Alaska Vacation

[ryjack70ss]

Hey all. I am doing a blacktail hunt with a good friend first week of August and my family is planning on coming after we are finished for a week or more to have some vacation time before school starts back up. I was wondering for some suggestions. We will have two kids with us 12 and 10. The below is fluid except the fishing trip with J Dock as that is already booked. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly welcomed. This will be my 3rd trip to AK but all my trips were hunting and not family travel. Thanks to anyone for their input!

UPDATE: Plans changed a tiny bit. I didn't realize the ferry from where we are hunting doesn't run on the day we finish. So my wife and daughter will be in Anchorage the day before we get back and we won't get to Anchorage until about 4 pm on Day 0


Day 0
Wife and daughter fly into Anchorage the day before and can find some entertainment until we return
We travel back from hunting grounds to Anchorage and get in around 4 pm

Day 1
Drive to Talkeetna
Flightseeing tour of Denali
Not sure if we should stay in Talkeetna or finish the drive to Denali and stay there?

Day 2
Denali Shuttle of the park
Not sure if we should stay in Denali or drive back to Talkeetna and stay there?

Day 3
Drive to Seward
Exit Glacier
Any other pit stops on the way worth doing? (so far some great suggestions below)
Stay in Seward or somewhere along the way?

Day 4
Cruise of the Kenai Fjords 9am - 5 pm
Stay in Seward

Day 5
Fishing trip from Seward with J Dock 6am - 2pm
Either drive back to Anchorage or stay one more night in Seward?

Day 6
Alaska Sea Life Center
Dogsled Kennel visit
Stay in Seward

Day 7
Drive back to Anchorage
Hit up another one of the great suggestions below on the way back

Day 8
Fly back home

 

[jd270win]

Solid plan so far.

You’ll drive past the AK Wildlife Conservation Center on your way to/from Seward. It is well worth the price of admission if your family is into zoos/wildlife.

There are great hiking/biking and freshwater fishing opportunities that time of year. The Cooper Landing/ Russian River area isn’t far out of your way.

Blueberry picking around the Alyeska resort or anywhere you can hike to the alpine. I like Girdwood that time of year. It’s not crowded and it has the shops, restaurants and hiking that keeps our family entertained.

The Trek store in Anchorage rents bicycles if you have the means to transport them. Eklutna Lake is an easy drive north of Anchorage and a good day biking trip up past the lake - especially on days the road around the lake is closed to motorized vehicles.

I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

[ryjack70ss]

Awesome. I had Russian River Falls on the potential to do list for one of the days in Seward. Is it realistic to fit that and Gridwood into one of the days in Seward? I know on google maps everything is "close" but I don't think that is reality.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

I agree with jd270win. We also did Hatcher Pass, that was a great day trip. Between Girdwood and the Alaska wildlife center is the train station. We did a short train ride back to a walking path that was a fun excursion. Seward was just ok for me. Very touristy, at least by Alaska standards. One day was enough for me. Russian river and cooper landing were both fun, and lots of hiking trails. Russian river falls was a fun walk, lots of great paths to walk in that area.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Day 3 on the way to Seward, Exit Glacier.

 

[jd270win]

Awesome. I had Russian River Falls on the potential to do list for one of the days in Seward. Is it realistic to fit that and Gridwood into one of the days in Seward? I know on google maps everything is "close" but I don't think that is reality.

The Russian River falls are definitely a good/easy day trip from Seward. So is Girdwood, but doing both would be a long day. Girdwood is pretty easy to hit leaving from/returning to Anchorage though.

 

[MountainTracker]

Day 3 on the way to Seward, Exit Glacier.

Yep if you’re in Seward it’s worth going to exit glacier, easy hike to get a good view.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mtnbiker208]

if you are into kick ass whitewater. Do a guided trip down 6 mile out of Hope. it would be on your way to seward from anchorage.

 

[ryjack70ss]

Awesome suggestions, keep em coming. I updated the itinerary a tiny bit as I wasn't aware the ferry to get back from hunting only runs every other day. So my wife and daughter will get into town the day before we get back to Anchorage and we get back at 4 pm. So they will have about 28 hours to enjoy anchorage without us. That also puts both boat days back to back, which I was hoping to avoid but hopefully is not an issue.

The whitewater is an awesome suggestion. I looked into it but most of the whitewater my kids are not old enough unless its more of a scenic ride. I think we will hit that up when they are older.

I have added Exit glacier to the drive from Denali to Seward

 

[akhunter3]

In Seward if your kiddos are okay with a pretty easy hike the Tonsina point trail at Millers Landing is always fun and a great view. The Sealife center is great.

Girdwood as mentioned above is a blast, Portage glacier just farther down the road is a side trip with a visitors center that is pretty neat for the kids (note the glacier has receede pretty far and is not as easy to see from the parking lot these days)

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage as mentioned above as well.

 

[ryjack70ss]

Awesome. For those that recommended Girdwood. Where would you put that in our schedule and what would you suggest to do there?

 

[TxxAgg]

Tagged

 

[rookieforever33]

Thats an optimistic travel schedule considering the country. Tons of things to see and do at every one of those stops. We did 2 nights a piece at Fairbanks, Talkeetna, and Denali. Never felt like there was nothing to do. Hiking trails, rivers for rafting, and a glass roofed double decker train ride between towns ending in Anchorage. We could have spent a week riding the train North back where we just were if we could. Planning to someday do the South coast and Seward when we have more time. Enjoy your trip with your family.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

One thig about Denali. I would not suggest the full tour to the end of the line, maybe 1/2-2/3s out. Once you've seen 10 million caribou, another 5-10 million isn't going to do much for you.

 

[FranklinBluth]

Have 2 kids almost the same ages.

My 2 cents: we really enjoy the hiking and exploring in Hatcher Pass. There is a pretty good diversity of hikes both in terms of difficulty and length. Find some time to freestyle in Hatcher Pass.

We did the Exit Glacier hike last year past the cliffs and got into a band of mt goats. A once in a lifetime memory for our boys.

I'd also recommend stopping in Talkeetna day 1 so you have a little extra time to do some fishing along the parks highway. Yes, there will be other people. But also, there will be piles of salmon in the rivers. DM me if you want more specifics. Very kid friendly that time of year.

 

[vermeire]

Where's days 9-21?

There have been several great suggestions.

Anchorage: Ulu Factory, 49th State Brewing, Glacier Brewhouse, Humpy's, Anchorage Museum, Alaska Native Heritage Center, downtown from A-L x 1st-6th there is a bunch of touristy stuff but a lot of culture too, Alaska Zoo, Alaska Aviation Museum, Potter's Marsh,

Reindeer Farm in Palmer

The Matanuska Glacier is out of your way, but it is the easiest way to walk on a glacier

Train/Drive to Whittier. Museums in town.

Seward: Le Barn Appetit (crepes)

Anywhere you drive is pretty much incredible. I love the drives from Anchorage to Seward and from Wasilla to Denali.

 

[justinspicher]

My wife and I did a vacation by train a few years ago, Anchorage to Fairbanks. It was awesome. We stayed in Talkeetna and the hotel was legit. We also stayed in a hotel outside Denali NP which was really nice.

I don’t think I’d want to drive back and forth from Denali to Talkeetna.