McKinley or Denali?

[coffee39]

Which lodge would be the nicer place to stay and where would we see more wildlife?

[NancyIL]

Are you referring to the McKinley and Denali Princess lodges? From what I've read, the McKinley lodge is nicer, but you're in the middle of nowhere. If you want to see wildlife, you need to stay in the Denali area long enough to go on the Tundra Wilderness Tour rather than the Natural History Tour.

[Yukon]

The Princess McKinley is a much nicer property IMO, but as Nancy said it's in the middle of nowhere, with minimal chance of seeing any wildlife. You need a hotel near the park entrance (such as Princess Denali) for 2 nights, and spend a whole day on one of the buses into the park (NPS shuttle or Tundra Wilderness Tour).

 

Murray

[Budget Queen]

I have stayed in the McKinley Princess area, at Mary's McKinley Lodge and Beyers Lake State Park, It's an area I would never consider being in without a car. It can offer some nice hiking of Denali STATE Park. But as all the above have mentioned, if wildlife is a priority, then you need the National Park, which is the Denali Princess location.

My opinion only, I would never consider any distance in Denali Park via shuttle, less that the Fish Creek Shuttle to mile 63

[LisaH]

Are you referring to the McKinley and Denali Princess lodges? From what I've read, the McKinley lodge is nicer, but you're in the middle of nowhere. If you want to see wildlife, you need to stay in the Denali area long enough to go on the Tundra Wilderness Tour rather than the Natural History Tour.

 

We just did both and as this post says, McKinley Lodge is nicer and quieter but unless the mountain is out, you are out in the middle of nowhere. Denali Princess Lodge is definitely due for a freshening up but is still clean and I would stay there again. The scenery is just beautiful with the Nenana river running right through the area and it sounds great.

 

Our room faced the river and we left our windows open at night and it was terrific. We did the Natural History Tour and were quite happy with it. But when go again, we will want to go deeper into the park to see more wildlife so will do the longer tours..

 

When we were at McKinley the mountain was not out. We did not see it until the train ride to Whittier and it was a spectacular sight..

[Whitnee1]

No brainer. Denali for wildlife on the Tundra Wilderness Tour which also affords views of the mountain if it is out.

[qiangf2]

No brainer. Denali for wildlife on the Tundra Wilderness Tour which also affords views of the mountain if it is out.

 

ditto that!

[Happyladi]

We spent one night at Denali and two at the Mt McKinley Princess. It is possible to spend one night at Denali and still go on the Tundra tour because we did it.

 

We got to the Denali lodge late in the afternoon. We took the train but were delayed about an hour and a half due to a train in the other direction having a wheel problem. We had dinner and walked around and went to bed early since we were due to leave for the Tundra tour at 7 the next morning.

 

Our rooms were nice, not any worse then the McKinley rooms. I think the overall McKinley lodge is nicer, however.

 

We spent the next day on the tour and didn't get back until after 4 in the afternoon. Our tour bus driver decided to go to mile 62 because he thought the mountain would be partly out and it was. So we were late getting back. We had to get onto another bus immediately for the Princess McKinley lodge. I

 

t would have been nice to have another day at Denali but it really worked out for the best because the next morning we woke up and the mountain was competely out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! It stayed out all day and it was the prettiest full day of our entire trip with a high of 78. We sat on the large deck for hours and took several hikes around the property.

 

By the evening the mountain completely clouded over; it happened in a matter of minutes! You couldn't even see where it was. We spent one more night there and left the next morning for our cruise.

[8 Bells]

We spent one night at Denali and two at the Mt McKinley Princess. It is possible to spend one night at Denali and still go on the Tundra tour because we did it.

 

We got to the Denali lodge late in the afternoon. We took the train but were delayed about an hour and a half due to a train in the other direction having a wheel problem. We had dinner and walked around and went to bed early since we were due to leave for the Tundra tour at 7 the next morning.

 

Our rooms were nice, not any worse then the McKinley rooms. I think the overall McKinley lodge is nicer, however.

 

We spent the next day on the tour and didn't get back until after 4 in the afternoon. Our tour bus driver decided to go to mile 62 because he thought the mountain would be partly out and it was. So we were late getting back. We had to get onto another bus immediately for the Princess McKinley lodge. I

 

t would have been nice to have another day at Denali but it really worked out for the best because the next morning we woke up and the mountain was competely out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! It stayed out all day and it was the prettiest full day of our entire trip with a high of 78. We sat on the large deck for hours and took several hikes around the property.

 

By the evening the mountain completely clouded over; it happened in a matter of minutes! You couldn't even see where it was. We spent one more night there and left the next morning for our cruise.

