Alaska Itinerary

9  days in Alaska 

An Alaskan vacation had always been a dream for us, but every time we thought about going I got overwhelmed trying to plan it. I know I know… this is technically my job! But seriously there are so many options and so much to see!  I had lots of questions like should we just cruise it? How long do we stay in each place, and most importantly HOW DO I AFFORD IT. We had a lot of life changes in the past year and it probably wasn’t the best time to go,  but back in November I found a STEAL on airline tickets… and I still had doubts! When I went to look at car rentals prices were through the roof. Hotels were expensive as well. Then I found a bundle and just decided to go for it!  My husband turned 50 this year and he loves to fish. I found a great guided fishing trip and I presented this to the family as Christmas/ Birthday every holiday for the year present! 

So here’s a run down of our trip with what we did correctly and what we would change! 

We landed in Anchorage at 10:35 PM. This was after our 3 hour drive to the airport from our house and a layover in Detroit. It was a really long day!!!  We had been traveling for about 14 hours. I knew when we planned the trip that we would be in no shape to travel too far so we stayed in a cheaper hotel near the airport that night. 

Day 1 is where our adventure really began. We immediately looked for a place for supplies… snacks, drinks. Bear spray and COFFEE.  I knew that some of our areas had limited food options and prices would be high so I planned to purchase things for breakfast and lunch to avoid a big expense on dinner.  After hitting the Fred Meyer in Anchorage we were off to Portage and Whittier for the day. The drive there was absolutely gorgeous! We could have stopped 100 times. Traveling around Turnagain arm is breathtaking. 

I had a full day planned so we didn’t stop as much as we probably should have. The tide was in and it was a great time to watch for whales and other creatures. We made it to Portage Pass and paid our toll to go through the tunnel to Whittier. . The tunnel is NO JOKE. It’s the longest tunnel in North America at 2.5 miles long. It travels in one direction at a time and is shared by the Railroad. Whittier Tunnel traffic alternates direction every half hour. You can enter into Whittier at the bottom of the hour (at the 1/2 hour mark). Traffic leaves Whittier on the top of the hour.  

Unfortunately once we made it through the tunnel we were met with a solid cloud. It did not leave us with much of a view. Trying to make the best of it we put on rain gear and went to Lu Young Park/Cove Creek 2 Area. We walked down the beach and explored a bit before going to horsestail falls and hiking about a mile in. We were still unable to really see anything from a distance. I was surprised that Whittier was not crowded at all. It seems we hit it at just the right time. There were no cruise ships in port which led to a pretty relaxing day to explore. 

Next we headed to Portage. It was still raining and we tried… We really tried but after about 2 1/ 2 miles battling rain and cold we decided to turn around. There was no way we were going to see the glacier and we were able to see Portage lake from the other side of the tunnel. We headed back through the tunnel after a train delay! We stopped at the Byron Glacier trailhead and had the picnic lunch we picked up from Fred Meyer. After that we hiked up to Byron Glacier. It was a short hike and very nice. People were actually out on the icefield of the glacier sliding down with dogs running around. 

We made several stops on the way out of portage around the trail of the blue ice and moose flats. You could spend days in the area and have plenty to see. We ended our day with a drive down to Seward to check into our hotel. We stayed in the Gilder Hotel which is a historical inn rumored to be haunted after a woman was murdered there. We didn’t see or hear any ghosts! But we had 0 hot water. The hotel clerk told me I could use a shower on the 2nd floor but even that did not help! Other guests had the same complaint. This put the hotel at the bottom of my list. We had dinner across the street that night at the Highliner and walked around downtown for a bit. 

We began our day bright and early because we were still on East Coat time. The 1st stop for us was to Resurrect Art coffee house. It was a gem! An Old church that has been converted into a coffee house/ bakery with a small gallery. We all got coffee and pastries to start our day. It was nice to ease into the day after all the riding around. 

Next we went to Kenai Fjords National Park. The day was once again very overcast and rainy. We hiked out to the bottom of Eixit Glacier along the riverbed. The trail is marked with dates to show how much the glacier has receded over time. We made the loop to see different vantage points of the glacier and then we hiked up the harding icefields. This trail is steep and long at almost 8 miles round trip. However you don’t have to go all the way to the top to enjoy the views.  We made it to the top of the cliffs section around 4.6 miles. This was after completing the loop trail which was 1.8 miles. The view at the meadow and top of the cliffs are amazing. We hiked through snow and ice. Poor cadence only had her running shoes on and did not have good traction. She was not a fan of slipping and sliding down the mountain side. We did see a bear from a distance. There was plenty of evidence that it had traveled the trail recently.

