Honest Feedback on AK in August

[TeeBuccs]

For those of you in the know...

 

Looking for an honest opinion of visiting AK again in the month of August. Was there two summers ago in late May into the first part of June and it was exceptional. Now I do realize it is a "rain forest" and that you can not control the weather, but was hoping August would be a good month to visit so we can see the salmon spawn this time and have easy bear viewing opportunities naturally.

 

We will be along the inside passage August 5-17th (independent land post cruise). Historically what have your experiences been this time of year with respect to temperatures, excusrions being cancelled, rain, and tourists. Just want to make sure I won't (more importantly husband won't) be miserable and wish we had done May/June again.

 

Thanks for your candid response. I know each person's experience is unique and just a blip on the radar, but looking possible reassurance. :D

[Yukon]

Every trip is a trade-off, and this is a good example. Bear viewing options in May-June are few or none, but the weather is wetter (on average) in August. Most of this August was just plain nasty - hopefully, this was a blip on the radar! If you decide that on your next trip the bears are the priority even if the weather isn't prime, you're heading in the right direction.

[mochaloca]

Just returned from two weeks in AK - one week on land, one week on sea...

 

Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage: Weather was great! Mid-sixties, but sunshine! Saw Denali - apparently only about the 2nd time this summer. Lots of moose, bear, eagles, trumpeter swans, Dall sheep, etc. were spotted.

 

Seward - Rainy, but not bad.

 

Hubbard Glacier - ABSOLUTELY spectacular! Sunny, lovely!

 

Skagway - windy and cloudy, but no rain.

 

Juneau - on and off showers, but again, not a problem

 

Icy Strait Point - cloudy, but no rain. Fantastic whale sighting!

 

Ketchikan - cloudy, some fog, light, but constant rain, but our flight to bear territory wasn't cancelled. LOTS of bear viewing - I'm told the bears like the rain. LOTS of salmon.

 

All in all - a fantastic trip! Although I have to admit we were very lucky on our trip, especially considering the overall weather this summer, a lot of your experience is based on your expectations. For us (and coming from a very dry and record hot summer in Texas) rain and cool weather was a blessing and not a problem. I must admit if my excursions had had to be cancelled, I might have a different opinion.

[Budget Queen]

I have traveled in August most of my Alaska trips. IF you are looking for perfection, then you already know, it isn't possible. :) The wildlife is excellent in this timeframe, however, for me, I wouldn't be in Denali Park until the very end of your timeframe.

 

Go when it fits your plans the best.

[TMS9539]

I'm just back - we cruised Aug 16th - 23rd. My understanding is that most of August was cold, foggy and rainy, but we had great weather:

 

Aug 16th - depart from Vancouver - warm and sunny (in the 80's)

Aug 17th - at sea - foggy all day. We couldn't see anything.

Aug 18th - Ketchikan - overcast with some drizzling rain, but not bad at all

Aug 19th - Juneau - mix of sun and clouds, temps in high 60's I think

Aug 20th - Skagway - mix of sun and clouds, temps got up to low 70's

Aug 21 - Glacier bay - mostly overcast but no fog, very little light rain, high 40's woulb be my guess. Great visiblility.

Aug 22 - College Fiord - overcast, no fog, colder, maybe mid 40's. Great visiblity. It did rain a little late in the day.

[mcbain]

Just got back from an 8/24-8/31 cruise. Weather was fine.

First day at sea-some rain.

8/26-Ketchikan-got very lucky. Rained upon entering port. We booked a boat excursion from 9:15-12:15. Rain stopped at 9:20, started again at 12:30. Unbelievable luck and I took advantage of it by standing on the bow for a large portion of the boat trip. At about 12:40, it became cold and showery, temp felt about the high 40's. But we could still walk around.

8/27-Juneau-as perfect as it can get-59 degrees and sunny for our helicopter trip to Mendenhall. Cold and windy on the glacier but in town the weather was so nice, we walked the mile from town back to the ship sans jackets.

8/28-Skagway-no rain, overcast. A bit windy. In low 50's.

8/29-day at sea-no rain.

8/30 - day at sea until 5PM arrival in Victoria, B.C. -perfect and sunny. High 50's-most were on the deck with no jackets.

8/30- 5PM arrival in Victoria-61 degrees and sunny. Place was packed and perfect for walking.

 

For us, we got lucky with the sunny days far outweighing the rainy ones, and even those were not on excursion days. Talked to another family who went in July and it rained 5 of the 7 days. Another went in May and it rained 4 of the 7 days. So all I can say is go when you want and pray to whatever sun God you choose to!! :)

[Passinthru]

We traveled Aug. 17th - 24th, and for the most part had GREAT weather, in spite of what we'd heard about this summer being more rainy and colder than usual.

