Denali Question

[tjustice]

My GF and I are on the northbound Spirit on July 28th. We have learned a wealth of info by "lurking" on this forum. Now we have a couple of questions. We want to take the Tundra Wilderness (8 hour)tour at Denali. The train leaves for Anachorage at 3:45 and we are suppose to check in at 2:45. Do we have time to do this tour in the morning and not miss the train? The Denali website says we should have plenty of time, but when I called Denali, they weren't so sure. Any CC members who have done this tour and then rode the train to Anchorage please give us your feedback. Question two: In case the tundra wilderness tour falls through, we'd like to take the flightseeing tour over McKinley. Are there any companies near Denali that do this? I checked on one but they are about 2 hours away from Mt. McKinley Resort where we will be staying. Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

[General Max]

1) the train actually leaves for Anchorage at 12.15.

 

2) There are helicopters available near the Denali Park entrance.

 

General Max

[elephant98]

As for your second question, I took a summit flight over Mt. McKinley on a 9 passenger twin engine airplane through Talkeetna Aero Services (their website is http://www.talkeetna-aero.com). It was a wonderful trip. I'm not sure where you are staying. But, this company is located just 15 minutes outside of Denali National Park and will pick you up at your hotel and also return you after your tour. (We stayed at the Denali Princess Lodge). They also offer similar flights out of the small town of Talkeetna. If you have a toursaver coupon (http://www.toursaver.com), you can save $220 using one of their 2-1 coupons!

 

I also took a delightful tour of Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park on a helicopter through ERA aviation (their website is http://www.era-aviation.com). We stayed at the Denali McKinley Lodge (which is on the south side of Denali, about 100 miles away from the Denali National Park entrance) and the tour operator's helicopter pad is only 5 minutes away -- they picked us at the lodge and returned us afterward. They also offers similar flights out of Denali National Park.

 

I enjoyed both trips immensely, even though they traveled over much of the same terrain. Each trip was unique in its own way due to weather conditions, and the type of travel. Money considerations aside, if I had to choose to do just one, I think that I would choose the helicopter. We all travel on airplanes, but the helicopter is quite unique in that it can hover over a location and was a bit better for us when it came to taking pictures. But, you really can't go wrong either way.

[Budget Queen]

Are you booking this Denali Park tour yourself??? As mentioned the train back to Anchorage leaves midday, are you going to Fairbanks??? If you are round trip out of Anchorage- it is vitally necessary to stay 2 nights at Denali Park as you see you don't even get a full day to do much of anything. If you are fixed on this plan- then take the FREE park service shuttle to Savage River- same turn around area as the Natural History tour. If you are continuing up to Fairbanks on the later train- then book the earliest SHUTTLE to Eielson and you will be back out in time for that train. Ok your reference to McKinley Princess??? You are 50 miles from Talkeetna which is loaded with McKinley flight options, I have gone with Talkeetna Aero the most but also with K-2. I wouldn't book a flight at Denali Park and make the most of your time- by taking the ROAD into the park. Since there is little at the McKinley Princess I would do your flightseeing there.

[tjustice]

We get to Denali around 3:45 pm on Aug. 5 and have 1 day there. Our tickets to Anchorage says the train leaves Denali at 3:45 pm on Aug 6th. Although we are cruising with Carnival, we booked our post cruise through the ARR to save some $$$. I checked with Talkeenta Air and they stated they were probably too far from where we are staying (McKinley Chalet Resort) to book a flight. So I guess my question now is are there flightseeing companies near the resort so that we can take a tour? Thanks again for the replies.

[Budget Queen]

If you are leaving Denali Park at 3:45pm then you are going to FAIRBANKS not Anchorage. There is only ONE train per day with the Anchorage bound train leaving around noon. There are several flight operators out of Denali Park- you should be able to book something??

http://www.talkeetna-aero.com/alaska_flightseeing_tours.htm

http://www.flightseeingtours.com/

[elephant98]

If I recall correctly, the McKinley Chalet Resort is right next to the Denali Princess Lodge (where I stayed). If that is the case, BOTH of the flightseeing options (either helicopter or plane) I noted above should be available to you. In particular, Talkeetna Aero Services has TWO offices (one just outside of Denali and also one in Talkeetna). Just make sure that you speak with the correct one. They will pick you up and drop you off at the hotel.

[tjustice]

Thanks Budget Queen, we are going north to Fairbanks. Also, thanks to you and all the others for their replies on my inquiries. Just a few days away until we leave, so I had better get packing. Will try to post when we get back (sometime around August 8th). BTW, for anyone going to Alaska in the very near future, I saw on NBC Nightly news where the wildfire around Fairbanks ( I think) is only 20 percent contained.

[BuckeyeLady]

Since you are going to Fairbanks from Denali you will have plenty of time for Tundra Wilderness Tour. We did that in June. The tour started at 5:15 am so we had time for a leisurely lunch prior to boarding the train. We were at McKinley Village so had a longer ride to the train. Enjoy your trip. We were blessed with great weather and clear views of Denali.