Best travel time

[Mountaingal6]

Planning 2015 Alaska/Denali trip July/Aug. Can flex dates. Would appreciate feedback on best dates for weather and animal viewing. Thanks

[AKStafford]

Planning 2015 Alaska/Denali trip July/Aug. Can flex dates. Would appreciate feedback on best dates for weather and animal viewing. Thanks

 

Weather is always random luck. Late May/early June *tend* to be drier, but not always. The key to Alaska weather is to hope for the best, plan for the worse and have fun no matter what.

Late August would give you fall colors at Denali...

Animal view would be the same in July or August.

One other note... If you are getting a rental car (which is how I would recommend you do it) reserve it as early as possible for the best price.

[ccMiMi]

Was in Denali in mid-July. The weather was upper 50's/low 60's. Raining when we got off the train. Stopped by dinnertime. Was gray and cloudy the next morning as we started our bus tour into the park but cleared up later in the day. Then had a light rain as we were leaving the park. As for animal viewing, we checked everything off our list - bear, caribou, moose, dal sheep, eagles, ptarmigans, etc. We really enjoyed our stay in Denali.

[mapleleaves]

during our August trip we saw more animals than on previous trips. We were in Denali around 8/18-21. Part of our luck was that it was rutting season so moose were more active. We saw them in the park, around the park and elsewhere as we drove around for 2 weeks. Another bonus was that fall colors were just starting. Also, salmon were running so most towns we visited had bear viewing opportunities if we wanted to visit local hatcheries, rivers, lakes in the evening.

 

BUT, the weather was the worst I have experienced. We had brief snow flurries in Denali and stormy wet weather for most of the trip. The weather impacted the scenic viewing because the clouds obscured the mountains. Our Kenai cruise was downgraded to a Bay tour because of rough seas. They didn't get out of the Bay for a few days. And I cancelled our kayak trip in Valdez because of the wind and rain.

 

Weather is a crapshoot in July/August ... we had terrible weather but other people have travelled at that time and had great weather! Actually a friend who travelled at the same time as us had good weather ... she travelled in the reverse direction to us so I guess the storm travelled with us and she was always behind it.

Edited August 7, 2014 by mapleleaves

[Budget Queen]

I have a lot of Alaska travel time under my belt and have experienced all kinds of weather and wildlife "viewing". Every trip is different, and as already stated, you are wasting your time trying to figure out any weather. :) I have already toured Alaska 7 weeks- this year, with another week coming up end of the month, so 8 weeks, this year. I do prefer August for fewer bugs. This year, I ran into some really bad areas, that even with heavy duty dope and bugnets, was still annoying. This was the month of July. My touring ranged from Inside Passage with NCL Sun, Lake Clark, all the way up to Prudhoe, with numerous areas in between.

 

 

Instead, I would suggest you pick a timeframe that offers you the most time, if that is a difference. For wildlife, you need to be in the right areas. I recommend multiple trips into Denali if truly have a wildlife priority, along with spending time in Seward and Kenai Fjords. Two very prolific wildlife viewing areas.

[AKStafford]

This recent thread on TripAdvisor discusses the variety in weather: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28923-i349-k7697548-Alaska_locals_how_normal_was_weather_June_2014-Alaska.html