 

Vancouver - sunny and mild, 80s

Monday At Sea - clear enough to spot whales around 8:00 a.m. from the gym

Ketchikan - where it rains more than anywhere else - it was clear enough to see the top of the mountain (whose name I forgot), according to the locals. Didn't rain until the end of our fast-boat excursion to Misty Fjord, and then it was just drizzle.

Juneau - the best of all! - sunny and 78 degrees! The floatplane to Taku Lodge was well worth it. So glad we did it. When the salmon starts grilling, the bear appears.

Skagway - started out clear, got foggy, and was intermittent during the White Pass RR trip up to Bennett and Carcross, but clear at Emerald Lake. The winding road back got foggy, so I'm glad we didn't rent the car and took the tour with Captain Larry (Chilkoot Charters & Tours) instead.

Seward was clear.

Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks were all clear and we had great visibility during our excursions, incl. the flightseeing over Denali -- well worth it!

 

In Denali NP, we stayed at the McKinley Village and photographed a grizzly walk thru the parking lot while waiting on our flightseeing pickup.

 

Be sure to include a visit to Husky Homestead. Jeff King is a comedian!

 

Enjoy!

[tahoemc]

We did Inside Passage August 18-25 2006 on RCI Vision. Pretty decent weather most of the way. Locals said it had drizzled/rained for three weeks straight prior to that. As others have noted, its hit or miss. Just be prepared for anything.

 

Fri - Seattle - sunny and warm, about 80.

Sat - sea day, calm water, partly cloudy, cool, about 55 - 60.

Sun - Juneau, partly cloudy, some sun, upper 60's - slight rain when we left port about 8pm. Went to Mendenhall and a little warmer there. Salmon were running and the bears were eating!

Mon - Skagway, cloudy in the am - took bus ride to Whites Pass - cloudy foggy cool. Returned to sunny skies in town, mid 60's.

Tues - Icy Strait, cloudy, little sun, low to mid 60's. Great scenery!

Wed - sea day, calm water, partly cloudy, quite a bit of sun, about 55-60. Again, great scenery!

Thurs - Victoria BC, light fog early, clear and sunny late am and afternoon, upper 60's low 70's.

Fri - Seattle, beautiful morning, 60 something.

 

Have a great cruise whenever you go

[Putterdude]

I tend to be a fan of the period of mid July to mid August and if I really had to pick at time it would be the first 2 weeks of August. That said the weather varies so much from year to year it really is a crap shoot. Last year it was great this year it was less than perfect....but that is Alaska.

[inkmahm]

Our trip was August 18-Sept 1 and we had great weather, too. Cool, but not rainy. And we had sun! Some sun in Anchorage, Juneau and Ketchikan! The locals were overjoyed.

 

I traveled to Alaska the first time at the end of May 2005. There is no question that the next time we go back to Alaska it will be in August again. Spring was nice for seeing Alaska "waking up" but I preferred the Fall timeframe and seeing the colors as well as many more animals. All along the way, the locals told us we'd picked the very best time to come to Alaska if we wanted to see the wildlife.

[gordons4]

We sailed from Aug 9--Aug 16, with the following experience:

 

Aug 9: drizzly as we left Seattle

Aug 10: off-and-on clouds/drizzle/sun during the sea day

Aug 11: Juneau--drizzly/raining the entire day--but we saw lots of bald eagles and grizzly bear on our fly fishing trip

Aug 12: beautiful at Hubbard Glacier, started raining as we were leaving

Aug 13: Sitka--poured the entire time, which made our 4X4 experience more exciting (I think)

Aug 14: Ketchikan--poured the entire time, which made shopping miserable

Aug 15: rained going into Victoria, clear in Victoria

Aug 16: sunny and hot, yes hot, in Seattle

 

Basically, it rained our entire trip in August, versus a few years ago when it was sunny our entire trip in July. We still had a wonderful time, no excursions were cancelled, and we saw more wildlife this time--which might have to do with the excursions we were on.

 

Sheri

[Yukon]

Aug 13: Sitka--poured the entire time, which made our 4X4 experience more exciting (I think)

 

My new dictionary, under "masochist", just says: "See gordons4" :D

[TWO4THESEA]

Just returned from two weeks in AK - one week on land, one week on sea...

 

Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage: Weather was great! Mid-sixties, but sunshine! Saw Denali - apparently only about the 2nd time this summer. Lots of moose, bear, eagles, trumpeter swans, Dall sheep, etc. were spotted.

 

Seward - Rainy, but not bad.

 

Hubbard Glacier - ABSOLUTELY spectacular! Sunny, lovely!

 

Skagway - windy and cloudy, but no rain.

