Coalminer - Denali Camp or North Face Lodge?

I read several of your statements about visiting both places without staying there but maybe you can help us. Both places sounds very appealing to my husband and myself. Do you know whether the cabins in Denali camp are self-standing or attached to each other? Sometimes these attached cabins have very thin walls and are not soundproof. I still remember our stay in the cabins on North Rim of Grand Canyon about 10 years ago. Both nights I had a feeling I slept with two men, one was my husband and another a snoring g guy on the other side of the wall.

The cabins of Denali Camp really appeal to us with because of wood stoves, propane light, outhouse and option of taking showers in the lodge. On the other hand the lodge%26#39;s rooms and a private bathroom with showers are always nice to have. What should we do? We%26#39;ll be there in the end of August again or beginning of September. Also need to decide whether to stay three or four nights. Did you attend any programs in either the lodge or the camp?

Is it safe to leave a rental car at the train station for a few days and nights? Is there any specified overnight parking? We left twice our cars in Chitina while visiting Wrangell-St. Elias NP and did not have any problem. Would not hesitate to do it again there.

Coalminer - Denali Camp or North Face Lodge?

Good Morning, Places! Well, I haven%26#39;t been out there for several years, but here are the basics. They are all run by the same folks - who have operated a top quality business for many years and I have many friends who have worked out here. Camp Denali is the more rustic . . . North Face was originally run by someone else, and Camp Denali bought it years ago and have run it since. North Face is more like a lodge/hotel . . . . with facilities a bit handier than the cabins at Camp Denali. I am quite sure the cabins are separate, so noise shouldn%26#39;t be an issue. I laughed at your description - I have been in hotels like that! :) I do remember that all the beds had handmade quilts - special things like that.

They serve excellent food - grow much of their produce in their green house which is onsite. The emphasis is on the environment and surroundings . . . I think their guests leave much educated. :) I feel they have very high standards in everything they do, so even if you are in the more rustic accommodations, you%26#39;ll have an incredible stay. I wouldn%26#39;t hestitate to call them and ask them as many questions as you want. It also just happens to be located in one of the most beautiful places in the Park . . .

Oh, I think your car would be fine in the parking lot - I haven%26#39;t heard of any kind of a problem in that regard. Hope this helps. :)

Coalminer - Denali Camp or North Face Lodge?

Dear Coalminer,

What would we do without your input? We are definitely returning to Denali next year and staying in Camp Denali or North Face Lodge. How to decide? There is no difference in price and I%26#39;m curious why because it seems the lodge with private bathrooms would be pricier. After this year trip my husband and I fell in love with Denali again and now we are already set on staying inside the park. It must be an amazing feeling to stay at night in such vast and open space with only a group of chosen visitors. We probably are going to include also Kodiak or Cordova in our itinerary. Never been to any of them and these type of decisions are always difficult. Suggestions?

Anyway, thank you for all information you were able to provide and if you hear, see or read something new about these places please let me know. I hope, when we are in Denali next year maybe my husband and I can meet you. Just be aware that both of us are travel addicts.

Still contemplating whether we should take a train from Anchorage or drive. It would be less of a headache to take a train but having a car gives us freedom we love while in Alaska or anywhere else. Further, having a rental car is less expensive option.

Will be calling this place sometime very soon. After that the hardest part is waiting for almost a year but we have a couple of nice trips planned in between. Another thought, not sure whether we are going to go to Alaska in March 2007 or march 2008. Sorry for this long post

Places, we didn%26#39;t stay in the park, so I can%26#39;t help you with that, but I would encourage you to skip the train and rent a car. With a car you would be able to stop for all those great photo opportunities including the Mt. McKinley viewpoints plus you can stop to hike in Denali State Park and/or Hatcher Pass on your way. Even if you don%26#39;t want to do any of that I have to say that we were very glad to have a car and be able to drive the first 14 miles into the park and stop wherever we wanted to and stay there for as long as we wanted to - we watched a moose close to the road and took photos of Mt. McKinley from mile 9. I realize you have probably already done this before, but you just never know what might interest you as you drive and I would always want to have the flexibility to enjoy it to the fullest.

