Renting a car near Denali

[Great Sky Girl]

Princess has just shortened our 8 hr. Tundra Wilderness Tour to the shorter 3 to 4 hour Teklanika tour.:( We have 2 nights in Denali Princess Lodge and are looking at what else to do. Is there a car rental nearby? We are certainly going to the Visitor's center and the wilderness center, but was hoping to do more.:) Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[fti]

I think there is only one company that rents cars. If you are staying at Princess Lodge, I believe they have transportation to/from the park but you need to check the schedule. Others have posted on this board that they are foregoing the Princess tour in order to buy shuttle bus tickets.

 

When is your trip? If before June 1 you won't get too far into the park and the shuttle to Wonder Lake starts on June 8 at the earliest.

 

If you are going when the shuttle to Wonder Lake operates, I suggest booking the shuttle to Wonder Lake. There are lots of mosquitoes near Wonder Lake through July so plan accordingly. But it is too beautiful of an area to be missed, in my opinion. Also, if you decide once on the bus that you want to head back, just get off that bus and take another one back.

[Great Sky Girl]

I think there is only one company that rents cars. If you are staying at Princess Lodge, I believe they have transportation to/from the park but you need to check the schedule. Others have posted on this board that they are foregoing the Princess tour in order to buy shuttle bus tickets.

 

 

When is your trip? If before June 1 you won't get too far into the park and the shuttle to Wonder Lake starts on June 8 at the earliest.

 

If you are going when the shuttle to Wonder Lake operates, I suggest booking the shuttle to Wonder Lake. There are lots of mosquitoes near Wonder Lake through July so plan accordingly. But it is too beautiful of an area to be missed, in my opinion. Also, if you decide once on the bus that you want to head back, just get off that bus and take another one back.

 

Thanks so much for answering my post. But timing is the problem. We are there May 17 & 18. That's why Princess cancelled the TWT and gave us a shorter one. Do you know of the name of the car rental place?

[AkSusan]

This is the one that has been mentioned on the Boards before, can't remember though if anyone has used them or not. And since it's the only one out there be prepared for possible price shock :eek:

 

http://www.alaskanchateau.com/car-rentals/index.htm

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[Yukon]

The bigger problem, though, is that there isn't really anywhere to drive to for a day-trip. You're better off to go rafting or hiking or any of the other activities near the park gates.

 

Murray

[Chenega]

Susan is right - it is Denali Car Rental at the website she provided. They are located in Healy which is about 15 minutes north of park headquarters.

 

The problem with your Wilderness Tour is that the park road really isn't in full operation until early June. Furthermore, you can only drive your car in about 15 miles. There is some nice scenery south of the park along the Parks Highway toward Cantwell but nothing you'll drive by this on your way up from Anchorage.

 

It's one of the problems with the early in the season tours that things aren't fully operational until at least the Memorial Day weekend. Wish the tour brochures were a bit more honest about that.

[fti]

Not sure why the tour was "shortened" when it is widely known that you can only get to Teklanika (max) that time of year anyway.

 

I agree with Yukon - I would take the tour, get as far as you can, then stop at the visitor center and wilderness access centers (both have good films) and do some hiking near the park entrance if that interests you. The sleddog kennels are also interesting. You will find enough to keep you busy for a day without renting a car. And as Yukon said, there is nowhere to go!

[wolfie11]

Another option would be to switch from the TWT to a shuttle bus. They will go the same distance, but with the shuttle you have the option of getting off and going for a walk.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Another option would be to switch from the TWT to a shuttle bus. They will go the same distance, but with the shuttle you have the option of getting off and going for a walk.

 

See if you can cancel your tour through Princess (get a credit) and just do the shuttle. That's what we did but for a different tour - cancelled our Tundra Wilderness Tour, signed up the the NPS shuttle to Wonder Lake - saved us mucho dinaro and we're going farther in. The farther in isn't an option in your case (because of the calendar), but a dollar is a dollar :)

 

Sam

[Budget Queen]

I agree there isn't much to drive to in only a day. The Savage River shuttle may be operating which goes the distance of the public section of the Park Road. Look into some activites around the park perhaps.

[Chat Noir]

The Savage River shuttle may be operating which goes the distance of the public section of the Park Road.

 

Some in our group really enjoyed this as a 'down-time' mini-trip while a couple of us went into Healy to pick up tickets for the dinner show. They saw a wolf and several moose, besides the smaller animals. Definitely consider catching this shuttle if you have some extra time and no other activites planned.