National parks in Alaska

[no1racefan1]

DH and I are in the early stages of planning an Alaska trip mid-May 2024. It's a Southbound on Princess, beginning in Whittier and ending in Vancouver. I'm thinking of flying into Anchorage 4-5 days early and doing some touring on our own. I'm looking for recommendations on visiting 1-2 national parks, if that would be possible. DH and I have a goal of visiting as many national parks as possible in our lifetimes, so I want to take advantage of our time in Alaska to cross a couple of our list. We'll sail through GB on our cruise.

 

Wondering if anybody could give me information or insight into visiting 1 or 2 of the following:

Lake Clark NP

Katmai NP

Kenai Fjords NP--maybe a Major Marine tour?

Wrangell-St. Elias NP

Denali NP--I was originally planning to definitely go here, but given time/budget constraints and the fact that it will be mid-May and also the fact that the road may still be closed...I don't know if it will be worth the time on this trip.

 

I know we can't visit all of these in the short amount of time we have and I'm not looking to do that. Just looking for itinerary suggestions on how we could maybe visit one or two. We don't have to stay in Anchorage the whole time (although, I can get a few nights free at Hyatt, which is appealing).

 

Budget is a consideration, i.e. we can't afford to do a flightseeing trip to every place....we'll have to save some of them for another trip 🙂

[AKStafford]

Kenai Fjords National Park is pretty simple... Rent a car, drive to Seward and do a day cruise. You could also use the Alaska Railroad's Coastal Classic, but it'll be a long day:   https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/coastal-classic

 

You next easiest option would be Denali National Park. Use the rental car and allow three days. One to get there, one to drive as far into the Park as the road allows (probably mile 30) and then the 3rd day to get back to Anchorage.

[wolfie11]

You can also drive the 150 miles from Anchorage to Glenallen and then take a van tour into Wrangell-St. Elias.  
 

[Coral]

I agree with Seward. If you don't want to rent a car - there are bus/train options. I think Seward is with 2 full days. The Kenai Fjords boat rides are amazing.

 

Though if you are going to spend 4-5 days in the area - a car makes sense.

 

The negative about Denali is the road is partially closed and I believe it will be through 2024.

Edited February 20, 2023 by Coral

[Anita Latte]

I can only give insight to Kenai Fjords. We didn't do the marine tour because we opted for a kayak tour instead. We went to Bear Glacier and did the shorter kayak tour that stayed in the bay among the ice bergs, but it was absolutely mind blowing. We did our tour through Liquid Adventures and it seems that their season begins Memorial Day weekend, but they have a contact us on dates prior to that, so if that was of interest to you, you could see how that would be. 

 

https://www.liquid-adventures.com/content/bear-glacier-kayaking

 

Logistics could be challenging if you didn't rent a car...but if you could rent a car, then the drive from Anchorage down the Turnagain Arm is stunning, as is the drive into Seward. The difference in between high tide and low tide is something else. If you timed it well, you could visit Exit Glacier on this travel day down to Seward. This area, I believe, is the only road accessible area in Kenai Fjords NP. I don't know when the Nature Center there opens for the season...but there is no cost to go into that Nature Center unlike the one at Mendenhall in Juneau. There are ranger-led walks, etc...ALSO...IDK how adventurous you are, but there IS a campground there as well...first come, first served, with no charges for camping. If you were to rent a van or some such, you could use that for driving down and also stay with no added expense there...provided that it is open for the season... There are likely many other options for van/rv camping/boondocking. One thing about Alaska that I was unaware of until researching our own trip...there are several laundry/shower businesses because so many places in AK don't have normal water service...so it's like go to town and take your laundry and have a shower...so if you are the type that is into such things...

 

Regardless, stay the night in/around Seward. You could then do what you mentioned and take a marine tour (or the kayaking if that could work out) and then you could probably drive back to Anchorage afterwards, if you were looking to be able to use points to cover the cost of lodging.

 

You should have plenty of daylight for such a 2-day adventure as May 15 has an average sunrise/sunset of 5:14am/10:41pm. Also, since you don't mention any specific dates, learn about the bore tide possibility at Turnagain Arm, just to see if it might happen while you are there. That's a sight that I personally would like to see...

Edited February 20, 2023 by Anita Latte

[no1racefan1]

Thanks for all the replies so far! Our cruise departs May 18th so our DIY land portion would be prior to that. From the initial research I've done, it looks like we may be on the cusp of some NP services/areas being open.

 

The kayaking sounds awesome and I'll definitely look into that! We are from Wyoming so we definitely have experience with long driving days and love to be outdoors. DH mentioned camping, but I'm more of a fair weather camper, so I don't know if that's something I want to do mid-May. But we are comfortable with rustic, no frills lodging if it saves us money to use on tours.

 

We haven't made any decisions regarding rental car vs. train vs. other travel options. This will most likely be dictated by cost and availability to get where we want. I've definitely already got some good ideas here!