By the way, since you travel so much, I hope you wouldn%26#39;t mind me asking - have you been to Peru? I am hoping to plan a trip there for next year and would like to hear about your experience if you have been there. I read numerous trip reports and have seen the opinions of the local experts on the Peru forum, but they just seem to be very repetitive.

Travel10000, you are so right. This is how I feel about having a car while in Alaska or anywhere else. You just said it much better than I ever could. I agree that a car is a great mode of transportation because we never know what might interest us as we drive. Thank you

We played with an idea of taking a train because when staying inside the park we have to leave our rental car for 4 or 5 days there. But we did this in Chitina without any problems so it shouldn%26#39;t be any different in Denali.

I wonder whether we were in Denali you at the same time this August? We too had such magnificent views of Mount McKinley and took many, many pictures.

I would be more than happy to share any of my travel experiences with you. Unfortunately we never visited Peru. Yet! It is on our list. Are you thinking about combining your trip to Peru with Galapagos? We have great memories of our trip to Galapagos Islands.

travel10000, your approach to having a rental car while traveling made me think of a quote but Marcel Proust ';The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.';

We recently stayed at the Kantishna Roadhouse, which is just a couple of miles farther into Denali than the Camp/North complex. The folks at Kantishna spoke well of the Camp/North operation, but you might also want to consider the Roadhouse as an option. It seems to be a bit more rustic than North Face, and a bit more posh than Camp Denali. The Roadhouse cabins are duplexes with private baths, the food was well done though relatively simple, the staff was just super. The Roadhouse also has a bar, which I don%26#39;t believe the other options have, and that contributes to interaction between the guests who hangout in the tavern to play games or to visit. Having stayed at just the one place, I cannot say one is better than the other, but it is another option for you to consider.

Long-term parking for those overnighting inside the park is located at the Riley Creek Campground, just inside the park entrance. You can catch a shuttle there to the train depot, where you%26#39;ll meet your bus. The long-term parking is well used and everything seemed safe enough.

places - me again. Perhaps I%26#39;ll give them a call soon and chat . . . see how they recommend one over another to a guest.

As far as the train goes . . . it%26#39;s a lovely trip, and if your car is just going to stay in the parking lot, I think I would take the train, especially if you haven%26#39;t taken the train before. If you wanted to do further exploring in the Denali area after your time out at Camp Denali, perhaps you could rent a car here. We do have a local car rental - Theresa%26#39;s car rental. www.alaskanChateau.com

I think if I had a choice and I haven%26#39;t been to either, I think I would go to Kodiak - more to see and do there.

Yes, I would love to meet you - and I am sure we could talk for hours. Obviously, I am getting addicted to travel . . . and haven%26#39;t traveled nearly as much as I would like to . . . just finish one trip, and want to go on another. Just met with another Alaskans TA guy - had coffee at Rose%26#39;s here in Healy and the quick visit was over 2 hrs. I just opened an email account that I can share on the forum, so feel free to write. alaskacoalminer@hotmail.com.

I%26#39;ll write back again . . . . :)

Places, we were in Denali in mid-August and the only photos of Mt. McKinley we got are from mile 9. After that it was too cloudy, and then came the days of rain. But at least we had an opportunity to see it from different places on 4 days if it was visible, so an hour out of 4 days is not that bad. We took many photos of other amazing mountains, so seeing or not seeing Mt. McKinley is not such a big deal to me.

I was hoping you have visited Peru. Oh well. If we go I will be glad to share our experience with you after we come back. We would only be able to go for 2 weeks and I can hardly fit in all we want to do in Peru into 2 weeks, so Galapagos will have to be a separate trip, and one we definitely want to do at some point. How much time would you recommend for Galapagos?

Places, thank you so much for all the info and your email address. When we go to Peru we will definitely go to Machu Picchu and will definitely email you. I am in the early stages of researching that trip, planning for next August. We should probably take this discussion offline. I might email you next week. Thanks again!