Princess land tour: Mt McKinley lodge & Denali

[patterbones]

Hey posters!

I'll be leaving in 2 weeks and we have a land tour staying two nights at Princess McKinley Lodge and two nights At Princess Denali lodge. Is there much to do at McKinley lodge? I didn't see any tours that caught my eye (budget wise) and I think I saw somewhere that Budget queen said the transfer to Talektna was 40 minutes? Which lodge is closer to Talektna? I did want to see that "funky town" but we are quite busy at the Denali lodge and have more spare time at McKinley Lodge. Any suggestions?

Thanks!:)

[Texas Tillie]

Talkeetna is much closer to the McKinley Lodge - although I think it takes about an hour to get between the two. The Denali Lodge is over 100 miles away. If the weather is good I understand that the summit flights are better from the McKinley Lodge - but they aren't cheap.

[Comingaboard]

I suggest not seeing the Aurora Lights show at the McKinley Lodge! It could have been a good show but technical problems made it a complete waste of time(and money). Every scene would show double images of the stars and mountains. It is a wide screen slide show and the slides were dirty and the hair fuzz made it very unprofessional.

[Chenega]

Not sure but I think the McKinley Princess runs a shuttle into Talkeetna. The town is very small and easy to walk around.

[stormkrow8]

The town of Talkeetna is veeeeeeery small and not really worth a trip. I would find something else to do at McKinley Lodge.

[patterbones]

thanks for the replies..Stormkrow you made me laugh about Talkeetna being veeeery small and I guess made up my mind about doing the shuttle. So unless I do a horseback trail ride I might just have to have a day of leisure! It seems so wierd having had planned so many port adventures that I will have a day of nothing!

[sunshine55]

We enjoyed Talkeetna. We had lunch in Talkeetna after a float ride and took the shuttle back. The next day we took the shuttle in to have lunch before boarding the train. I had the best chili in Talkeetna. I felt like I was back in the 60's.

[milleruszk]

The McKinley Princess has a few walking trails around the lodge. Unfortunately, when we were there last month, one of the trails was closed because there was moose with a calf that was chasing hikers off the trail. We found the McKinley Lodge much more quiet and remote than the Denali Princess. The McKinley Lodge is also newer and I think the guest rooms are nicer. Across the street from the Denali Princess is a strip mall while across the road from the McKinley is a river and woodlands.

 

Tom

[SEPyle]

The town of Talkeetna is veeeeeeery small and not really worth a trip. I would find something else to do at McKinley Lodge.

 

Isn't this what CruiseCritic is all about. We all have different perspectives; opinions; and feedback!

 

I said the above to say: We LOVE Talkeetna, and woundn't miss it for anything if we were anywhere nearby. I would take the shuttle into town, and enjoy this unique (yes, little) town! In my opinion, it's even worth the long shuttle ride just to have breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse! Oh I can taste those GIANT triple berry (fresh) sourdough pancakes now!!! Taking a flightseeing excursion is expensive, but will be an experience you'll never forget!

 

So bottom line, here's my advice: Like the OP said, they don't have anything planned while at the McKinley Lodge so a trip into Talkeetna is a great option!

[shootingstar07]

Hey posters!

I'll be leaving in 2 weeks and we have a land tour staying two nights at Princess McKinley Lodge and two nights At Princess Denali lodge. Is there much to do at McKinley lodge? I didn't see any tours that caught my eye (budget wise) and I think I saw somewhere that Budget queen said the transfer to Talektna was 40 minutes? Which lodge is closer to Talektna? I did want to see that "funky town" but we are quite busy at the Denali lodge and have more spare time at McKinley Lodge. Any suggestions?

Thanks!:)

We only had one night in McKinley lodge and were traveling with a large group. So we ended up making our own fun at the lodge. The down time was nice since we did not get to the hotel until around 6 p.m. Some in our group got off in town for float trips and did not return to the lodge until 10:30 p.m. If we had an extra day, I would have gone into town. Our only option was pack our carryons and head into town on the shuttle and then meet the train at the appointed hour. BTW: the ride to and from by bus is 1 hr.

 

Have a great tour/cruise. I loved mine and am sad to be home. I now understand why everyone goes back year after year. Denali calls to me!!!

Kathleen

[patterbones]

That's a great idea of leaving early on a shuttle and then meeting the train for our departure. I did want to visit Talakeetna so that will be the plan to avoid the shuttle back and forth and then only to return again.

thanks everyone...hmmm triple berry pancakes for lunch sounds awfully good!