3rd day in Denali vs. day in Anchorage?

[Budget Queen]

 

Thank you, thank you. This is so helpful! Speaking about the train, can you suggest whether we should request to sit on the right or left side? The lady at the railroad told us that the left side going north faces the water which can be just mud if the tide is out, and the right side faces the mountains.

 

She also told me that we can "rotate" into seats on the upper level – sit a while and then give up the seats to others. Can you suggest which part of the 4 hour ride, 6pm to 10:15pm, would be most beneficial to try and sit up top?

 

As for retracing our route south of Anchorage, first, I was under the (wrong) impression that the train and the road had different views. Also, by driving we thought we would have a chance to hike, stop, see, and photograph at a slower pace than whizzing by in the train. (It’s so difficult to plan from a book!) I understand your suggestion to see something else we have not yet seen instead.

 

 

 

How can I find out other places to see people fishing for salmon?

 

 

 

I'm not familiar with Treasure Hunters. :confused:

 

Actually, I had "take alpine detour on winding road through Hatcher Pass To Willow" in my notes for the trip from Anchorage to Denali or vice versa. But if from Willow "means a gravel road" that might not even be open, we sure can’t do that in our rental car. Do I understand correctly that we would approach the Mine from either Palmer or Wasilla, and then backtrack to the Parks Highway?

 

So you are suggesting that we take 2 days to go north from Anchorage to Denali, perhaps overnighting in Talkeetna? (DH will not do flightseeing after hearing about a crash this past summer.) We will also spend another day at the end driving the same route south. Are you saying that we won’t have enough time to drive to the Mine and still get to Healy the same day?

 

 

 

Thank you for all your help!

 

 

 

Seats are assigned on the Alaska RR, IF you happen to be given a choice, since you are referring to the Arm, the Arm side is definately the one to get, you have to look stright up to see any Mt, since it is so close to the clift. However- the portion Portage/Seward is completely different and SUPERIOR to the Seward Highway and for those views you need the right side of the train- several glaciers. Your "rotating" seats are the dome seats. I am ALWAYS up there, most times for the entire trip. I leave a few mins. and take another open seat, since most people don't seem to get up there. You have a 30 min. limit if people are waiting. IF you only want to sit up there a portion of your trip- then IF you have seats on the right, sit up there for the Arm, on the left for the glaicers.

 

Yes you do back track Hatcher Pass. You will drive to the mine and back out the same way. This can take an afternoon, if you also want to visit the mine. In August, the fields are filled with berries, another, big possible distraction. :) So, yes, I agree, factor in more time than you think.

[mytime53]

You have plenty of time to visit Hatcher Pass in the AM and still get to Healy. How long of a day you have depends entirely on your stops, hiking, etc. While you are here, it will not get very dark at night, so you have the option of driving quite late and still seeing scenery (that time of year, driving late is a good time to see wildlife), so even if you take lots of stops, you can still make your destination in the daylight. Most travelers stop driving about dinner time. Many locals prefer driving after dinner--less traffic, more wildlife. So how long you want to spend on the road Sunday to a destination depends on your plans for Monday--"free time" or early morning tour? Also, next spring you want to check on road construction. The past 2 summers the only construction that held us up was north of Healy. However, the unexpected always occurs--I drove to Fairbanks in August, and while I was up there a semi tractor trailer hit a railroad overpass, so the highway (can't really remember where, but I think between Healy and Denali) was closed for the night, and then was one way traffic for a short distance when I came home.

You'll know where to stop to view fishing--the streams cross the highway, and there will be cars parked all over and people everywhere. Or stop at a sporting goods store in Wasilla, or any restaurant/lodge north of Wasilla, and ask where the best fishing on the road is. Or contact me right before you leave and I'll tell you where it is at the time. For the past 2 years my husband and I had a salmon fishing guide business (we're not doing it anymore, thank goodness--too much work for us retired people!). We belong to a privately owned boat landing. It amazed me how travelers would find their way to it (quite a ways off the road) and gladly pay a parking fee just to walk down to the landing to watch boats come in and unload the catch. And then frantically start calling on their cell phones to try to book a last minute fishing charter.

As BQ states, you do backtrack when you go to Hatcher Pass, but it is not a long drive. You can always drive to Palmer, drive up to the pass, and then come back through the Wasilla route. That takes a little longer, but you see another town, and the Palmer route takes you through an agricultural area. The Wasilla route, on the other hand, is forested subdivisions.

