Luckily, it's got a big airstrip to welcome visitors. Your hosts custom-design daily adventures to meet your desires. You can take off in one of the lodge's planes and land at a private locations in the park for a day of hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, or whatever you like. Back at the lodge in the evening, gourmet dining and a wood-fired sauna await. The menu leans toward local ingredients, like the world-famous salmon from the nearby Copper River. Most visitors to Denali National Park see the landscape from the confines of a park tour bus.
But several years ago, the Park Service granted a concession for one company to operate a remote camp on the shores of an iceberg-laden lake that lies in a side valley, 25 miles up the Ruth Glacier. Experience this part of the park, which is accessible only by floatplane and visited by just a handful of travelers each year. McKinley—less than 20 miles. On this 4-day, 3-night hiking and camping expedition that travels deep into the wilderness, you take off from Talkeetna and fly more than 20 miles up the spectacular Ruth Glacier before landing at a well-stocked wilderness camp.
There you settle in to stay. Alaska Alpine Adventures and K2 Aviation. The best way to experience Denali is in Kantishna, 95 miles from the Park Entrance, as far back on the Park Road as you can go. McKinley—a very different experience from the Park Entrance.
And Camp Denali was the first: It was founded by people who have become very involved in Alaska conservation, and it offers one of the world's great eco-lodge lodge experiences. You can also take out a canoe on iconic Wonder Lake or use their fishing gear. Or of course, just relax with a book and a stellar view of Denali. Return home each day to gourmet meals.
A three-day stay will give you a real taste of Alaska, but you may want to spend more time. Global warming might be altering the 49th state, but not to worry, there's still plenty of ice. Prince William Sound alone boasts glaciers. Dozens of them go all the way to tidewater. Most of them are, however, retreating. As they retreat, huge blocks of ice calve off their faces and fall into the ocean. The crack, the boom, and the splash of these events is dramatic. The ice that a small-boat skipper can gather from the resulting icebergs to chill a pre-dinner cocktail is a special treat.
How often do you lift a toast with centuries-old ice? Discovery Voyages offers 5- to 7-day itineraries on board a person yacht with expert guides and gourmet meals. And don't let the icy environment fool you.
Despite the chilly waters, the Sound supports a rich marine ecosystem where you are almost certain to encounter whales, sea otters, Dall porpoise, seals, and other wildlife and fish. You might well find yourself paddling a kayak across crystal clear waters filled with milling schools of salmon happy to have made it home from the sea. On shore, expect to explore pristine beaches and hike through moss-draped rainforests on the way to wildflower-filled meadows.
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The misty waters of Southeast Alaska exude an otherworldly vibe, especially when you explore their straits and sounds by small cruise ship. Lose yourself in the beauty and mystery of this glacial domain on an 8-day excursion with UnCruise Adventures. Spend a day discovering remote waterways by kayak or paddleboard, and then journey on toward one of the most stunning national parks: Your ultimate destination is on the Gulf of Alaska coast: Sitka, a quaint and historic city of 9,, has Native Tlingit and Russian roots and was where the transfer from Russian to U. Watch for puffins, eagles, whales, sea lions, harbor seals, otters, and bear along the shore throughout the cruise.
Hang out in secluded coves, explore intertidal zones from your skiff or kayak, and hike in the Tongass National Forest. When is a lodge more than a lodge? When it sits in a Native Alaskan wildlife sanctuary in the heart of a national park with full-on views of a gorgeous glacier. Here, the 16 cabins of the Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge make up one of the best-situated wilderness eco-lodges in the country. Newly built, this lodge was sited with one prevailing thought in mind: And it would be hard to find one better than this.
Getting here is another treat. Transportation from Seward at the head of Resurrection Bay comes via a narrated Kenai Fjords glacier and wildlife cruise. There's usually plenty of wildlife to see, from mountain goats to black bears to killer whales, porpoises, sea otters, puffins and more. Once at the lodge, you can hike and kayak to get even closer to seals, otters, bears, and bald eagles, which are about as common here as geese on golf courses in the Lower Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge.
Alaska in winter is synonymous with snow, dogs, and the flickering Aurora Borealis. Think author Jack London or poet Robert Service, the bard of the north: Think of yourself on the runner of that sled sliding across a vast wilderness. No, you can't run the Iditarod this year—that takes some training. The plane ride, an adventure in itself, ends with a landing on skis, near your home for the days to follow.
The dogs are waiting to tow you through snow-covered forest, tundra, ponds, or rivers. In fact, you can drive the dogs and run your own team. You pull the hook, unleash the team, and hear nothing but the slide of the runners and the panting of dog breath. If you want, you can take a break to cross-country skis or snowshoe.
Or simply relax at the rustic but modern lodge at the edge of a 5-mile-long lake. It's a great place to view the northern skies on those nights when the aurora shows up to dance in multi-colored waves across the heavens. When these displays are at their max, they pack so much power you can hear them. Skilled boatmen, they challenged big seas in tiny kayaks. An inexperienced paddler would be crazy to take on Gulf waters, but you can get a taste of kayak travel in sheltered Aialik Bay in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Sunny Cove Sea Kayaking organizes trips for paddlers of all sorts here from Seward. You'll spend your days slipping silently across blue-green, glacier-fed waters and your nights camping on secluded beaches. The guides are trained naturalists who keep an eye on you and a companion in your two-person kayak, while explaining the ecosystem that supported the Alutiiq for thousands of years.
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They'll take you in close, but not too close, to calving glaciers; help you fish chunks of ancient ice out of the bay; and point out the wildlife that will make this 3- to 5-day wilderness adventure a trip you'll never forget. Sunny Cove Sea Kayaking. If you've already got some backpacking chops, and if you're not rattled by steep terrain, the "Goat Trail'' is a classic Alaskan hike. Elias mountains from the copper-mining town of McCarthy to the gold-mining town of Chisana. An air taxi dropoff at Skolai Lake high in the mountains makes it easier than it was in the old days.
