Denali Tours

[mobrownies]

This may not be the right spot for this subject, but since there are two other subjects on Alaska that I am following here it made sense to me.

We plan to be in Alaska this August (leaving the trailer in WA and making a car or truck trip) and will be staying in Denali National Park for a few days in a yurt. There are several "day" tours and shuttle bus routes that one can take to see Denali with prices ranging from $30 to $140 per person. Does anyone have any recommendations on which one to do or how best to see the Park?

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

[Icehouse]

Have you considered taking a rail tour? You can catch the train in Anchorage and go up to Denali. Just a thought. If your interested, the Alaska Railroad website is: http://www.akrr.com/
They have some excellent tours available and by going rail (at least one way) you get to see things you'll NEVER see from the car.
Tammy

[rogue]

On the Denali bus tours there are 2 within and by the National Park Service. One is a shorter one, I don't remember exact length but maybe 4-6 hours and less expensive, than there is a longer one maybe 6-8 hours and more expensive. The longer one takes you deeper into the park, and thereby better chance to view animals, birds, and scenery. I would opt for the longer one, and as for cost, you will probably only be there once so go for it.
Bob

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

I agree with both pieces of advice above. Based on our experience (twice to Alaska and the Denali area in the last 5 years), I'd vote for a rail tour as suggested by Tammy and/or the longer bus tour. We took one of the shorter bus tours into the park but didn't feel as though we saw anything any prettier or as much wildlife as we always see in Yellowstone, Glacier, or in many places in Colorado. In fact, the only wildlife we saw was one moose--and she had a bell and electronic collar around her neck! As the tour ended, our guide said we should take the LONG tour if we really wanted to see some beautiful scenery and a lot of wildlife. Gee, thanks. Next time!

We rode a train from somewhere near the McKinley Princess Lodge to Fairbanks, and although it wasn't a sightseeing train/tour, it certainly was a lot more comfortable than the bus into Denali NP, and the windows made viewing much, much more exciting than trying to peer through small bus windows. I'm not sure what kind of buses are being used on those tours these days, but the only buses we saw--and the one we rode--was like a converted school bus and very uncomfortable. I don't expect the comforts of home when I'm traveling, but the miserable seating on that bus took some of the fun out of the tour. However--we took only one bus tour, so I definitely could have had a bad experience; I hope other people chime in and tell you what wonderful tours they had. (I'm selfish--I want to know because we plan to travel in Alaska again.)

Staying in a yurt sounds like so much fun! Whatever else you do will no doubt be icing on the cake. When anyone asks what Alaska is like, the only thing I can say is that it's like the most beautiful parts of Colorado . . . on steroids. I lived in Anchorage for some time, and even though it's so "citified" that you might think you're in Dallas or Billings or Denver, you just have to look up or travel a very few miles to realize how gorgeous Alaska is.

Carolyn

[nkwist]

Eight hours on the "schoolbus" was a real long time for us. Even though you get further into the park on the longer trips, odds are you won't see the mountain anyway. It's obscured more often than visible. I'd spend less time on the bus and more time hanging around the area. I have no experience with the train, but sounds like a good plan.

[jrgwdenner]

I think the train ride and the bus ride are in two different categories of adventure. I'm sure the train ride is beautiful, but when we were on the bus (the shorter, 6 - 8 hour trip) we were able to stop and watch the animals. One mother grizzly strolled across the road right in front of our bus. You can't see that on the train.

We felt that the shorter ride was long enough. The buses are simply school buses and we were plenty tired when we got back home. Be prepared to pack a lunch as there are only the bare necessities inside the park. It's an awesome adventure. We hit a home run and got to see all of the major animal sightings. I think we had some eagle-eyed hunters on board who helped a lot.

We got to know Denali well as our truck broke down and we were stuck there for ten days. What a place to be stuck!

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Judy, you guys did hit the jackpot--and what a great payoff! It's a gamble--be miserable on the bare-bones, rough-riding school bus in hopes of seeing some wildlife, or spend time on your own exploring the area. I guess because I live where it's very common to have moose, deer, elk, badgers, coyotes, antelope, fox, eagles, and sandhill cranes in our yard, and see mountain lions, the occasional wolf, and bears (frequently with cubs) where we go four-wheeling or hiking, I wasn't too thrilled by seeing a cow moose as my reward for being banged around on a schoolbus for hours. Seeing a grizzly bear that close would have been worth the bus ride.! On the other hand, my brother and sister-in-law, city-folks from the Houston area, were thrilled to see the tagged moose--it made their day.

The bus trip into Denali is probably the way to go if grizzlies and spectacular views of McKinley are what you hope to see. I say "hope," because seeing the mountain is always a gamble because of the weather. Judy was right about taking a lunch, too. Food and drink in the park are not worth the wait in line or the price.

Whatever you do, you'll have fun because Alaska is . . . ALASKA! Beautiful!

Carolyn

[Rondo]

This could be long but here goes!! Good evening! We were up in Alaska last June and took the Denali tour. We rented a van since we flew into Anchorage and toured on our own for 9 days- all the way from Seward to Fairbanks and back-- then returned to Vancouver via Carnival Cruise lines. Anyway, we looked into the trips into Denali and settled on the cheaper trip on the "school bus"(and converted one painted green by the Dept of Forestry or Parks Commission or whatever it is). There are two types of tours that you can take the one we were on and then there is another that is in an air conditioned bus that you get a lunch and beverages. We settled for the first and took our own lunch and water with us. We took the same route as the more expensive tour and enjoyed is greatly. We saw everything except for wolves while we were on the tour. We had a grizzly come out of the bush right at our bus and then lumber up the road for a mile or more, then go back into the bush and amble onlong with our bus and others in tow. We took the 6 hour tour and only missed the turn-around point way at the end of the road where the road for touring ends. It's at the lake (can't remember the name) and it has a lodge there you can make reservations to stay at for the evening or however you like and return on a bus the next day or so). We saw as much as the expensive tour did and it only cost us about the $30 a piece for the trip. Our bus driver had been driving for the Parks Commission for 6-8 years during the summer and knew all the info you ever wanted to know or want to know. We were lucky when we were there since "the mountain" was totally visible but because it is so huge and creates it's own weather it had covered the top of itself by the time we made it into mid- Denali! Remember one thing, you can only drive so far into Denali on your own and that is not evern a fourth of the way via park roads. IF you want to ask any questions, please feel free to PM or email me and I'll try and find the info for you to make reservations and etc.

P.S. We stayed off site at Denali at a cabin about 8-10 miles north of the entrance and it was at the top of a small mountain and very very peaceful, scenic and quite economincal also. It was half of the price of a room at lodges or hotels around the entrance of Denali. Again email me or PM me if you want more info!

One more thing-- don't forget your binoculars! We took four pair with us and they were used a lot!

[BirdingRVer]

I have to agree with Bob; "The longer one takes you deeper into the park, and thereby better chance to view animals, birds, and scenery. I would opt for the longer one, and as for cost, you will probably only be there once so go for it."

We did the 8 hour tour our first time and stayed at the end of the road in Kintishnia (sp?) the second time. Not only did we see "the mountain" both times but, the further we went the more wildlife you see just because you are spending more time in the Park.

Yes, the school bus are a bit uncomfortable but, the scenery will help you forget that you are uncomfortable. We will be back in Denali next month and our current plan is to take the bus the the Edleson (sp?) visitor center.

Grant