I wish I could tell you to not worry, and just pick a hotel when you decide to stop for the night. However, you can't do that in Alaska in June. You will have to decide ahead of time where to stay Sunday night, and you really only have 5 options, maybe 6. Wasilla, Talkeetna, McKinley Princess, one of the many places right outside Denali, or Healy. The only other place I would consider recommending you stay is possibly Sheep Creek Lodge, but that isn't very far north on your route, and they've had several owners in the past few years--I have no idea if the rooms have been kept up.

Choices, choices (I find it's easier to help other people with their trips than it is to make choices for my trip next week!)

[Chat Noir]

This past June we were advised by a Wasilla local to access the mine via Palmer, due to road construction between Wasilla and the mine. Is this now completed?

[bbjaspan]

Seats are assigned on the Alaska RR, IF you happen to be given a choice, since you are referring to the Arm, the Arm side is definately the one to get, you have to look stright up to see any Mt, since it is so close to the clift. However- the portion Portage/Seward is completely different and SUPERIOR to the Seward Highway and for those views you need the right side of the train- several glaciers. Your "rotating" seats are the dome seats. I am ALWAYS up there, most times for the entire trip. I leave a few mins. and take another open seat, since most people don't seem to get up there. You have a 30 min. limit if people are waiting. IF you only want to sit up there a portion of your trip- then IF you have seats on the right, sit up there for the Arm, on the left for the glaicers.

 

Yes you do back track Hatcher Pass. You will drive to the mine and back out the same way. This can take an afternoon, if you also want to visit the mine. In August, the fields are filled with berries, another, big possible distraction. :) So, yes, I agree, factor in more time than you think.

 

It sounds like for the first part of the train ride that includes Seward to Portage, the right/east side is best, and for the second part that includes the Arm, the left/west side is best. Does that mean it doesn't matter which side our assigned seats are, we'll be half right/half wrong either way? And for the wrong part we should try to sit in the dome seats? Or is one side really the more preferable?

 

We'll be in Alaska in June, beginning with a June 8 cruise out of Vancouver ending June 15 in Seward, so I guess we'll miss the berries. :o

[bbjaspan]

You have plenty of time to visit Hatcher Pass in the AM and still get to Healy. How long of a day you have depends entirely on your stops, hiking, etc. While you are here, it will not get very dark at night, so you have the option of driving quite late and still seeing scenery (that time of year, driving late is a good time to see wildlife), so even if you take lots of stops, you can still make your destination in the daylight. Most travelers stop driving about dinner time. Many locals prefer driving after dinner--less traffic, more wildlife. So how long you want to spend on the road Sunday to a destination depends on your plans for Monday--"free time" or early morning tour?

 

I've just spent some time looking in Frommer's for infomation about the ride from Talkeetna to Denali, about 160 miles, and haven't found anything so far. Any places to stop, sights to see, places to eat along this stretch?

 

If we do go all the way to Healy, we're really back to the schedule we started with, except that by eliminating the day we were going to drive south from Anchorage, we arrive in Healy a day earlier. If we do that, I guess we would either spend an extra day in Denali, or an extra day on the way back in the Mat-Su Valley.

 

Also, next spring you want to check on road construction. The past 2 summers the only construction that held us up was north of Healy. However, the unexpected always occurs--I drove to Fairbanks in August, and while I was up there a semi tractor trailer hit a railroad overpass, so the highway (can't really remember where, but I think between Healy and Denali) was closed for the night, and then was one way traffic for a short distance when I came home.

 

That would cause a REAL problem for us if we were trying for a late arrival to our hotel in Healy, Denali Lakeview Inn.

 

You'll know where to stop to view fishing--the streams cross the highway, and there will be cars parked all over and people everywhere. Or stop at a sporting goods store in Wasilla, or any restaurant/lodge north of Wasilla, and ask where the best fishing on the road is. Or contact me right before you leave and I'll tell you where it is at the time. For the past 2 years my husband and I had a salmon fishing guide business (we're not doing it anymore, thank goodness--too much work for us retired people!). We belong to a privately owned boat landing. It amazed me how travelers would find their way to it (quite a ways off the road) and gladly pay a parking fee just to walk down to the landing to watch boats come in and unload the catch. And then frantically start calling on their cell phones to try to book a last minute fishing charter.

 

As BQ states, you do backtrack when you go to Hatcher Pass, but it is not a long drive. You can always drive to Palmer, drive up to the pass, and then come back through the Wasilla route. That takes a little longer, but you see another town, and the Palmer route takes you through an agricultural area. The Wasilla route, on the other hand, is forested subdivisions.