From there, you climb for about five miles to Chitistone Pass to start the descent through a world of rock and ice, down along the Chitistone River, past Chitistone Falls and the Chitistone Gorge to Glacier Creek. Outdoor writer Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan was once moved to observe that "these 10 miles of pure Alaska experience are among the best miles of trail in the whole national park system. The hiking distance from the drop-off to the pickup is about 25 miles.
It's considered moderate to strenuous, depending on how fit and experienced the hiker is and how much is being carried. The trip can easily be done in five days, but eight isn't too many. Bring a big memory card for your camera. The scenery—a cross between the Grand Canyon and the green Canadian Rockies—is the reason Kwak-Hefferan raved about this self-supported, on-your-own Alaskan adventure.
The Kesugi Ridge Trail stretches for 36 miles along a ridgetop between the Chulitna and Susitna rivers and takes you through spectacular scenery and prime wildlife habitat. But the real prize is to hike it on a clear day. Upon reaching tree line at just 2, ft. On cloudy days, the scenery is still spectacular, but route-finding can be tricky along the more remote sections of the trail. Here in the state park you also have the option of going guided to get the most out of your trip—guides help you stay warm, dry, fed, and safe, but are also full of fascinating insights about the area and its wildlife.
Nearly every visitor to the Denali area passes through Denali State Park and right by these trailheads, but almost all will pass right on by and miss it. Hiking up to tree line is usually possible by June 1, but snowfields along the ridgetop persist until about June Visitors might find themselves a little startled when a sow with young engages in the phenomenon of "cub parking,'' or leaving the young'uns close to people for protection from marauding male bears while mom wanders off to take a break. Next on the itinerary, small bush planes fly you northwest, where the seldom-visited Mulchatna Caribou Herd passes over the lichen-rich area.
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You spend some time spotting caribou from the air and the ground before traveling by boat and floatplane to see glacial lakes, massive waterfalls, and the tops of volcanoes. As they unabashedly walk close to the small 6-person boat from which most of the viewing is done, you are thankful the guide is quick on the draw to back up before they get too close! Chulitna Wilderness Lodge Retreat. Even in Alaska, which is remote by Lower 48 standards, the Brooks Range is one of the more remote mountain ranges. And Gates of the Arctic is one of the ultimate backpacking destinations in Alaska.
Unclimbed until the s, these granite spires, rising more than a mile high in the central Brooks Range, are the stuff of legend. Elias National Park is the largest park in the entire National Park System, and about one-third of this grand park is made up of glaciers. One of the most dynamic of these is the Root Glacier, located right in the center of the park and next to the town of McCarthy-Kennicott.
And the glacier is nestled into one of the most spectacular natural surroundings you could imagine. Some examples of the potential skills covered are belaying, building anchors in ice, rappelling, vertical and overhanging ice climbing techniques, as well as crevasse rescue, self-rescue, pulley systems, and ascending your rope. Packrafting has revolutionized Alaska backcountry travel.
In a state with thousands of rivers, these lightweight rafts, small enough to fit in your backpack, have made it possible to cross major swaths of wilderness. When you encounter a river crossing, you just blow up the boat, paddle across, and keep going. Or you can float downriver with the current for hundreds of miles, watching the forests and mountains pass swiftly by. Nothing gets you closer to river wilderness than packrafting. Prince William Sound has the densest concentration of tidewater glaciers in Alaska, if not the world. Overnight Kenai Riverside Lodge. Gear up for a scenic raft trip into the heart of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
Along the way, watch for moose, bald eagles and other bird species and salmon. The Kenai River is famous for its salmon and, depending on the time of your visit, you may witness their incredible spawning runs. Enjoy a delicious picnic lunch along the river or on the shore of Skilak Lake. Arrive at Kenai Backcountry Lodge in the late afternoon and settle into your accommodations. Overnight at Kenai Backcountry Lodge. Spend a full day exploring the remote wilderness of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
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Hike a secluded trail and travel through several fascinating ecological communities. At the top of the trail, explore the tundra and enjoy splendid views of the lake and surrounding wilderness. Return to the lodge in the afternoon and enjoy the wood-fired sauna or simply relax at the lodge. Depending on the weather, options for the evening may include an exploration of the lake by sturdy touring kayak or fireside natural history presentation by one of the lodge's guides. Overnight at Kenai Riverside Lodge. Following breakfast, bid farewell to Cooper Landing and the Kenai Riverside Lodge, as we travel through the Chugach National Forest to the picturesque seacoast town of Seward, situated at the head of Resurrection Bay.
Board a custom catamaran bound for Kenai Fjords National Park, home to an array of glaciers and marine wildlife such as whales, Stellar sea lions, sea otters, puffins and more!
Dive into the wilderness with an Alaskan adventure tale
A four-hour cruise allows time to explore the dramatic coastlines. Enjoy lunch in front of a tidewater glacier before arriving at our exclusive lodge destination: Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge. Nestled in a protected tidal lagoon area, the Glacier Lodge offers miles of pristine beachfront for combing and views of the stunning Pedersen Glacier. This afternoon, meet your lodge guides for a tour of the lodge and property and settle into your private cabins.
Enjoy dinner and evening presentations. Overnight at Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge. After breakfast in the main lodge, experience a day-long paddle weather permitting to the outer bay and wander your kayak along the stunning coastline, keeping an eye out for seals and otters. This is also an excellent opportunity for bird watching; each year, more than 50, seabirds flock to the Kenai Fjords, including horned and tufted puffins, common murres and black-legged kittiwakes.