Planning Alaskan family vacation looking for help

[Highvoltage1]

Trying to plan out a family vacation to Alaska for next year. Thinking June time frame from what research I’ve done. It’s going to be me, my wife, 2 sons 12,8 and in-laws mid 60s. We’re thinking 7-10 days just looking for any “must see” places, or “must do” things. I’d love to spend at least a day or 2 catching mister rainbows or salmon. Any and all info is greatly appreciated. We will be flying in from the east coast and resenting a car. Thanks in advance and best wishes!

 

[chutinlead]

Out of anchorage look at taking the train down to Whittier or Seward and doing one of the wildlife cruises. Best way to see some country. Halibut charters out of homer or ninilchik are a good day if you want to spend a day on the water.

 

[Highvoltage1]

Thanks this is good info! Thanks.

 

[chutinlead]

If you wanted to drive down towards homer, you can do that too and do several days of adventures down there and then take the train up to Denali park and take their your bus into the park. Probably the easiest way to see big game like bears and moose

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Here's an overview of my family trip to Alaska in July 2017:

• Day 1 - Flew into Anchorage, rented car & drove to VRBO cabin in Talkeetna.
• Day 2 - Men went on half day guided (Fishbone Charters) king salmon fishing trip on Talkeetna River. Took jet boat upriver and fished from bank with hip waders. Fishing was good but not great, all 4 of us landed at least one 15-20 lb king and had several others get off before landing. Womenfolk hung out at the cabin and visited Talkeetna.
• Day 3 - Drove to Denali National Park, rode shuttle bus to Eielson Visitor Center and back. Saw several grizzlies, several moose, many caribou.
• Day 4 - Drove to VRBO cabin in Cooper Landing. Stopped at Alyeska Resort along the way and rode ski lift up to restaurant.
• Day 5 - Drove to Seward. My parents & wife's parents took cruise (Major Marine Tours) along Kenai Fjords, saw many whales, sea lions, and puffins, enjoyed prime rib & salmon buffet on boat. "Kids" (wife & I plus my brother & his girlfriend) went on guided (Exit Glacier Guides) glacier hike/climb while parents were on cruise. Exit Glacier tour included rappelling into/climbing out of crevasses with harness, crampons, ice ax.
• Day 6 - Drove to Homer, took boat (Mako's Water Taxi) to Kachemak Bay State Park. Easy hike to Grewingk Glacier Lake then back to beach to catch return boat.
• Day 7 - Easy hike along Russian River to Lower Russian Lake. Fished from the shore with no luck but saw hundreds of sockeye salmon in river and jumping up the falls.
• Day 8 - Drove to Anchorage and flew home.

If I had it to do over again, I'd spend the entire week on the Kenai peninsula with a day or two of salmon fishing on the Kenai River plus a day of halibut fishing. The drive from Talkeetna down to Cooper Landing ate up most of a day, and I was underwhelmed by the main attraction on the northern leg of our trip (Denali NP). I would've enjoyed Denali more if I could've hiked and camped out for a night instead of just riding a bus all day, but given the interests/physical abilities of the group as a whole, extensive hiking or camping wasn't feasible.

 

[LongWayAround]

My girlfriend and I did a week on the Kenai peninsula this July. We rented and RV at GoNorth in Anchorage and worked out way down the peninsula to Homer and back. We caught some halibut and sockeye along the way. It was a good trip and we intend to do it again. I would do a fishing charter out of Seward next time.

 

[String&stick]

Alaska vacation questions?

So after our canceled cruise and some Rokslide advice, we pulled the trigger and we will be flying into Anchorage on July 3rd and staying until the 11th. But now I have some other questions! #1. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a halibut/salmon or halibut/rockfish charter out of...

www.rokslide.com

I posted this thread earlier this year and got some great tips and private messages. Shoot me a P.M. and I'll share how my trip with my wife went and give you a rundown of what we did and what we would do differently.

 

[Highvoltage1]

Bumping this back up, I’m in the planning stages now. I’ve gotten some great ideas already. For me I’d like to catch some big rainbows. If anyone knows an area or outfitter who could put us on the bows/ salmon please let me know. My father inLaw is looking for a train ride throughout the week. Again we’re still looking for ideas as well. Probably Going to go a full week there not counting the 2 days for travel out and back. Thanks in advance

 

[Wyobohunter]

Out of anchorage look at taking the train down to Whittier or Seward and doing one of the wildlife cruises. Best way to see some country. Halibut charters out of homer or ninilchik are a good day if you want to spend a day on the water.

Those boat launches out of Ninilchik can be entertainment all on their own. Shoved out into the waves with a tractor… It can be a rodeo ;-)
When we lived in Ninilchik we’d go watch sometimes.

 

[Wyobohunter]

Big rainbows can be caught in the upper sections of the Kenai. Lots of guides out of Kenai and Soldotna will get you there. You can also just go for it without a boat but you’ll have better odds with a boat and guide. Steer clear of the Russian River. Combat central.

 

[peaceman]

If your in the wasilla are check out fish tale river guides. Andy couch will put you on some fish if they are there. May/June is king season. Silvers and reds run later.
K2 air does flight seeing trips around denali. Absolute highlight and a top three. Not cheap though but with six you can get your own plane.
Major marine tours in Seward is a must - the 8 hour tour is better than the 5. Exit glacier hike there is doable for everyone and a nice hike. Kids (and likely the adults) would enjoy the sea life center.
Hatcher pass and the independence mine in wasilla is an easy stop and nice drive and a couple nice hikes there. It’s greening up on early to mid June.
Crazy rays in Whittier is as good as they get for charters and a day trip out of wasilla or anchorage is a long day but doable.
The drive to the peninsula is one of the best.