 

I have been thinking along those lines -- come in through Palmer and out through Wasilla. But we will also go through Palmer on Wednesday, after our Denali visit, on our way to stay at the Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge for our last night in Alaska. Looking at my Microsoft Streets and Trips (NOT infallible, it did not tell me that Hatcher Pass would not work for us), it looks like there is a way to the mine before Wasilla, just at the point where the Glenn Hwy meet the Parks Hwy -- using the Trunk Rd to Fishhook-Willow Rd to Hatcher Pass Rd. Then we could come back through Wasilla. Does that work? How would that be?

 

I wish I could tell you to not worry, and just pick a hotel when you decide to stop for the night. However, you can't do that in Alaska in June. You will have to decide ahead of time where to stay Sunday night, and you really only have 5 options, maybe 6. Wasilla, Talkeetna, McKinley Princess, one of the many places right outside Denali, or Healy. The only other place I would consider recommending you stay is possibly Sheep Creek Lodge, but that isn't very far north on your route, and they've had several owners in the past few years--I have no idea if the rooms have been kept up.

 

Choices, choices (I find it's easier to help other people with their trips than it is to make choices for my trip next week!)

 

You can say that again!

[bbjaspan]

This past June we were advised by a Wasilla local to access the mine via Palmer, due to road construction between Wasilla and the mine. Is this now completed?

 

How did you enjoy the ride to the mine? Did you tour the mine or just enjoy the scenery along the route? What else did you do in the area?

 

Thanks

[mytime53]

My attempt at late night humor. I have friends who live at the base of the Hatcher Pass Road. The Palmer route was repaved this summer and that is now finished. The Wasilla route was just totally reopened last week (although in late June I warned friends that we didn't want to go that way, and we did anyway. It was one way for 4 miles is all...not so bad.) When I asked him if the road was totally finished now, he looked so puzzled. Turns out he was trying to decide which road I meant. A few weeks back, the road right past him (after both routes merge to one) was washed out by the heavy rainfall we had. Road crews were dumping boulders 1/2 the size of a car in the river to try to hold back the erosion, and the river was washing them down stream as fast as they could dump them in. Anyway, I guess that's fixed, too. BUT, that doesn't mean a new stretch won't be worked on next summer. This site might help you closer to next summer: http://511.alaska.gov/regionsummary.asp

I have been thinking along those lines -- come in through Palmer and out through Wasilla. But we will also go through Palmer on Wednesday, after our Denali visit, on our way to stay at the Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge for our last night in Alaska. Looking at my Microsoft Streets and Trips (NOT infallible, it did not tell me that Hatcher Pass would not work for us), it looks like there is a way to the mine before Wasilla, just at the point where the Glenn Hwy meet the Parks Hwy -- using the Trunk Rd to Fishhook-Willow Rd to Hatcher Pass Rd. Then we could come back through Wasilla. Does that work? How would that be?

You certainly could take Trunk Road. It's a little slower (narrow and curvy--I enjoy driving it in my Bonneville, but not my husband's truck). Since I assume you'll take the Palmer-Wasilla Highway when you return from Denali, you'll only be repeating about 6 miles if you don't take Trunk road. I hardly ever take Trunk Rd. all the way to Fishhook--I can't for the life of me remember if it is paved all the way. However, if it isn't, it is still very well maintained.

Do you have the Alaska Milepost? It has invaluable information for people driving in Alaska (In fact, the Alaska Highway through Canada, also) It is updated every year, and even includes things like "Milepost XX: Look for view of McKinley to left down railroad tracks." "Milepost YY: Excellent blueberry picking 100 yds. east of pull-off." I still remember holding it in my lap as a kid, reading every little piece of information as we drove the Alaska Highway. We buy a new one every so often just to see what's new.

I'll get back on things between Talkeetna and Denali...it's late now.

[NancyIL]

Oops..never mind!

[bbjaspan]

My attempt at late night humor. I have friends who live at the base of the Hatcher Pass Road. The Palmer route was repaved this summer and that is now finished. The Wasilla route was just totally reopened last week (although in late June I warned friends that we didn't want to go that way, and we did anyway. It was one way for 4 miles is all...not so bad.) When I asked him if the road was totally finished now, he looked so puzzled. Turns out he was trying to decide which road I meant. A few weeks back, the road right past him (after both routes merge to one) was washed out by the heavy rainfall we had. Road crews were dumping boulders 1/2 the size of a car in the river to try to hold back the erosion, and the river was washing them down stream as fast as they could dump them in. Anyway, I guess that's fixed, too. BUT, that doesn't mean a new stretch won't be worked on next summer. This site might help you closer to next summer: http://511.alaska.gov/regionsummary.asp

 

Thank you for that site. Sounds like it will be challenging just figuring out which roads on the map are usable for us.

