Non-tour options at the Princess Lodges

[momto3gr8boys]

Hi. We have two nights booked at both the Princess Denali and Mt. McKinley lodges as part of our cruisetour in July. We currently have the Natural History tour booked as part of our package for the full day in Denali. I am planning on upgrading this tour.

 

My question is in regards to the rest of our time at the lodges. Are there any offerings aside from official tours, such as onsite activities at all? I don't want to overschedule us ahead of time, but I also don't want to be left with nothing to do.

 

Thanks.

[mapleleaves]

McKinley Princess is isolated, about an hour from Talkeetna. Your only option would be to take the Princess shuttle into Talkeetna where you can meet up with a vendor for independent touring. Look at the town web site for activities and vendors.

 

Denali Princess is in Glitter Gulch, which is like a small strip mall with restaurants, shops and some vendor offices. You'll be able to meet up with most vendors there, some will pick up there. Look at the Denali Chamber of Commerce web site for vendors and activities.

 

A good resource for free activities INSIDE the park is the park newsletter ( sled dog demo, ranger hikes, self guided hikes), I included links to all 3 sites in the HELPFUL RESOURCES thread, probably on pg 2 or 3 of this forum.

[Glaciers]

There are a few short hiking trails around the McKinley Princess. The front desk has a map of the trails. It’s a nice property but not a lot to do. As mentioned you can take the shuttle into Talkeetna. Once there, if the weather is decent, The Hurricane Turn Train is a good option.

 

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/hurricane-turn

[Budget Queen]

You pay a lot of money to "upgrade" tours at Denali. Alternatively, you can get money BACK and take the Eielson shuttle bus. Significant bonus- going further and having the Eielson visitor center.

 

With Talkeetna- I suggest you not do the shuttle more than you have to, IF you have the train transit involved, then it's a benefit to stay in Talkeentna, before/after you get there. I find, there isn't much at all to do at the lodge. Every time, I've been there, there are, huge numbers of people just hanging around in the lobby, a lot of internet use. I suggest, you focus back on why you chose this itinerary and what you wanted out of this destination. Time is too short, in Alaska.

[Northern Aurora]

We have stayed several times at both the Denali Princess and McKinley View Princess.

 

Periodically folks will look at a map and see that the McKinley View Princess is opposite the Denali State Park. But the DSP is not developed with a visitor center and other such facilities. There are some trails around the McKinley Princess property, but quite frankly this is not a lodge I would book unless I had a specific reason for doing so. The shuttle trip into Talkeetna, assuming no delays for road construction, takes about 40 minutes (the information in the guest services book suggests planning on a hour). And the lobby is full of bored looking folks who are either on the internet or have checked out a board game from the front desk. Others actually do laundry at their limited guest laundry.