Mt. McKinley Princess

[quiltsnh]

We arrive at the Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge at noon and stay til the next day at 2 how should we best spend out time there before going to Denali Princess for 2 days...?

[TXCruiser2]

Take a flight over Mt McKinley - absolutely the highlight of our trip. We used Talkeetna Air Taxi and highly recommend them. Also, the town of Talkeetna is a funky place to shop and have lunch. There are beautiful walking trails around Princess Lodge, fantastic views of Mt McKinley.

[Budget Queen]

Take a flight over Mt McKinley - absolutely the highlight of our trip. We used Talkeetna Air Taxi and highly recommend them. Also, the town of Talkeetna is a funky place to shop and have lunch. There are beautiful walking trails around Princess Lodge, fantastic views of Mt McKinley.

 

Talkeetna Air Taxi does NOT fly "over" McKinley. They do book the summit tours with another vendor- which you may not have realized?

[capriccio]

In 2007 we were at that lodge for about the same time period following our visit to Denali. If the mountain isn't visible when you arrive, make sure you tell the front desk to call you 'if the mountain comes out.' We had just gone to sleep around 11:30 pm when the phone rang and the front desk (a real person, not a recorded message :D) told us it was visible. Folks in all states of dress (including jammies) came running out with camera equipment. We sat on the deck until 1:30 am - and it still wasn't dark out - just watching.

 

The afternoon we arrived we attended a lecture on the various types of Alaska salmon; the following morning we took a guided nature walk around the grounds (I think both of those were free); then we took the shuttle (with our luggage) into Talkeetna and went flightseeing with K2. Loved the flight and scenery - and even managed to not panic too much with the oxygen mask:p. It was one of the highlights of our entire trip. When the flight was over we walked over to catch the train to Anchorage. Everything couldn't have worked out any better.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[Lookingforfacts]

Are you arriving by train? Stay in Talkeetna and take a later bus to the lodge. Walk around town. Book a plane tour.

 

2p departure suggests you'll be taking a bus to Denali. Find out if you can catch the bus in town. If so take an earlier shuttle to town. Eat. walk around. Take your flight that morning. Not sure I'd go into town if you have to get back to the lodge to catch your bus to Denali. Two hours wasted on the shuttle bus.