You certainly could take Trunk Road. It's a little slower (narrow and curvy--I enjoy driving it in my Bonneville, but not my husband's truck). Since I assume you'll take the Palmer-Wasilla Highway when you return from Denali, you'll only be repeating about 6 miles if you don't take Trunk road. I hardly ever take Trunk Rd. all the way to Fishhook--I can't for the life of me remember if it is paved all the way. However, if it isn't, it is still very well maintained.

 

Do you have the Alaska Milepost? It has invaluable information for people driving in Alaska (In fact, the Alaska Highway through Canada, also) It is updated every year, and even includes things like "Milepost XX: Look for view of McKinley to left down railroad tracks." "Milepost YY: Excellent blueberry picking 100 yds. east of pull-off." I still remember holding it in my lap as a kid, reading every little piece of information as we drove the Alaska Highway. We buy a new one every so often just to see what's new.

 

I'll get back on things between Talkeetna and Denali...it's late now.

 

I'm planning on getting a copy of the Milepost. Will it tell us which roads are paved/drivable with a rental car? If not, any way to find out before we get to them and have to turn around?

[NancyIL]

I'm planning on getting a copy of the Milepost. Will it tell us which roads are paved/drivable with a rental car? If not, any way to find out before we get to them and have to turn around?

 

Yes, The Milepost tells you which sections of road are unpaved, in words and by map symbols. It doesn't tell which roads are prohibited for rental cars

[NancyIL]

This is one paragraph from the 2006 Milepost about the Hatcher Pass Road (p. 331):

 

Hatcher Pass Road is both an old-time Alaska road - narrow, bumpy, dirt and gravel - and a modern paved route complete with scenic turnouts for the tourists. It is improved paved road to Milepost P 17.2 from the Palmer side, and for the first 10 miles from the Willow side. The gravel stretch in-between is - for the most part - steep, narrow, switch-backed road with potholes and washboard.

[bbjaspan]

Yes, The Milepost tells you which sections of road are unpaved, in words and by map symbols. It doesn't tell which roads are prohibited for rental cars

 

This is one paragraph from the 2006 Milepost about the Hatcher Pass Road (p. 331):

 

Quote:

Hatcher Pass Road is both an old-time Alaska road - narrow, bumpy, dirt and gravel - and a modern paved route complete with scenic turnouts for the tourists. It is improved paved road to Milepost P 17.2 from the Palmer side, and for the first 10 miles from the Willow side. The gravel stretch in-between is - for the most part - steep, narrow, switch-backed road with potholes and washboard.

 

Okay, so it's obvious that I don't want to drive the "steep, narrow, switch-backed road with potholes and washboard." But how do I know in other cases, when a road might not be listed in the Milepost, where I cannot drive? I just called Avis, in Anchorage, and the person I spoke with said we are not allowed to drive on "un-state-maintained roads" (translation = gravel roads), but they could not offer any clue as to how to find out which roads are gravel before we get to them. She read me a list of highways that are not state-maintained, but the list did not include Hatcher Pass Road.

 

I guess this will be a real adventure. :o :)

[NancyIL]

Okay, so it's obvious that I don't want to drive the "steep, narrow, switch-backed road with potholes and washboard." But how do I know in other cases, when a road might not be listed in the Milepost, where I cannot drive?

 

Trust me, every main road is in The Milepost! See if your local bookstore has the 2006 edition, and look at the map on p. 329 of the Mat-Su Valley Vicinity. You'll see the major highways (Glenn and Parks), paved roads like Palmer-Fishhook, as well as several gravel roads.

[bbjaspan]

Trust me, every main road is in The Milepost! See if your local bookstore has the 2006 edition, and look at the map on p. 329 of the Mat-Su Valley Vicinity. You'll see the major highways (Glenn and Parks), paved roads like Palmer-Fishhook, as well as several gravel roads.

 

Will do. Thanks!

