Tag Archives: travel

Alaska Travel Today!

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Planning trip to the Denali Backcountry Lodge

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The Denali Backcountry Lodge Bus departs from Denali Cabins at 1:00 p.m. and from the Alaska Railroad Depot (Denali National Park Entrance) promptly at 1:30 p.m. A staff person of Denali Backcountry Lodge meets the guests at the depot. You will board the private bus for your journey through the park. Be prepared for 5-6 hour bus ride to the lodge. At the end of your stay, you will take another bus departing the lodge at approximately 6:00 a.m. and arrives back to the park entrance train depot around 11:30 a.m. for convenient transfer to Anchorage by Alaska Railroad, that leaves at 12:30 p.m. or Denali Motorcoach that leaves at 2:30 p.m.  These buses going in and out of the lodge are narrated trips, an excellent opportunity to see wildlife and to learn about the natural history of the park.

There are variety of transportation options between Anchorage or Fairbanks and the Park Entrance: Railroad, Motor coaches, or Automobile.  Rental cars are available in Anchorage or Fairbanks, but no car rental agencies are located at Denali National Park. If you are self-driving using rental cars, you can park your car at Denali Cabins and board the bus for the lodge at Denali Cabins.  Denali Cabins is located at mile 229 on George Parks Highway, about 8 miles south of the park entrance.   Also, there are no scheduled air flights between the Park and Anchorage or Fairbanks; however, a small plane can be chartered through several air services.

If you are traveling from Fairbanks to Denali National Park, the Alaska Railroad departs Fairbanks at 8:15 a.m. and arrives at noon. This is in perfect timing to catch our lodge bus. However, if you plan to take train from Anchorage, it departs Anchorage at 8:15 a.m. and arrives in Denali at 3:45 p.m. In this case, we recommend staying overnight at Denali Cabins.  An alternative that works well for guests traveling round trip between Anchorage and Denali National Park is to take Denali Motorcoach Northbound to the Park, then return to Anchorage on Alaska Railroad.

Some Notes about the Denali Backcountry Lodge

  • Meals:  Our meals are hearty, home-cooked and prepared by our staff.  Healthy foods are emphasized.  The lodge can accommodate special needs, with advance notice.
  • Bar Service:  The lodge features an informal bar, which serves beer and wine.
  • Smoking:  All cabins, lodge facilities, and vehicles are smoke-free.
  • Laundry Facilities:  No laundry facilities are available however, a boot and outdoor gear drying room is available for guest use at Denali Backcountry Lodge.
  • Bears and Bugs:  Both in fair supply, so we have to co-exist using our knowledge of their habits. The lodge provides mosquito head nets for guests and recommend wearing tight-woven, light colored clothing for maximum comfort.

Family trip

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I’m from the Space Coast of Florida.  My neighbor was an astronaut and I lived close enough to the beach that it took me 8 minutes to literally walk down the street to it.  The area is f-l-a-t.  When I say flat I mean the most elevation you can achieve within a 10-mile radius is when you go up the elevator at Ron Jon’s.  My dad was getting tired of all the people, and the muggy heat that we were constantly engulfed in.  He decided that we would pack up for a week and head to Alaska for a little refreshment.

I blended in pretty well with the people there, not your usual bleached-blond tanned babe.  Of course everyone was just as friendly to my sister, who fits into every stereotype that is ‘Floridian’.  She had issues with the idea of Alaska; the woods, and the man-eating mosquitoes weren’t her in bag of “fun stuff to deal with on vacation”. I, however, loved the idea.  Out rocking it with nature, that was my style.  I do remember how enormous the mountains were, and the smell of pine.  It was a little different than my elevation-less and moldy-musky smelling home.

When we landed in Anchorage I was stiff and thoroughly surprised that it was still light out at two in the morning.  This trip turned out to be a lot more exciting than realizing that your parents couldn’t tell you to be ‘home by dark’.  We settled into our hotel, and were off to Denali by morning.  After an entertaining trip by Motorcoach to the Denali National Park entrance, we boarded the bus to Kantishna and the Denali Backcountry Lodge.  We saw three Grizzly bears.  Three! I couldn’t believe how HUGE they were.  We also saw a few moose, and just one caribou on our way in from Anchorage.

We stayed at the lodge for a night, then went hiking the next day, my sister’s moment of truth.  As it turns out there are no man-eating bugs or too many claustrophobic woods for that matter.  She won’t admit it, but she enjoyed being out in the wilderness.  Florida seems so crowded now that I’m home.  It was pretty humbling to realize how small we really are compared to Denali.  I’m glad I’ll be able to tell my adventures at school next year.

- Felicia & the rest of the Rae Family.

Fresh morning air

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Fresh morning airI am a city boy. I was born and raised around the Boston area and have never experienced real nature outside of the trees and hills of New Hampshire. Last August, I departed my comfortable home of Dunkin’ Donuts and subways for the wild lands of Alaska knowing nothing about the state aside from Discovery specials. The staff at Alaska Denali Tours put together a great package for me that prized my individuality and let me embrace the real Alaska wild, as was my wish.

The most memorable part of the trip to me was at the Denali entrance. I stayed at the Denali Cabins there and used their shuttle service to get to the Visitor Center of the park where great hiking trails could be found. I chose one called the Taiga Trail. I remember the soft dew that clung to the leaves and the winding trail that cut through the dense woods. It was like a great pressure was building up in me; the culmination of such a perfect day apart from the comfort of civilization. As the sun shone through that dew and left a prism upon my face, I felt that pressure slowly escape. Below me, a stream cut through a narrow valley, tumbling and rolling over the tundra. A red squirrel chattered in the distance. At last I had found my Alaska, away from the city.