[disneyochem]

We’ve taken the train from Anchorage to go on the Major Marine Kenai Fjord tour and loved it (think the 6 hour tour is the only one you can take due to timing).  It is a long day but it is doable as a day trip from Anchorage.  Leave about 6:30 am and return around 10 pm.  Definitely an option if you can to stay in Anchorage though there is so much more to see/do in Seward.

 

Last summer we visited Wrangell-St Elias NP.  We rented a car and drove to Chitna, caught a flight and stayed at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge.  That was also a fantastic trip but it does take time— Alaska is huge!  We only had 7 days in Alaska this past summer before hopping on a cruise ship but we had already been to Denali and Katmai NPs on previous trips so we’re able to spend the time to get there.

 

 

[dfilpus]

Katmai and Lake Clark require flying in on a tour. The tours are a bit pricey, about $1000 a person for a day trip from Anchorage to either park. 

The highlight of both parks is seeing the coastal brown bears catching salmon. May is too early. The best time is July to August.

[edinburgher]

And if Glacier Bay is on your cruising itinerary, you can tick off another from your list.  We cruised it three times on different itineraries. Sit back and enjoy as only the Captain needs to "drive".

[Anita Latte]

If your DH mentioned camping...

 

We took a cruise in 2018 and did a DIY land tour around the Kenai Peninsula following our northbound cruise that ended in Seward. We were probably the only cruisers onboard with backpacks full of camping gear...because we stayed 2 nights in a public use cabin in the Kenai Wilderness. 

 

https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspcabins/index.htm

 

We chose one that was just under a one mile hike in on Engineer Lake...but there was at least one in the Kenai Wilderness that was accessible by car, with no hiking...many are NOT and are hike in, snowmobile in, fly in, boat in... If you are into the outdoors though...the cabin was wonderful. We are the type that love the outdoors and couldn't stand the idea of going to Alaska without going camping...but I didn't want to worry about shelter in potential inclement weather...didn't want to be relying on a tent...so the public use cabin was the perfect compromise for us. They are very affordable compared to hotel lodging...and if you like that sort of thing...just a wonderful experience. Ours had a wood burning stove which we didn't need at all...also a boat and all needed accessories for getting out onto Engineer Lake...but we didn't take advantage of that. 

 

Public Use Cabins can be popular and I was waited at the time of release to secure ours...I think the reservation dates open in December? 

 

We took showers at Wildman's in Cooper Creek. 

 

Also...if you are at all fishing enthusiasts...early May could be the early spring run of King Salmon...we also did a fishing excursion and that was also just mind blowing fun. The Kenai River is gorgeous. The turquoise color of the glacier fed river is unlike anything you typically see in the lower 48. It's like a child's coloring of a river in a coloring book. 

 

If you go the route of RV/van though...there are SO MANY campgrounds that are first come, first serve and free to camp at. We were going late June, early July and I didn't want to chance not finding a spot, but I would think that wouldn't be quite as much of an issue in May.

 

Just more food for thought...

 

 

[AKStafford]

4 hours ago, no1racefan1 said:

Our cruise departs May 18th

That'll be the issue... You'll be here a week or two before things really begin to open up for the Summer Season... 

[no1racefan1]

4 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

If your DH mentioned camping...

 

We took a cruise in 2018 and did a DIY land tour around the Kenai Peninsula following our northbound cruise that ended in Seward. We were probably the only cruisers onboard with backpacks full of camping gear...because we stayed 2 nights in a public use cabin in the Kenai Wilderness. 

 

https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspcabins/index.htm

 

We chose one that was just under a one mile hike in on Engineer Lake...but there was at least one in the Kenai Wilderness that was accessible by car, with no hiking...many are NOT and are hike in, snowmobile in, fly in, boat in... If you are into the outdoors though...the cabin was wonderful. We are the type that love the outdoors and couldn't stand the idea of going to Alaska without going camping...but I didn't want to worry about shelter in potential inclement weather...didn't want to be relying on a tent...so the public use cabin was the perfect compromise for us. They are very affordable compared to hotel lodging...and if you like that sort of thing...just a wonderful experience. Ours had a wood burning stove which we didn't need at all...also a boat and all needed accessories for getting out onto Engineer Lake...but we didn't take advantage of that. 

 

Public Use Cabins can be popular and I was waited at the time of release to secure ours...I think the reservation dates open in December? 

 

We took showers at Wildman's in Cooper Creek. 

 

Also...if you are at all fishing enthusiasts...early May could be the early spring run of King Salmon...we also did a fishing excursion and that was also just mind blowing fun. The Kenai River is gorgeous. The turquoise color of the glacier fed river is unlike anything you typically see in the lower 48. It's like a child's coloring of a river in a coloring book. 

 

If you go the route of RV/van though...there are SO MANY campgrounds that are first come, first serve and free to camp at. We were going late June, early July and I didn't want to chance not finding a spot, but I would think that wouldn't be quite as much of an issue in May.

 

Just more food for thought...

 

 

@Anita LatteI remember reading your review a few years ago and just went back and re-read the whole thing (while it snows all day outside and I dream of being on vacation). I think we have very similar styles in terms of how we want to spend our time and money while traveling! I've got a lot of ideas now... thank you!