2023 - August or September for Alaska?

[eurodl]

Debating between August 26, 2023 or September 6, 2023 for Alaska cruisetour?  Land first (10 days) then 7 day cruise.  We want to make sure we are able to get in to Denali for the Tundra tour.  Originally were going to go in mid-May but just found out that there's a chance that Denali NP might not open that early.

 

Thank you for any advice/suggestions.

[nini]

Weather in Alaska can be crazy. I believe that as a general rule of thumb, September can be wetter than August. True, Denali may not be open yet in May, however, May is supposed to be better weather.

This information has been gleaned from reading comments on the Alaska and Princess forums.

[mexicobob]

On 9/7/2021 at 12:57 AM, eurodl said:

Debating between August 26, 2023 or September 6, 2023 for Alaska cruisetour?  Land first (10 days) then 7 day cruise.  We want to make sure we are able to get in to Denali for the Tundra tour.  Originally were going to go in mid-May but just found out that there's a chance that Denali NP might not open that early.

 

Thank you for any advice/suggestions.

Do not think one week or so will make much difference. We went in mid May and had no problems, although much snow in places. The tours in the Park were open and enjoyed.  Also been in June.  
Make sure to book your cruisetour early. The one we went on a few years ago booked up over a year in advance. Also, highly recommend using the tour with the most train rides instead of a bus. Cost more but worth it.

[eurodl]

Thanks everyone.  We were originally booked for May 17 with land first. After reading the responses to some of my posts and checking the Denali NP website we moved to August 23. 

[Sea Hag]

We visited Denali in early September one year, and that was great time to go. Fall colors were spectacular, and we saw lots of grizzlies munching on berries to fatten up for winter.

[Mary Ann 2]

Our skipper for our Juneau whale watching small boat tour said that it gets rainier as fall approaches.  We have always gone to Alaska the last week in May or first week in June and barely had any rain with mostly clear blue skies previously.  It was a shock to have 3 days of overcast and/or rain all day the middle of August.  We loved getting to see the salmon run and seeing bears on our private excursion, but if we return, it will most likely be earlier in the summer.

[mtnlvr53]

59 minutes ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

Our skipper for our Juneau whale watching small boat tour said that it gets rainier as fall approaches.  We have always gone to Alaska the last week in May or first week in June and barely had any rain with mostly clear blue skies previously.  It was a shock to have 3 days of overcast and/or rain all day the middle of August.  We loved getting to see the salmon run and seeing bears on our private excursion, but if we return, it will most likely be earlier in the summer.

We are going the last week in May so this is good to hear. Last time we went in August and it was rainy much of the time. We still enjoyed it but we did get wet--A LOT

[Smokeyham]

Weather in Alaska is changeable at any time of the year, but between your two choices I would go in August rather than September.

[eurodl]

Our original thought was the weather would be better in May plus it was less expensive. But seeing as it's one of the first cruises of the Season we were afraid that some things might not be open yet especially the tundra tour at Denali.