Denali National Park, Alaska
 by Tim Anderson

June probably isn't the best month to head to Alaska climate wise, but the rates are great and made the trip financially possible.  Flying from Vancouver to Anchorage, the cloud started about 15 minutes after leaving the airport and continued solid to Anchorage and beyond.  As we descended, there was a brief glimpse of fabulous glaciers and extreme terrain immediately southeast of Anchorage.

Anchorage itself is a typical city edged by a range of glaciated peaks skirted with greenery to the southeast and bordered by Cook Inlet to the northwest.  It was much cheaper and more convenient to rent a car from Alamo at the airport than it was to use the Alaska Railway or join in on one of the numerous tour buses.  For some reason using Alamo subcontracted from RhinoCareCare was substantially less than other rental companies. 

The road up to Denali Park was nothing overly spectacular in overcast weather.  Just north of Anchorage, some of the peaks are spectacular and are reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies.  Once you've cleared the Cook Inlet though, you move away from the mountain chains.  After Wasilla it's remote, flat and forested with short growth pine and occasional bogs and some substantial rivers.  If the skies are clear you'll see some amazing glimpses of Mt McKinley.  Without clear weather, I don't think the train trip from Anchorage to Denali would add significantly to the experience, even if you'd paid the extra funds for assigned seating in their amazing glass domed cars.

Accommodation

At the south end of Denali, we stayed at the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.  It's owned by Princess Cruise Lines and is busy with Princess land tours, however we were able to book rooms online without being on their tour.  We loved the Princess Mt McKinley Lodge.  It's set on a hillside intentionally chosen for the view of Mt McKinley, known as Denali to the aboriginals.  The 3 story open frame log construction seats more than 60 people.  The windows and deck face the mountain.  Unfortunately the 20,000 foot mountain was shrouded in cloud and staff indicated it had been that way for nearly the entire month of June.  There is 3 story stone wood-burning fireplace that has a crackling fire going in inclement weather.  The fire and natural décor with snowshoes, fishing poles and furs, made the setting warm and cozy.  There is a coffee shop, a cafe, a bar and a restaurant in the lodge.  Dress is casual at all these locations.  We chose to eat at the restaurant and enjoyed an excellent New York steak, roast potatoes and broccoli.  The setting and the meal were fabulous.  Can't recommend the desert though.  We spent hours relaxing by the fire, using the free wireless internet and glancing out to see if the mountain might grant us a glimpse.  A great way to spend a vacation!

On our second day, we made our way to the main entrance to Denali Park, about 100 miles north of the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.  We stayed at the Denali Cabins, which are about 8 miles south of the park entrance and are less expensive than other lodging at the park entrance.  The cabins are very small and close together with few windows.  It was cold in the cabins, so the heater was on almost continuously.  They did have a cabin with free wireless Internet, which was nice.  They also had a complimentary breakfast and had pick up at the cabins for bus tours of the park.   I'd recommend staying closer to the park entrance instead, though.

Other accommodation in the area includes:

At the village at the park entrance

1. the McKinley Chalet Resort is located in the village at the park entrance and is operated by Holland America.  This was highly recommended by Holland America passengers.  The facilities were great.  The wood construction and gas fireplace created a warm atmosphere.  Booking can be a problem as Holland America (owned by Carnival) will assign space to their land tours first.
2. the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge located in the village at the park entrance and is operated by Princess.  Similar to the McKinley Chalet, the main lodge is wood construction with a gas fireplace.  The accommodation is in several separate 2 story wood buildings.  Their restaurant tucked against the Nenana River, was praised by many for the great food.  Booking can be a problem as Princess (owned by Carnival) will assign space to their land tours first.  The village was full of Princess land tour buses.
3. Denali Crow's Nest Cabins is located on a hillside in the village at the park entrance.
4. Denali Bluffs Hotel is located in the village at the park entrance.
5. the Grande Denali Lodge is located on a bluff overlooking the village at the park entrance.  These were very expensive units.  We did have a nice lunch at the large dinning room overlooking the valley, which was extremely pleasant.

The Salmon Bake was recommended as a good place to eat and it was open until mid night, which is basically sunset at the end of June.

6 miles south at the Nenana River:

1. the Denali River Cabins on the Nenana river just south of the park entrance.  Unfortunately these are also small and jammed on top of each other, like the Denali Cabins.  Few of the units have a view of the river.
2. the Denali Grizzly Bear Resort
3. McKinley Village Lodge

Park Excursions

Cars are only allowed on the first 18 miles of Denali National Park, so on our third day, we made the mentally exhausting commitment to take an 8 hour bus to Eileson at mile 66 of the park.  Tours can be purchased directly from the Park Service in advance.  We were up early for a 7am departure.  Surprisingly the sun was out on this day with bright blue skies.  Before the tour bus reached mile 18 where cars are permitted, we had already had a moose blocking the road, a grizzly crossing the road while a bicycler waited and a spectacular view of Mt McKinley.  Could have abandoned the tour and saved 7 hours, but was glad to have continued. Highlights of the tour included:

1. Two large glacial river basins with braided streams threading their way through the gravel
2. A young grizzly being scared off by a fox.  The grizzly stood upright and later chased the fox while the bus passenger screamed despite the warning from the driver to remain quiet and not disturb the scene.  Then the fox returned and backed the grizzly down.  Finally the grizzly laid down to force a stand off.
3. A grizzly sow and two yearling cubs feeding lazily on the tundra.
4. Several caribou herds in the distance and groups of Dahl sheep way up on the hillsides.
5. A spectacular cliff edge that the bus climbs and squeezes past other buses with inches to spare.
6. The most spectacular view of Mt McKinley as you approach Eileson.  Clouds were just beginning to obscure the mountain at 11am.  Only 30% of those who take the tour actually get to see more than the base of the mountain, so we felt extremely privileged.
7. Lunch at Eileson in the cool breezes of the ice fields below McKinley. There were 240 climbers on the mountain that day.

That afternoon we added another 2 hours in a rental car and returned to the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.  Mt McKinley was also spectacular from the east side view on this day.  Have a meal on the patio in the sun and enjoy the view without getting up from your seat.  Later on experience an earthquake that shakes the building but causes no reaction among the staff.  This lodge was our favorite part of the trip to Denali, but I must admit that it was the most fun sitting by the fire in the rain and glancing to the clouds to see if the mountain might reveal itself.

In the morning, we returned the rental car to Anchorage and took a bus to Seward for a cruise to Vancouver, British Columbia.  The drive to Seward is very picturesque.  The first third of the trip follows the Turnagain Arm with excellent views.  At the southern end of the arm, two dilapidated, collapsed buildings are all that’s left of the town of Portage.  The town was destroyed be a 9.0 earthquake in 1964 which caused the city to sink 8 feet into the glacial silt base.  The town of Seward was busy with campers and marinas for fishing and tourist expeditions.  Others we met commented on the large number of humpback whales and puffins in Resolution Bay.  Those who visited the Kenai Fjords commented that they saw so many killer whales that the sightings became routine after a while.