Alaska Itinerary; Any Comments?

Hi, I%26#39;m in the initial stages of planning my itinerary and wanted to know if this sounds reasonable.

Day1, Arrive in Anchorage 3:30pm, stay the night (Sheraton?).

Day2, Pick up RV rental drive to Hatcher Pass, visit Matanuska Glacier, stay the night in Talkeetna

Day3, Drive to Denali some hiking or bus riding if time permits, night inside the park

Day4, Bus hop on off, hiking, night inside the park

Day5, 1/2 day river rafting, night outside the park, or back to Talkeetna or some other stop on the way back to Anchorage

Day6, Return to Anchorage drop off RV, get to Seward train? Spend night in Seward, Angels Rest Cabins

Day7, Seward Harbor tour night on Fox Island

Day 8, Back to Anchorage, explore Anchorage spend night

Day 9, Fly back to CA

Is this too much, not enough? Anything that you would replace? Any other comments?

Thanks in advance!

Alaska Itinerary; Any Comments?

I should probably mention that this will be July 4th week. Could anyone comment on the weather? The reason I choose Alaska is that I get the whole week of work off and I can%26#39;t stand the heat.

Alaska Itinerary; Any Comments?

I think your itenerary sounds fine, especially spending three days in the Denali area.....July will be a busy month, so make sure you reserve everything in advance.......there are 2 state parks between Denali and Anchorage that you may want to camp at on Day 5, instead of spending another night in Talkeetna (Nancy Lakes and Denali State Parks).....You can rent canoes at Byers Lake in Denali State Park and there are hiking trails also.......weather will be very nice compared to LA in the summer, but be prepared for a drizzle......

Hi there! Overall not bad - just a few adjustments, and yes, we will be cooler . . . near the ocean with a breeze, you might even be colder. See the section in the inside pages on how to pack/layer clothes. :)

Well, the Matanuska Glacier and Hatcher Pass are actually located in different areas, you can%26#39;t really drive to Hatcher Pass to visit the glacier BUT both areas are beautiful and worth your time. The Matanuska glacier is located up on the Glenn Hwy, approximately and hour to hour 1/2 out of Palmer, so 2 hrs from Anchorage at least. Stop for a meal at Sheep Mtn. Lodge while in that area. www.matanuskaglacier.com You can access the road to Hatcher Pass from Palmer area or from Wasilla on the Parks hwy. www.hatcherspass.org

The best info about Denali Park is www.nps.gov/dena. I would recommend the Denali Outdoor Center for your raft trip. The other poster is correct for the state parks as well - I love Byers lake - great campground and nice area to explore as well.

Also, while you are in Seward, I would go to the Sealife center as well. Good luck on the rest of your planning! :)

If you do Matanuska Glacier first then drive thru hatchers pass going to Talkeetna then that day would work. Hatchers pass Cuts straight across from Palmer to Wassila and cuts out the U shape of highway and makes for a straight way across. So that would work. My only concern is the RV. When we went, we rented a car and we were glad cause i%26#39;m not certain an RV would navigate getting to 1. the Glacier. you get off the highway to a winding road going down a mountain.2. Hatchers Pass. for the same reason, winding road. Has anyone any experience with driving an RV to both of these destinations? Don%26#39;t take my word for it though, cause i%26#39;ve never driven an RV but definatly get some advice concerning that. If you look at the reviews of Matanuska Glacier there is a good picture of the road that you take down that one of the readers put up. Hope it goes well, cause those two places were our most memorable destinations.

Hi,

Just reviewed your itinerary. Looks good.

You need to get a ride from Seward train to and from Angels Rest. About 1-2 miles outside of town. You will see Bald Eagle right outside your door.

My wife and I stayed there first week of September. This is excellent!!!. Get fresh fish in town at ';J-Dock';. The Angels Rest has a gas grill.

Hatcher Pass... very interesting.

In Anchorage, we stayed at the Microtel. Near airport. Clean. Reasonable $$$.

Good Luck !!!!

I have pics of Hatcher / Angels rest if you%26#39;re interested.

John

John D.

Just clarifying: Hatcher Pass cuts from Palmer to Willow, not Wasilla. It comes out at about Mile 72 on the Parks Highway.

I would not recommend driving a motorhome over Hatcher Pass. The rental company may even prohibit it. We drove it in a rental car in the summer of 2005, and even that made me nervous.

But you could go to Independence Mine (from the Palmer side), and that road should be driveable in an RV. It is definitely worth seeing.

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