What to do Where to stay?

We will be leaving Seaward the 2nd of June %26amp; traveling to Denali

Our options are to stay In Girdwood for 1 -2 nights,or drive through stay in Talkeetna for 2-3 nights %26amp; then 3 nights in Denali

What can you do in Girdwood, where to stay?

Talkeetna - we would like to do the flight around Mt McKinley, Hiking in Denali State Park, are we too far away to do Denali state Park

Where could we stay closer to the park entrance,any suggestions

What to do Where to stay?

Hi there! Girdwood is a beautiful area, so I would stay one night there, and since you have time, you might also consider the Hatcher Pass area a place to explore and/or possibly stay as well. Talkeetna is a good place to flightsee, but Denali State Park is further north. The views of Mt McKinley are really impressive from there. There are lots of hiking trails in Denali State park as well - they are accessed from the highway. One of my favorite hikes is around Byers lake. Now I am a bit confused - are you looking for suggestions for accommodations closer to Denali State Park or are you meaning near the entrance to Denali National Park?? I can help you there if you are interested - perhaps you can share what types of lodging you are looking for - there are B%26amp;B%26#39;s, cabins, inns, hotels/motels, etc. I hope this helps a bit - just write again for specifics! :)

What to do Where to stay?

Thank you for replying

Coalminer, we would like to stay somewhere closer to Denali state Park in preference to 3 days in Talkeetna. We will only have a rental car so unable to get off road. Any suggestions for accommodation nearer this area would be appreciated.

We are staying at Valley Vista B %26amp; B near Denali for 3 days, we are planning on doing the shuttle bus into Denali, should we go twice.Do the full route 1 day %26amp; then stop %26amp; start with Hikes the 2nd day

Thanks again for any advise

If you are staying near Denali NP for three nights then I suggest one day taking the shuttle to the end of the road and hiking the same day. You may ask the driver to stop and let you out anywhere you want. This option is only available for those taking the shuttle. If you are booked on a tour then you have to stay on the same bus. If you take an early morning shuttle you%26#39;ll have a plenty of time for a ride and hiking. The next day you may want to go water rafting, hiking near the entrance, visiting a dog musher, visiting the kennel at the park, take a hike with a park ranger.

benji: Hello again. Well, there aren%26#39;t many accommodations in the Denali State Park area - mostly campgrounds. The nearest nice hotel is the McKinley Princess. There are some rooms available at Mary Carey%26#39;s lodge, but I am not sure about those - that is all that I know of. There may be some private cabins along the way . . . but nothing well published - you may check out the Milepost, see if they have any listings. Sorry I can%26#39;t be more help. :)

Thank you to Places %26amp; Coalminer

We have decided to stay in

Girdwood 1 night

Talkeetna 2 nights, Mt Mckinley flight %26amp; hiking

Healy 3 nights, we will do the shuttle %26amp; explore the rest of the time

Fairbanks 2 nights, Barrow day trip

Travel the Richardson Highway, we have 5 nights. Trying to get accomodation near Paxson,no luck as yet 2-3 nights in Valdez, ! night in cooper centre

3 nights on the Glenallen Highway, staying at Tundra Rose cottages

2 nights at Hatchers Pass

Any suggestions on where to stay along the Richardson Hwy would be appreciated

Thank you

Chris

Chris - looks like a great trip, but what about a few days down on the Kenai Peninsula?? Just a thought - I love the town of Seward, and places like Homer are sure worth seeing as well. I hope I don%26#39;t throw your planning into confusion. :)

I agree with Coalminer, as always he comes up with great ideas and points out things many of us miss. Chris, I suggest you rethink your itinerary and spend some time on Kenai Peninsula. After 2 nights in Seward consider going to Homer for maybe three nights. Then continue to Girdwood and follow your already existing itinerary. However, 3 nights on the Glenallen Highway at Tundra Rose and 2 nights at Hatcher Pass is just too much time at the lovely Mat-Su Valley area. If you spend one night in each of these two places you%26#39;ll have time for Kenai Peninsula. 3 nights in Tundra Rose is definitely much too long. It wouldn%26#39;t be a bad idea to include in your itinerary the ferry to Valdez from Whittier.

You may also consider staying in Talkeetna for 1 night only and add one night to Fairbanks. If you are going to travel to Barrow and this is all day trip which means you won%26#39;t have any time for Fairbanks.

As to what to do in Girdwood, try to do search here on this forum under Girdwood. Besides the tram ride and hiking you may consider a dog sledding on a glacier covered with snow.

In Copper Center try Sawing Logzz B%26amp;B. We never stayed there but it is on my list and looks very interesting.

Chris -

I have to add a 3rd in here on hitting the Kenai - locals call it ';the Denali of the Ocean';

There are lots of great places to stay in Seward, great food, and the wildlife cruises are AMAZING! Try seward.com for more ideas.

LOVE Girdwood, Stay at the Alyeska Resort, there is lots to do and see there.

Have fun!

Hi to everyone that replied,

We are already staying in Seaward for 3 nights, we intend to do day trips from there

Actually our trip starts in Ketchikan on the 28th May

We have 10 days in the inside passage, hopefully not in the water!

All up we are in Alaska for nearly 5 weeks, with a 2 day stopover on the way home in Seattle. Unsure of where to stay in Seatle, I would like to be near the water, any suggestions?

Thanks again to everyone who writes on this forum, it is such a big trip for me to plan %26amp; suggestions, information make it all so much easier

Let me know if you need an advice on Australia, I will be able to help out

Chris

How great that you get to be here that long - that is a wonderful way to do a trip!! Especially wise after that long plane flight. Yes, I hope to come to Australia some day . . . but it%26#39;s down the road aways. Best of luck with the rest of your planning! :)

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