 

We are going on an Alaskan cruise next year, and am thinking about doing a land trip to Denali post-cruise. I have some questions: where did you get the train to Denali? I was considering renting a car in Anchorage, but the train might be a better alternative. Also, can you tell me about the Tundra tour? I saw it on a website, but there wasn't much of a description. I have seen it mentioned here several times as something not to be missed.

 

I bought a guide book, but there is nothing about Denali - it just covers the cruises. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[NancyIL]

We are going on an Alaskan cruise next year, and am thinking about doing a land trip to Denali post-cruise. I have some questions: where did you get the train to Denali? I was considering renting a car in Anchorage, but the train might be a better alternative. Also, can you tell me about the Tundra tour? I saw it on a website, but there wasn't much of a description. I have seen it mentioned here several times as something not to be missed.

 

I bought a guide book, but there is nothing about Denali - it just covers the cruises. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

A rental car gives you much more freedom to go where you want, when you want. If you travel by train, you will be more limited in where you can stay. Cruisetours do the Denali bus tours: http://www.reservedenali.com/tours.php Most independent travelers take the park shuttle buses: http://www.reservedenali.com/shuttle_bus.php

 

I would check your local library for either Frommer's Alaska by Charles Wohlforth (my favorite), or Fodor's Alaska. The cruise guides to Alaska don't have the depth that the other two books have.

[Happyladi]

We are going on an Alaskan cruise next year, and am thinking about doing a land trip to Denali post-cruise. I have some questions: where did you get the train to Denali? I was considering renting a car in Anchorage, but the train might be a better alternative. Also, can you tell me about the Tundra tour? I saw it on a website, but there wasn't much of a description. I have seen it mentioned here several times as something not to be missed.

 

I bought a guide book, but there is nothing about Denali - it just covers the cruises. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

You can learn a lot on these boards. We took the train from Anchorage, it is right near downtown. You could easily take a cab to it or even walk to it if you don't have much luggage. I enjoyed the train. The scenery from it is really nice. We rode on a Princess car and ate breakfast and lunch on it. I believe you can eat on the regular cars, also. If you google Alaskan railroad it will come up.

 

The negative to it is that it does take about 3 hours longer to get to Denali and you can't stop anywhere you like.

 

The Tundra tour is really nice. There is a shorter tour that takes about 3 to 4 hours and only goes a few miles into the park. If you take this tour you will not see the prettiest part of the park and you have much less chance to see wildlife. I talked to a couple of people that took the shorter tour and one saw one caribu and the other (on a different bus) saw 1 bear.

 

I saw 6 bears, 3 moose, many caribu, mountain sheep (though they were far away) and an artic fox. :) You do need binoculars. If you don't have them you will miss a lot, even if the bus has a camera and screen. The busses are school busses but with better seats. The roads are well mantained. You get out several times for viewing and bathroom breaks. Sit on the left side if you can. They provide a small box lunch and one bottle of water. We brought extra water and sandwiches from Subway.

 

There is also a shuttle bus that goes further into the park that some people really like. I don't know a lot about it.

[Budget Queen]

We are going on an Alaskan cruise next year, and am thinking about doing a land trip to Denali post-cruise. I have some questions: where did you get the train to Denali? I was considering renting a car in Anchorage, but the train might be a better alternative. Also, can you tell me about the Tundra tour? I saw it on a website, but there wasn't much of a description. I have seen it mentioned here several times as something not to be missed.

 

I bought a guide book, but there is nothing about Denali - it just covers the cruises. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

In my opinion, you are best with a lot of time when taking the train. It's an 8 hour ride Anchorage/Denali Park, with a 4pm arrival and noon return departure, I would definately have 3 nights there, since the split days are not ideal for some touring.

 

I also recommend an overnight in Talkeetna in one direction. Breaks up the trip and Talkeetna is a worthwhile funky stop.

 

For me, I would NEVER consider the triple priced Tundra Wilderness tour. It doesn't go far enough for my priority- prime bear habitat at Fish Creek, and my min. distance in. My clear preference is Wonder Lake, the best bargain around, still less than 1/2 price of the tour. You do have to bring in all your own food and drink, but you would be best to consider that also on the tours- food is lacking.

 

So do your homework, and determine what is best for your travels. The more you know the better.

[xz3k3x]

My clear preference is Wonder Lake, the best bargain around, still less than 1/2 price of the tour. You do have to bring in all your own food and drink, but you would be best to consider that also on the tours- food is lacking.

 

 

What is Wonder Lake?

[Yukon]

What is Wonder Lake?

 

The furthest point that the regular NPS shuttle buses go - http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.dena1562.html

[fti]

What is Wonder Lake?

 

It is inside Denali NP, accessible by shuttle bus from the park entrance (Wilderness Access Center). At mile 85 of the road inside Denali (technically the furthest point the shuttle buses go is Kantishna, mile 91, but only 1-2 shuttle buses a day go that far).

 

John