Places to see - Anchorage to Denali drive

Hello all,

We are going to be on the NCL sun at the month cruising from Seward to Vancouver. We are going to spend a few days in Alaska prior to the cruise including a visit to Denali National Park. We have rented and will be driving on Friday from anchorage to Denali. What are the must see places along the way. Here is what I have so far.

- Morning departure from Anchorage

- A quick visit to the Eklutna spirit houses and Russian church

- Matunuska Glacier (I know that it is out of the way, but I really want to walk on a Glacier)

- Lunch in Wasilla? This is just for convinience since it will be after lunch time by the time we reach Wasilla. Any other suggestions for lunch?

A few questions.

1) Should we give up on the idea of going to Matunuska Glacier since it is out of the way?

2) What else is there to see/do from Wasilla to Denali. I wanted to stop in Talkeena, but don't think that there is that much to do there.

3) Any restaurants along the way (close to Denali) for Dinner.

We have all day to drive from Anchorage to Denali

Thanks,

Johan

Stop in Talketna - it's a cute little town with beautiful views if the day is clear. The Wildflower Cafe is a GREAT place for lunch or dinner - delicious food.

Are you trying to drive from Anchorage to Denali and back in one day? Or do you have the whole day to get to Denali?

And then what is your plan in Denali? If you don't have a full day to go into Denali on the shuttle bus, then I wouldn't recommend driving all the way to Denali just to turn around and come back. To experience Denali, you have to get into the park on the park road via the shuttle bus.

So that would mean Friday to Denali, Saturday at Denali and Sunday back to Anchorage. If your cruise is departing on Sunday, I wouldn't recommend trying to get from Denali to Seward in one day.

So, if that's the case, you'd have plenty of time to do the Matanuska Glacier instead of Denali.

If you do lunch in Wasilla, I like Krazy Moose Subs. It's housed in the oldest building in the Valley, built at Knik and then later moved to Wasilla.

Matanuska is do-able but it will be a VERY long day. But heck, you're on vacation and have lots of daylight, so make the most of it!

Are you doing an ice trek on the glacier? If you're going to make the effort to go to Matanuska, you really should get the full experience. Otherwise, it's not like you can step out of your car and onto the glacier; you pay an access fee to reach the site, then it's about a 15 minute walk to reach the glacier itself.... walking thru dirt, gravel, slush, all the stuff that a retreating glacier leaves behind. Then a bit more walking before you reach the blue pools, crevices, etc

If you don't have the time for a guided trek, I think you can rent crampons and go DIY. That would be too risky for me. The guided ice trek takes about 4 hrs.

https://micaguides.com/activities/alaska-glacier-tour/

If you look at JosieRhodes trip report from last summer, they did a few days diy land prior to the cruise and visited Matanuska. The family did the ice trek and she posted some great photos of the experience.

If you did the ice trek it could look something like this:

Day 1 drive Anc to Matanuska, 2 hrs. Plan on the 11:30 trek so to avoid a crazy early morning rush. Afterwards the trek have an early dinner at a nearby café/lodge/restaurant, then by 5pm start the drive to Talkeetna (3 hrs).

day 2 complete drive to Denali, 3 hrs, arriving by noon. Take the 1pm Eielson shuttle which ends at 10pm.

day 3 leisurely drive back to Anchorage, 5 hrs. Maybe do the 10am sled dog demo, if Talkeetna interested you stop by for lunch and walk around, visit Eklutna, and other stops. You have long days so make the most of them.

Hope this helps with your decision. It's do-able but will take a little effort. Is the effort worthwhile to YOU?

Are you trying to drive from Anchorage to Denali and back in one day? Or do you have the whole day to get to Denali?

And then what is your plan in Denali? If you don't have a full day to go into Denali on the shuttle bus, then I wouldn't recommend driving all the way to Denali just to turn around and come back. To experience Denali, you have to get into the park on the park road via the shuttle bus.

So that would mean Friday to Denali, Saturday at Denali and Sunday back to Anchorage. If your cruise is departing on Sunday, I wouldn't recommend trying to get from Denali to Seward in one day.