 

[peaceman]

Personally I don’t like the charters out ninilchik or homer. Fish are small and they seem to only go for the little ones to get back sooner. If you want a good charter experience go to Rays IMO. Take Dramamine unless you know you don’t get sea sick. It’s a long day if you do

 

[Wyobohunter]

“The drive to the peninsula is one of the best.”

Yes.

 

[jwatts]

We've done a couple of family vacations up that way. We've started and ended in Anchorage, and traveled around the state from there. We've been to Seward, Soldotna, Cooper Landing, Palmer, Talkeetna, and Healy. A few notable things we did:

Anchorage- Potter's Marsh, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (just south of town), and Kincaid Park
Seward- Exit Glacier north of town, Marine Center, and a glacier/wildlife cruise with Major Marine Tours
Cooper Landing- Rainbow trout fishing (we used 5 Dog Fishing Charters)
Soldotna- We went on a bear watching tour with High Adventure Charters once, and did a remote salmon trip with Talon Air once.
Palmer- Musk Ox Farm and Reindeer Farm
Talkeetna- This was a stopover on the way to Denali but the ranger station and cemetery were worth checking out
Healy- Whitewater rafting and Denali
We also did several hikes around these areas and along the drive.

If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message.

 

[Highvoltage1]

I’m assuming sight seeing tours and charters were booked way in advance? I’m just unsure how busy Alaska is during summer months

 

[Slugz]

Kenai Riverside Fishing | Alaskan Salmon Fishing Tour

Really learn how to fish for salmon in the Upper Kenai; all equipment is provided by this longstanding fishing tour operator.

www.alaska.org

 

[kwackkillncrew]

Personally I don’t like the charters out ninilchik or homer. Fish are small and they seem to only go for the little ones to get back sooner. If you want a good charter experience go to Rays IMO. Take Dramamine unless you know you don’t get sea sick. It’s a long day if you do

There are no big fish in homer. Move along!

Whittier the town is very boring. The landscape is better scenery then homer. Take alot longer to get to good fishing in whitter then homer. If you decide to go to homer there are a few really good charters. PM me if you would like any more info.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[SaltySailor]

Denali NP will be a lame run this summer. The road is closed due to a landslide at Pretty Rocks and stops you at mile 43, the East Fork bridge. IMO the road past that point is where you really start seeing the good parts of the park, Polychrome Pass, Toklat, etc., so a trip into the park this year really wouldn't be worth it.

 

[william schmaltz]

If you're just shooting for halibut, I think Nikikchik/Anchor Point is the way to go. Other than Yakutat, Cook Inlet has been the most consistent large halibut fishing I've had. A lot of times your trip is what the rest of the boat can handle. If you draw a crap straw and get put on a boat with a bunch of people that have no business being out there, then ya, it can be a quick gather one barely under and one barely over and be back to the launch by brunch. Try to buy the boat if you can, then its the trip you want and not decided by the old couple puking in the cabin! That goes for fishing out of any place. I fished with Captain Steve's out of Anchor Point last summer and their guides have daily bets for the largest halibut. And the way they fished reflected that. Just a heads up, everyone wants to catch big halibut until it's time to do big halibut stuff. You're in bigger and deeper water so you're fighting the tide for a 5-8 lb weight in 300 feet of water while trying to hold onto the side of the boat. It kinda sucks unless you're into it. My trip out of Homer was underwhelming and same with Seward but the difference is that those places have some better multi species opportunities.

To be fair, I've been trying to work in a trip with Crazy Ray's out of Whittier for a bit now. They have a good reputation but I don't first hand experience yet. So I have not fished out of Whittier but its high on my list.

If you're fishing the Kenai for Salmon in June, go mid week and go with a guide that leaves at 4 am. If you do an afternoon trip you will be trying to find a spot to fish within 50 boats already parked where you want to fish. I've floated the upper river numerous times in June and the water is very beat up. You can catch trout and its probably OK fishing, but I guess I just compare it to the fall when things are world class. Also realize "fly fishing" for sockeye isn't everyone's cup of tea. I love it, but a lot of people hate it. I was one of them for about 1-2 years until I got really good at it. An alternative is Kasilof kings, but as king fishing is, it can be very hit or miss.

I would skip Denali especially if you're going to the Peninsula. That adds two full days of driving and the park is underwhelming IMO unless you're driving your own rig during the September lottery. Unless you're really into smelly busses full of tourists, it's lame. If you want to drive north of Anchorage, take the trip to Matanuska Glacier and stay on the Glenn instead of Parks. Take walk around on the glacier - the ways things are going you may not have many chances left to essentially drive right up to one. The drive up the valley is awesome and its only a few hours max from Los Anchorage.

Also, remember that even though you're on vacation, there are still people trying to live and work through their normal day! Don't be the guy slowing everything down!

 

[cod007]

Pick up a copy of the travel book, “Milepost”. It will give u an almost mile by mile summary of whatever route you choose. Including food, lodging, sights to see, campgrounds, etc etc.
indispensable info complete with road maps.