help me fill my time at princess denali/mckinley lodges

[jbinbi]

Here is my itinerary, need to find excursions to fill excursion time.

going june, middle age couple, can do anyt ype of walking, wanting to see as much as possible

 

I have bolded time when we can do excursions, I have been on the princess excursion site looking at too many things that I don't know how good or bad they are.

 

I would appreciate anyone's input on excursions they did here at denali/mckinley. Mods, if this should be in the princess section, pls move, my apologies.

 

day 1 arrive denali princess lodge at 1pm

day 1 afternoon/evening free

 

day 2 morning free until 1pm, suggestions

day 2 tundra wilderness (do not offer suggestions not to do this)

 

day 3 rail to mckinley princess lodge, can do excursion starting at 5pm

 

day 4 all day free for excursions

 

day 5 rail to whittier

[oaktreerb]

Visitors Center at Denali is free for hikes, museum, dog sled demo. Princess will have free shuttle for access. Shopping across parks highway. Salmon Bake for dinner. Cabin Nite Dinner at the Chalets or Princess has a musical production I think. Rafting is fun and you can do a flight seeing excursion. Days are long so you have lots of daylight. Golf at midnight for a novelty experience.

 

I have no experience with the McKinley Princess area,but on a clear day you get a great view of Mt. McKinley

[Budget Queen]

What attracted you to book 2 days at the McKinley lodge? What were your interests? There is little to do there and Talkeetna offers superb flight seeing (which would be my recommendation) IF you want to see McKinley. Otherwise, 2 days is way too long, without your own transportation. I do suggest, you stay in Talkeetna, and not rush to the lodge when you get there. You will need to use the Princess shuttle buses the next day, 2 hour round trip for Talkeetna. Otherwise, look over their tour list and determine what is of interest to you.

 

Plenty to see and do at Denali http://www.nps.gov/dena

 

You are firm with your TWT choice? If you want to save considerable money and get further into the park (more scenery, more wildlife potential) then scrap the TWT and get on at least the Eielson Shuttle bus. It will require you to be able to make some arrangements on your own.

[Koali]

We took a side by side ATV ride in Denali. I forget the name of it, but it was a lot of fun. There was only 6 of us, but there were 3 guides. They stopped at gorgeous areas of scenery and we stopped on a river bed. They provided a very hearty meal (BBQ). It was a really fun adventure.

 

We visited Jeff king's home where he keeps his sled dogs. You get to hold the puppies, soo cute. He is a very charismatic speaker as well and has some great stories.

 

 

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[jbinbi]

What attracted you to book 2 days at the McKinley lodge? What were your interests? There is little to do there and Talkeetna offers superb flight seeing (which would be my recommendation) IF you want to see McKinley. Otherwise, 2 days is way too long, without your own transportation. I do suggest, you stay in Talkeetna, and not rush to the lodge when you get there. You will need to use the Princess shuttle buses the next day, 2 hour round trip for Talkeetna. Otherwise, look over their tour list and determine what is of interest to you.

 

Plenty to see and do at Denali http://www.nps.gov/dena

 

You are firm with your TWT choice? If you want to save considerable money and get further into the park (more scenery, more wildlife potential) then scrap the TWT and get on at least the Eielson Shuttle bus. It will require you to be able to make some arrangements on your own.

 

Booked and paid for on princess cruisetour. I had wanted to see denali and mckinley and thought this cruisetour would do it, but it seems like maybe i have an extra day in it, maybe could have done more on my own.

 

Doesn't make a difference at this point, what I am trying to do is use my time that I am there to the fullest. I did book the twt and can cancel that and do the shuttle to eielson

[MVPinBoynton]

I did book the twt and can cancel that and do the shuttle to eielson

 

That is what we did. We got a $56 pp credit and the Eilson Shuttle only cost $35 pp. Better excursion and cheaper. I took the advice from BQ and others. Sure looking forward to the trip.

[jbinbi]

How long does it take to get from lodge to denali park?

 

If I arrive at lodge on day 1 at 1pm, if princess runs shuttles, I would think we can go to park to do dog sled etc. that afternoon? I would leave the second day to do the shuttle bus tour as it says that is an all day event.

[Northern Aurora]

Booked and paid for on princess cruisetour. I had wanted to see denali and mckinley and thought this cruisetour would do it, but it seems like maybe i have an extra day in it, maybe could have done more on my own.

 

Doesn't make a difference at this point, what I am trying to do is use my time that I am there to the fullest. I did book the twt and can cancel that and do the shuttle to eielson

 

Just a point of clarification -- the official name of the mountain is Mt. McKinley, but Alaskans refer to it as Denali, which is the original name. The national park is named Denali National Park. Are you interested in seeing the mountain itself or the vast wilderness in the park?

 

The Denali Princess is located outside of the national park entrance in an area referred to as "Glitter Gulch." The McKinley Princess is south of the national park, and is situated on the Parks Highway with no other businesses near it. Folks who stay there without a car but want to do or see something are forced to purchase Princess excursions. The other alternatives at the lodge are to play board games and there are also a few walking paths (they really aren't trails). There are no close businesses (ie no close flightseeing businesses or restaurants).

 

The shuttle from the McKinley Princess to Talkeetna is about forty to forty-five minutes in length. If you stay two nights at the McKinley Princess you may consider going into Talkeetna, but understand that while years ago it was a funky, charming community, it now has a "Glitter Gulch" feel to it.