So, if that's the case, you'd have plenty of time to do the Matanuska Glacier instead of Denali.

If you do lunch in Wasilla, I like Krazy Moose Subs. It's housed in the oldest building in the Valley, built at Knik and then later moved to Wasilla.

Thanks for your reply.

Here is our schedule.

Friday - drive from Anchorage to Denali

Saturday - Katshima experience in Denali

Sunday - drive back to Anchorage

Monday - drive from Anchorage to Seward and board ship.

Matanuska is do-able but it will be a VERY long day. But heck, you're on vacation and have lots of daylight, so make the most of it!

 

Are you doing an ice trek on the glacier? If you're going to make the effort to go to Matanuska, you really should get the full experience. Otherwise, it's not like you can step out of your car and onto the glacier; you pay an access fee to reach the site, then it's about a 15 minute walk to reach the glacier itself.... walking thru dirt, gravel, slush, all the stuff that a retreating glacier leaves behind. Then a bit more walking before you reach the blue pools, crevices, etc

If you don't have the time for a guided trek, I think you can rent crampons and go DIY. That would be too risky for me. The guided ice trek takes about 4 hrs.

https://micaguides.com/activities/alaska-glacier-tour/

 

If you look at JosieRhodes trip report from last summer, they did a few days diy land prior to the cruise and visited Matanuska. The family did the ice trek and she posted some great photos of the experience.

 

If you did the ice trek it could look something like this:

Day 1 drive Anc to Matanuska, 2 hrs. Plan on the 11:30 trek so to avoid a crazy early morning rush. Afterwards the trek have an early dinner at a nearby café/lodge/restaurant, then by 5pm start the drive to Talkeetna (3 hrs).

 

day 2 complete drive to Denali, 3 hrs, arriving by noon. Take the 1pm Eielson shuttle which ends at 10pm.

 

day 3 leisurely drive back to Anchorage, 5 hrs. Maybe do the 10am sled dog demo, if Talkeetna interested you stop by for lunch and walk around, visit Eklutna, and other stops. You have long days so make the most of them.

 

Hope this helps with your decision. It's do-able but will take a little effort. Is the effort worthwhile to YOU?

Mapleleaves - since we are also doing drive to Seward, should we just consider doing the exit glacier since it closer to the Seward highway. We were planning on just visiting Matanuska and paying the fee to walk to the glacier. Doing Matanuska is going to require an additional three hours of driving on the way to Denali.

Even at Exit Glacier, access to the glacier is roped off at the trails. There are ranger led hikes that last about 2 hrs RT; you go to the face of the glacier, but again, you don't walk on it. (just prior to my first visit to Exit Glacier someone had been killed when they ventured beyond the ropes and were struck by falling ice. )

Are you just looking for an opportunity to say you've walked on a glacier? you're not interested in a guide or a trek? If that's the case, you might want to ask on the Alaska forum of tripadvisor ..... I'm sure local experts on that forum could advise you of hiking points with easier glacier access. I'm thinking about Byron Glacier and other hikes around Portage Valley. Check this list:

http://alaskahikesearch.com/parks-info/#chugach-national-forest

Or if you just want snow, take the tram to the top at Alyeska.

http://www.alyeskaresort.com/webcams.aspx

Exit Glacier is a lovely place on a nice day but Exit Glacier and Matanuska are very, very different experiences. At Exit you will find a visitor center (staffed in the summer) and a nice walk out to the Glacier, but no glacier trekking on it. Exit is one of our glaciers which has retreated significantly, and the signs on the road into the visitors center document the location of its face through a number of years.

As someone who lives in Alaska I find Talkeetna now to be essentially a tourist trap. Years ago it was a funky community which supposedly inspired the TV show "Northern Exposure" but for me it has lost its charm.

As I understand your schedule Mary's McKinley View Lodge (which has a phenomenal view of Denali on a clear day) has good basic food, but you will be passing it much later than lunch time. There are a variety of restaurants in the "Glitter Gulch" area outside of the park entrance.

