Mt. McKinley and Denali Restaurants

[Joyce B.]

Where can you eat at these resorts, other than the hotel dining rooms?

[Potstech]

Denali Lodge has places across the street from it. They have several places to eat at the lodge .

McKinley Lodge has no place in walking distance to eat but several places to choose from.   Alternate locations are in Talkeetna which is a 30-45 minute bus ride to get there.

Food is way much more expensixe in Alaska so budget accordingly.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Potstech

[frugaltravel]

There are a couple of casual places like coffee shops.  But for other options at Denali Princess, you need to walk across the Parks Highway to get other options (Princess does not offer any transportation to the shops and restaurants across the street).  Prospectors Pizza, Denali Salmon Bake, Black Bear Coffee Shop for breakfast/lunch items, and several other restaurants are all available in that boardwalk strip.

 

Talkeetna is 45 miles from the McKinley Princess Lodge, so more like an hour drive from the McKinley Princess Lodge.  Hopefully you are only at that lodge for one night - pretty much nothing to do there!

 

Edited April 5, 2019 by frugaltravel

[Idahoan58]

I spent a summer in college working at the McKinely Chalet Resort which is right next to the McKinley Lodge. 

 

As far as food goes the McKinely lodge as a couple restaurants to eat at as does the McKinely Chalet. Accross the street is a subway, prospectors pizza, the salmon bake, and a couple other small things. There was a ice cream shop that had really good milkshakes, but I forgot the name of the place. The salmon bake and prospector pizza were very popular restaurants.

 

I have included a few pictures that I took while there and circled the McKinely lodge. There is also a picture of the shops across the street 

[SuperCrewBear]

My favorite restaurant in that area is 49th State Brewing at Healy.  It's about 10 minutes north of the Denali Princess area.  The food is good (steaks, burgers, salmon, etc) and the atmosphere was fun - it's sort of a copy of a German beer garden.  It's not inexpensive but we found it worth the price for where it's located.  There is a local company called Denali Transportation Services that provides local shuttle/taxi service in the area that should be able to do round-trip taxi service.  You can find them by doing an internet search.

[Northern Aurora]

During the past two or three summers the "Glitter Gulch" area (the development just north of the Denali National Park entrance) has experienced a growth of food trucks.  The offerings can vary from season to season.

 

One of the best restaurants in our state is actually located about ten miles south of the "Glitter Gulch" area.  The restaurant is named 229 Parks, and is located at mile 229 of the George Parks Highway.

[kennicott]

1 hour ago, Idahoan58 said:

I have included a few pictures that I took while there and circled the McKinely lodge. There is also a picture of the shops across the street 

Nice pictures, but they are of the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge at "Glitter Gulch", all on the northerly side of the Alaska Range. On the south side of the Range is the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/denali-lodge/ 

[kennicott]

We have eaten in all five of the Princess Wilderness Lodges, and stayed in all but the Denali one at Glitter Gulch. During the summers I spend most of my time at my place in the Wrangell Mountains. It is a 311 mile drive from my place there to our home in Anchorage. So during the drive I often eat lunch somewhere. There are some pretty good places to eat but the best is at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. So I try to time my drives to make sure I'm hungry when I reach their turnoff on the Richardson Highway at Copper Center.

 

Someone mentioned the restaurant "229 Parks" at mile 229 on the Parks Highway. I haven't had the opportunity to eat there, but I can hardly wait to get the chance as Laura Cole is well known as one of the best if not the best gourmet chefs in Alaska. Perhaps in all of the Pacific Northwest, but maybe I embellish. "Laura Cole has been nominated twice for a James Beard Award - Best Chef Northwest. She is a passionate advocate for Alaskan cuisine and strives to enhance the local bounty in the 49th state."  I just recently read where she took over the "Muse" restaurant in the large museum in downtown Anchorage. I believe she is just about ready to begin business there and I'm a member of the museum so maybe I get my chance sooner than I expected. http://229parks.com/

 

[Idahoan58]

5 hours ago, kennicott said:

Nice pictures, but they are of the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge at "Glitter Gulch", all on the northerly side of the Alaska Range. On the south side of the Range is the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/denali-lodge/ 

 

My bad. I didn’t realize Princess had multiple lodges there. I work there 8 years ago so I am sure some things have changed. I also worked for the McKinely chalet which is where the Holland America guests stay. I am way more familiar with their Denali operations than Princess.

 

I am going on a Alaskan cruise in May with princess and am looking forward to it, but will not be doing the land portion. One of my of favorite summers was working there and interacting with guests. 

 

 

[Schti]

We are staying at the Grande Denali. What restaurants near there do you recommend?