bear, you should be fine. If you see one on the path, obviously you either wait until it leaves or head back. Should be lots of people on the path with you anyway--you can always tuck yourselves in with or behind another group.
Itinerary might look something like this:
Day 1 – arrive Anch., light sightseeing if time, overnight Anchorage.
Day 2 – drive to Portage for Spencer Glacier tour/hike. Maybe Wildlife Conservation Center before or after. Overnight Girdwood, Hope or Summit Lake Lodge.
Day 3 – Drive to Whittier for PWS cruise. On the way there, maybe hike to Byron Glacier, and/or do the Portage Pass Hike on the Whittier side of the Tunnel. Evening drive to Cooper Landing (approx. 1.5 hrs)
Day 4 – 2 or 3 hr. river raft float, watch “combat” fishing, horseback riding, hike to Russian River Falls or another hike. Overnight Cooper Landing.
Day 5 – drive to Homer (2+ hrs), stopping to explore along the way (Kenai, Soldotna). In Homer, Pratt Museum, Islands %26amp; Ocean Visitor center, explore the Spit, beachcombing/tidepooling. Overnight Homer.
Day 6 - Alaska Center for Coastal Studies tour/hike across Kachemak Bay (are you talking about the Peterson Bay trip? I’m doing that in August too! BTW, there’s one that includes kayaking as well if you’re interested.) Overnight Homer.
Day 7 – Drive back to Anchorage (5 hrs) for flight home.
MM..thank you for the suggestions. I%26#39;m really looking forward to this trip!
Re: #6, yes it is the Peterson Bay trip we want to take. Hope the tides are in our favor.
Question: how long a drive is it from Coopers Landing to Portage? To Whittier? I%26#39;m wondering if it might be worth extra drive time if it means one or two less days of checking in\out of hotels.
It%26#39;s a bit over 50 miles from Cooper%26#39;s Landing to Portage, so plan for a little over an hour for the drive since you will likely get stuck behind RVs on that road.
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