Even at Exit Glacier, access to the glacier is roped off at the trails. There are ranger led hikes that last about 2 hrs RT; you go to the face of the glacier, but again, you don't walk on it. (just prior to my first visit to Exit Glacier someone had been killed when they ventured beyond the ropes and were struck by falling ice. )

 

Are you just looking for an opportunity to say you've walked on a glacier? you're not interested in a guide or a trek? If that's the case, you might want to ask on the Alaska forum of tripadvisor ..... I'm sure local experts on that forum could advise you of hiking points with easier glacier access. I'm thinking about Byron Glacier and other hikes around Portage Valley. Check this list:

 

http://alaskahikesearch.com/parks-info/#chugach-national-forest

 

Or if you just want snow, take the tram to the top at Alyeska.

http://www.alyeskaresort.com/webcams.aspx

Thanks for pointing out Byron Glacier. We are travelling with my in-laws and it sounds like the hike will be ok for them. I think that we are going to go to Byron Glacier and skip Matanuska and do Byron Glacier. By skipping Matanuska we are going to have a shorter (but not really a short) drive to Denali. We will then visit Byron Glacier on Monday on our way down to Seward.

An ice trek at Matanuska would have been a unique experience, but with your limited time frame, a hike closer to the road is a better option.

Be sure to have a back up plan in case the weather doesn't cooperate. Have a great trip.

Avoid eating in Wasilla. Stayed in Wasilla overnight on Friday and there was nothing special in Wasilla. I do recommend going to the E.R. Alehouse in Eagle River on the A-1. It's about 30 minutes south of Wasilla on your way to Anchorage. http://www.eralehouse.com/

Two interesting places in Wasilla are the Alaska Transportation Museum & Iditarod Headquarters. Also, if you need to stock up on any groceries or snacks, or fill up your gas tank. do so in Wasilla. Stores get increasingly more costly the farther north you go.

Half way between Anchorage and Seward is the Alaska Wildlife conservation center. We drove through it on Saturday afternoon before our flight.

Also, if you're interested in seeing reindeer, check out the Reindeer Farm in Palmer. For $8pp, they take you on a tour of a working farm where you interact with the reindeer and elk.

We did the same thing, drove up to Denali and spent the night, a day in Denali and stayed overnight again, and then a day driving back to Anchorage. Had a really fun time and just stopped to take photos as we felt like it. Denali was wonderful.

We went to Talkeetna and did a flight seeing trip around the Mountains and landed and walked on a glacier - just spectacular. Just past the turnoff as you drive towards Talkeenta is the Flying Squirrel Bakery. This cafe was just excellent as we stopped there twice. There is also a Birch Syrup place on the same road which was interesting to visit. I did a photo review of our month in Alaska, the drive Anchorage to Denali and back are in the first few pages with lots of photos: http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2093748

if you want to see a glacier up close and personal, on your way to Seward, after you stop at the conservation wildlife park, go to the Portage Road, almost across the street and drive out to the Byron Glacier trail...it is an easy walk about a mile in, and a mile out and you can walk....for free....on the Byron Glacier. It is safe as long as you don't try to get into the crevasse areas...and they are easily visible and quite far away....and it is on your way. It is construction season in Alaska....There are at least 3 work stoppages as of yesterday between Anchorage and Wittier/Portage turn off....lasting up to 15 minutes apiece....so allow for extra time...lots of it....it will take you 6-7 hrs to drive to Denali without stopping....and if you went to Matanuska Glacier, you can add another 6 without a glacier tour.....long, long day....people have no idea of the immense area of this state...The city of Anchorage is larger than the state of Delaware....and much of the way to Denali is a 2 lane road...with 45 MPH speed limits....and they mean it....

I think you would enjoy the side trip to Talkeetna. It's a bit off the main highway, but we thought it was well worth the time. Nice place to look through some gift shops, several cafes and flight seeing opportunities. We had lunch on the deck at The Wildflower and it was very nice. Split the fish and chips. Several flight seeing options to take you to and around Mt.McKinley