Alaska - the Last Frontier, and the ultimate multi-activity adventure destination!! Everything here is grand – from the 5000 glaciers to having seventeen of the twenty highest peaks in North America. The good news is that finding wilderness is easy and we’ve chosen the best adventures to enjoy the solitude and the magic of the wild. We’ll hike a glacier, whitewater raft, horse ride, hike to see salmon spawning, ride the Alaskan Railroad, photograph wildlife, sea kayak a secluded bay, and canoe through icebergs at the foot of a glacier. We’ll also explore remote towns with rich histories like Talkeetna, Seward and Homer. You’ll see grizzlies, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, otters and more bald eagles than you can imagine. There is no trip where it is more important to have a local in charge and our Alaskan guides do a superb job of keeping us safe and well informed. Our trip encompasses the jewels of Alaska - Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula. Our nine days are full on and you’ll leave Alaska knowing you’ve seen the best of the best.
Friday
Arrive in Anchorage. Take airport shuttle to our Motor Inn where, depending on the hour, your Alaskan guide or rooming instructions await you. Welcome dinner for those who arrive by 7pm.
Saturday
After a hearty breakfast at a favorite local restaurant we’ll drive north to Denali National Park. With luck we’ll have clear views of mighty Mt McKinley. After our restaurant lunch we’ll check into our adorable cabins for a two-night stay. At 2pm assemble for our whitewater rafting trip on the Nenana River. This river flows northward through the heart of the Alaska Range and forms the eastern border of Denali National Park. We sometimes see wildlife from our rafts. We’re outfitted with state of the art dry-suits providing thermal protection from the glacial water. The rapids are rated class III + IV and we paddle 11 miles through this beautiful gorge. We’re back at our cabins by 6pm in time for a hot shower before dinner.
Sunday
Buses are the only vehicles allowed into Denali National Park and we board ours for an all-day trip to explore the interior. We’re sure to see moose, brown bears and Dall sheep and we stop often for photos. We’ll pack in a brown bag lunch. For much of this ride we travel along a ridge affording open vistas and often see herds of caribou – and Mt McKinley again if its a clear day. Dine at a restaurant near our cabins.
Monday
After breakfast we head back down the George Parks Highway and take a side-trip to the tiny town of Talkeetna at the confluence of three rivers. Once a miner’s supply center and then a riverboat station its now most renown as the staging area for Denali climbers. You’ll have a couple of hours here to shop and explore and get yourself some lunch. Drive south to Anchorage and visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center featuring artists carving baleen or sewing skin boats. There is time for shopping in Anchorage before meeting for dinner. Accommodation at the same motor inn as Friday night.
Tuesday
Photo opportunities demand several stops on our drive to Seward, a picturesque town nudged up against scenic Resurrection Bay. Sometimes we even see the small white Beluga whales in the Cook Inlet. Walking a blue-ice glacier is an essential Alaskan experience and we’ve chosen Exit Glacier for its stunning views and the beauty of the 1.6 mile alpine trail up to it. We frequently see black bears, moose and marmots along the way. We’ll pack a picnic lunch for you which we’ll eat at a viewing point. Our knowledgeable guide identifies the native plants and flowers and uses the landscapes unique features to explain basic glaciology. This is a five-hour expedition and afterwards we can relax at dinner and our hotel accommodation in Seward.
Wednesday
You have a few hours free this morning to explore Seward. Most choose to visit the Alaska SeaLife Center – funded in part by money from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. This is a combination research, rehabilitation and interpretive center with huge tanks to view the mammals that live in the bay. Pick yourself up some lunch to eat on the drive to Cooper Landing where at 2pm we saddle-up for a two-hour trail ride. We ride next to clear mountain streams, through forests and up to Kenai Lake with spectacular valley views and sometimes wildlife along the way. Drive to the seaside artist community and fishing village of Homer for dinner and a two-night stay. Homer is beautiful with its stunning panorama of mountains, snow covered peaks and long spit stretching into Kachemack Bay.
Thursday
After breakfast we’ll catch a water taxi across to our kayaking base. We take advantage of the calm morning waters on our half-day trip in the most sheltered kayaking bay in Alaska. We’ll see otters, seals, bald eagles and puffins and if we’re lucky maybe an orca or humpback! Lunch is on your own today and you have the rest of the afternoon to explore. At 5pm we’ll meet to water taxi across to dinner at the Saltry Restaurant, a local favorite. There will be time to explore the local art galleries in Halibut Cove before our return by water taxi to Homer.
Friday
You’ll have two hours free after breakfast to explore Homer before our late morning drive back to Cooper Landing where we’ll lunch at a local restaurant and check into our motel. In the afternoon we’ll hike to Russian River falls to see salmon jumping upstream to spawning grounds. This is an easy 2.3 mile (one way) hike to the falls where viewing deck overlooks allow us to see scores of bright red sockeye salmon milling around in the pools and making great leaps to ascend the falls. Dinner and lodging in Cooper Landing.
Saturday
Sleep-in and enjoy a lazy breakfast before driving to our rendezvous at 1.30pm with our outfitter at Portage. Board the Alaska Railroad for the short trip into Spencer Lake. Lunch on the edge of the lake where we’ll be outfitted with cold weather layers. Launch our Alaskan canoe for an amazing finale to our journey by paddling through icebergs to the edge of Spencer Glacier. We’ll have two hours to take advantage of the wonderful photo opportunities as icebergs float by. Return by train to Portage and drive back to Anchorage for our farewell dinner. This tour ends at the airport where most people take red-eye flights back to the lower 48. If you select a flight for Sunday you’ll need to arrange accommodation for tonight and airport transport.
Bear Camp One Day Extension
If you’d like to extend your vacation by flying into a bear camp we can help with arrangements. The return flight from Anchorage and day at the camp observing brown bears costs $620.