[mytime53]

Interesting about only not driving on non-state maintained highways. If that's the case, then you can drive on gravel roads. Once you are out of a populated area, all the roads are state-maintained. Even in populated areas, a lot are. Anyway, except for the Denali highway and Hatcher Pass, I can't think of any unpaved roads to be wary of. And of course, there's the Haul Road, if you're trying to drive to Prudhoe Bay or the Arctic Circle (I know you aren't, but in case someone who is is reading this, thought I'd better toss that in). And like I said (or was that another post?), the unpaved part of Hatcher Pass isn't likely to be open yet, and if it is, it will be uncomfortably rough then. And the Milepost will let you know if a road is usually rough. We don't have that many roads here, and you aren't going to be that far off the beaten path.

Talkeetna to Denali: The Milepost will fill you in far better than I can. There are some fantastic places to stop if "the mountain is out" for pictures. Talkeetna is a side trip--it's not on the Parks Highway, and I don't recommend you go to Talkeetna the same day you go to Hatcher Pass, not if you're going all the way to Healy that day. Do one on the way up, and the other on the way back. Or be more relaxed and stay in Wasilla or Talkeetna your first night out of Anchorage and then head up to Healy. Once you're past the area around the turn-off to Talkeetna (Trapper Creek--lots of lodges around this area with great hamburgers), there aren't a lot of places to eat until you get to Denali. The McKinley Princess is one. Gas up at Cantwell, but I don't recommend eating a meal there...not at the places on the Highway, anyway. I haven't gone into the town itself in a long time...there might be something good there. Take plenty of snacks in the car so that you're not all starving and rushing by things you would like to stop and see so you can get to a restaurant. Once you pass Wasilla, the only fast food places you'll see are a few Subways, so don't count on eating fast and cheap. When you hit the pass (it will be obvious, one minute you're in trees, then you go up a hill as you round the corner, and all of a sudden you're above the treeline and can see for miles), you'll want to pull off the road a few times and use your binoculars. Look for grizzlies, moose, caribou. Between Denali and Healy we've even seen sheep down at the level of the road.

[Chat Noir]

How did you enjoy the ride to the mine? Did you tour the mine or just enjoy the scenery along the route? What else did you do in the area?

 

Thanks

 

Scenery is beautiful between Palmer and the mine... I'm quite envious of those living in the valley along this route! The road follows a mountian creek for a ways and there are a couple of nice places to pull off and stop.

 

We were at the mine the first Saturday in June... which according to Milepost, the mine museum should have been open. It was not, and wasn't opening until the following weekend. Quite a bit of snow even on the paved part of the trails, so perhaps that was the delay in opening weekend???

 

The road to the mine was still barred from traffic and we had to park at the lower parking lot. Walking to the mine was allowed. It was quite a walk up from the lower parking lot, but well worth the time and 'workout'!

 

Even though we didn't get to tour inside the museum and buildings themselves, we still spent quite a lot of time reading the information boards and just enjoying the fabulous view. Limited trees in the mine area allow for great views.

 

Click to enlarge photos:

 

Between Palmer and Independence Mine State Park.

 

Independence Mine State Park, Alaska.

 

View from above the mining buildings.

 

Another view a little closer to the buildings.

 

I think it's a very nice place to visit if you have the time. Alaska offers SO much to see and do, it's difficult to decide just where to go!

 

On the subject of allowable roads... Hatcher Pass is allowed I believe. It's even allowed by the RV rental company we chose. Very low limit on the speed limit, however. I'm sure with the rough roads you wouldn't be running a NASCAR race anyway!:)

[Budget Queen]

Quote:

But how do I know in other cases, when a road might not be listed in the Milepost, where I cannot drive? I just called Avis, in Anchorage, and the person I spoke with said we are not allowed to drive on "un-state-maintained roads" (translation = gravel roads), but they could not offer any clue as to how to find out which roads are gravel before we get to them. She read me a list of highways that are not state-maintained, but the list did not include Hatcher Pass Road.

 

I guess this will be a real adventure. :o :)

 

 

Many rental contracts will list the roads prohibited. They all have a list. With GPS's now in use on a lot of rental cars, you are best to avoid the nongravel anyway. These are significant for glass damage.

[Budget Queen]

Will do. Thanks!

 

 

Instead- head to your library for an old edition, then order a new edition 3-07. It is worth the wait at this point for the updated version.

[NancyIL]

Instead- head to your library for an old edition, then order a new edition 3-07. It is worth the wait at this point for the updated version.

 

I didn't intend for her to buy the book at this time - just look at a particular map of the roads going to Independence Mine to get an idea of the detail involved.

 

I bought my 2006 edition from Amazon. I don't know if I'll spring for the 2007 edition.

[bbjaspan]

My library doesn't have it but I will take a peak at local book stores. Thanks.