Wrangell-St.Elias worth the trip?

I%26#39;m trying to decide how to best spend the

7 days I have in Alaska.

How is the drive on Hwy 1 to Glennallen and on down to Valdez? I really love looking at

spectacular mts. but have been told that spending the whole 7 days on the Kenai penisula wouldn%26#39;t be bad either. I saw Denali 5 yrs. ago and want to see some more

of the state. Any tips on roads not to miss?

Thanks,

Wrangell-St.Elias worth the trip?

Maureen: I have only been thru that area, haven%26#39;t really checked out Wrangell-St. Elias, but I love the Glenn Hwy - esp. the area from Palmer to Sheep Mtn area . . . I think that area is one of the prettiest in the state. Also, any of the coast towns are so very nice, so you might enjoy Valdez. I also love the Kenai area as well, so I am not sure what I would do if I only had 7 days. You could do just a one day trip to the Matanuska Glacier/Sheep mtn area, but otherwise, you would have to break up your trip. I guess it depends on how much driving you want to do. Not sure if this helps much - good luck! :)

Wrangell-St.Elias worth the trip?

7 days? I would look at liesurely heading up the Glenn with a stop at the Matanuska glacier, sheep mountain and other interesting places along the way, and a stop in Glenallen to get oriented. Kick down to Copper center branching off on the Old Highway to drive past the native village to teh old roadhouse, and drop in for at least a cup of coffee or preferrrably a meal or overnight. It is one of the last historic roadhouses in Alaska.

Then you must decide on Chitna and McCarthy or straight down to Valdez. Consider trying to drive it in clear weather if at all possible, Thompson pass is one of the most beautiful areas in the US. Enjoy Valdez and tehn decide if you want to drive back teh same way or take the ferry to Whittier. Don%26#39;t waste much time getting out fo Whittier (you will see why!) and head to Anchorage or Seward, as time allows.

Now the Kenai is rved about by some, but once you exit the mountains it is - to me -boring. It is a ho-hum area to where I rarely go down to Homer. I much, much prefer Seward! That is one opinion, and tastes do vary... Check it all out and choose what is best for you.

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If you only have 7 days, I would choose Valdez rather than Wrangell-St. Elias. We had 2+ weeks and definitely enjoyed the trip to Chitna, McCarthy and the Kennicott mine, but kayaking out of Valdez was the best. Also, I definitely preferred the Valdez part of our trip over the Kenai peninsula part, though Kachemak Bay (Homer) was very good too.

Thanks for your reply - we recently returned from our Alaska trip

and did end up driving to Valdez and liked the drive.

We also spent 4 days in Homer and liked it there - but really

have no desire to return. The boat trip to Halibut Cove was

neat and well worth the time.

We love Alaska and yearn to go back - - I%26#39;d appreciate any other

correspondence about neat things you%26#39;ve seen there. My personal

favorite is still Denali!

Sincerely,

Maureen

Maureen5,

After having driven from Anchorage to Valdez, do you think two nights at Sheep Mountain would be too much time to spend there considering we will do the longer hike on Matanuska Glacier and also want to do some hiking around Sheep Mountain before we head to Valdez and do lots of stops along the way?

Thanks,