 

Juneau - on and off showers, but again, not a problem

 

Icy Strait Point - cloudy, but no rain. Fantastic whale sighting!

 

Ketchikan - cloudy, some fog, light, but constant rain, but our flight to bear territory wasn't cancelled. LOTS of bear viewing - I'm told the bears like the rain. LOTS of salmon.

 

All in all - a fantastic trip! Although I have to admit we were very lucky on our trip, especially considering the overall weather this summer, a lot of your experience is based on your expectations. For us (and coming from a very dry and record hot summer in Texas) rain and cool weather was a blessing and not a problem. I must admit if my excursions had had to be cancelled, I might have a different opinion.

Hello:

We too just returned from a two week cruise/tour to Alaska. We boarded the Radiance 8/22 and went to Vancouver. We started our trek in Anchorage on 8/17 and went to the same places you visited. Wondering if you were also on the Radiance.

 

M

[mochaloca]

Why yes, yes I was....

(see signature, below ;) )

[Putterdude]

We sailed from Aug 9--Aug 16, with the following experience:

 

Aug 9: drizzly as we left Seattle

Aug 10: off-and-on clouds/drizzle/sun during the sea day

Aug 11: Juneau--drizzly/raining the entire day--but we saw lots of bald eagles and grizzly bear on our fly fishing trip

Aug 12: beautiful at Hubbard Glacier, started raining as we were leaving

Aug 13: Sitka--poured the entire time, which made our 4X4 experience more exciting (I think)

Aug 14: Ketchikan--poured the entire time, which made shopping miserable

Aug 15: rained going into Victoria, clear in Victoria

Aug 16: sunny and hot, yes hot, in Seattle

 

Basically, it rained our entire trip in August, versus a few years ago when it was sunny our entire trip in July. We still had a wonderful time, no excursions were cancelled, and we saw more wildlife this time--which might have to do with the excursions we were on.

 

That is really too bad, last year in the same period we basked in sushine for almost the whole period and people were in shorts and t-shirts. Just shows how variable the weather can be.:mad:

[hal2008]

aug 10 - Seward - Early shower than SUnshine

aug 11 - College Fiord - overcast, cold but nice visibility - rest of the day bright sunshine (had to open swimming pool dome)

aug 12 - Glacier Bay - light drizzle - some fog - cold but near glacier, clear viewing

aug 13 - Haines - Monsoon - Heavy Rains

aug 14 - Juneau - Beautiful SUnshine - rained onlyin the evening

aug 15 - Ketchikan - Burning Hot

aug 16 - Inside Passage - Heavy Fog almost all day

aug 17 - Vancouver - Beautiful Sunshine

[mochaloca]

That is really too bad, last year in the same period we basked in sushine for almost the whole period and people were in shorts and t-shirts. Just shows how variable the weather can be.:mad:

 

 

Honestly, I would have been disappointed if I had to wear shorts and T-shirts in Alaska, especially this year. I was trying to escape no rain since May, or April, or ??? and 40+ days of 100 or so. Light rain and a bit cool was FANTASTIC. :D

[kk-l]

Well...truth be told...the weather was...shall we say...not ideal in August 2008.

Having said that...would not trade it for the weather the "Alaskan locals" tout as better in late May/early June. NEVER...NOT...NO.

Why??? I'm NUTS. But so were the bears and the salmon.

August 2008 was not the best...I'm waiting to hear if this is the worst summer since 1970-1971...I want bragging rights!!! PLEASE.

BUT...it was a lot of fun watching the salmon and the bears.

For you guys up in Alaska it's probably "Ho hum"...but for those of us from SoCal....it's "life changing". Can you imagine that we now realize the prized wild Alaskan salmon we revere in SoCal (and pay nearly $30.00 a pound for) are in reality nothing but a bunch of spawning "idiots"...no offense.

Loved our time in Alaska...frankly...one morning I looked out our window to bright sunshine...I thought...this is not what I paid for...I could have stayed in SoCal for this. At any rate...as winter approaches...you Alaskans are most welcome in SoCal.

For those in Ketchikan who remember the Russian mega-yacht, "Ice", it's now in San Diego harbor...pretty impressive.

(Google for info. - russia...ice...yacht). Long and short...money is not everything. Pretty sad story.

[melika091900]

the weather in alaska is such a hit or miss,,,

we went 8/5-8/15 last month and it was SUnny and warm in ketchikan , about 70 degrees, same in skagway, and cold and raining in juneau,,

 

just take ponchos and umbrellas,

we never used thermals or anything like that, it was never that cold. only when we sailed around tracy arm,

 

but i would go in august again.. for sure,

 

ive been told to avoid may and sept due to weather, but you never know,,

there wasnt much snow anywhere in august,but it was still beautiful