Once we returned to the car everyone was pretty tired. We did stop at a few overlooks on the way out.

 I did not know that you could basically camp anywhere in Alaska. Which  meant that RVs were parked out in the riverbeds on the way out. We agreed that it would be cool to rent an RV next time and go off grid camping. It is also definitely a way you could potentially save money by avoiding restaurant costs. I have rented an RV once before on a trip to Glacier National Park and it does give you a different, unique experience. There wasn’t anywhere that RVS couldn’t access. 

We also drove out to Lowell Point before going to the hotel to freshen up. We were in no mood to hike further but enjoyed the views. We ate dinner at the Seward Brewery  and walked around town again that night. I really enjoyed Seward. If I had more time there I probably would have gone on a boat tour for wildlife. When looking into this I discovered that it wasn’t the best time of year to see whales, although seeing the fjords from the water would definitely be worthwhile. We have gone whale watching in Maine and did not have the best experience so I passed on that this time. 

Day 3 - We started out in Seward again at the Resurrect Art coffee shop! Strolled around one last time before going back to Keani Fjords. We headed for the Resurrection River trail today. The mosquitos could take you away and it was a thick trail so bears were a concern. Which was really scary especially once we saw a vertebrate! We did not go far! We also saw bear paw prints and knew there had been activity in the area so we packed it in and headed to Homer. 

It was a long drive. Mostly because we stopped ALOT at various places. We saw a few moose. We visited the Kenail Wildlife Refuge visitor center.. Took a walk around a lake,  fighting for our lives as mosquitoes swarmed us! 

Once we arrived in Homer we went out on the spit. It’s a pretty neat little area with shops, restaurants and fishing charters. We decided to grab dinner here and had a lovely time out on the deck at swell taco and Spitfire. Vonnie and I had Rockfish tacos while Cadence went next door to Spitfire for roasted corn.  It was rather chilly! We also enjoyed mini donuts from the candy shop next door. They were excellent! On the way out we stopped to watch people fishing in the tidal pools and to explore a little of the beach. We made one last stop at theAlaska  Maritime National wildlife refuge visitor center before checking into our hotel Kingslanding Inn. It was a good hotel but not spectacular. It met our needs but did not stick out. It met our budget and was close to all the things we wanted to explore. 

Day 4 - Homer! We started our morning with a trip to Bishop’s beach to search for sea glass. I found one really small piece. But we enjoyed looking at the shells and watching the bush planes take off for Katmai National Park We went to meet a water taxi to Kachemak bay State Park. While waiting for the taxi we stumbled upon this donut shop. AMAZING! 

This was one of my favorite adventures of the trip! It was about a 5 mile round trip hike. The normal hike is about 4.6 but because of the tide our boat couldn’t make it to the normal drop off location. It was a great hike. We started in an older forest that made way to a newer forest that was probably about 4-5 years old having been burned in a forest fire several years back. It gave us good visibility. This trail connects to Grewingk Glacier tram if you're looking for a longer hike all the way up to the glacier. The tram is a cart of sorts suspended over the river. Since we are all scared of heights we didn’t do it. Instead we headed straight for the lake to enjoy some time before our scheduled taxi. We again had a picnic lunch and relaxed by the lake edge. You could hear the ice breaking and falling into the water. Huge chunks of ice were almost completely to the shore. The hike back around the saddle trail to meet our taxi gave great photo options for getting the glacier and the lake. The taxi back was against the wind and high tide. It made for a cold and bumpy ride! Once we were back on shore we enjoyed a snack of chili and mac n cheese at firesides 

We were really exhausted and headed to the hotel for a quick rest before deciding to pick up food at Safeway and heading back to Bishops Beach. Vonnie made us a fire while Cadence and I looked for sea glass and shells again. It was a bit windy but we enjoyed our picnic on the beach and watching the planes fly by again. We even met a few locals with their dogs. We saw a group of guided horseback riders. It would be really fun to ride horses down the beach. But what I really want to do someday is take a halibut fishing charter from here!! 

Day 5  brought us back in the car to go to Cooper’s Creek. This time we took a detour through the Skilak refuge. It's a dirt road that gives great opportunities for wildlife viewing but luck wasn’t on our side! We hiked the Hidden Creek trail. I chose this hike because the lady at the visitor center said they had reports of bears here. (I know! I know! I’m supposed to avoid this area) As luck would have it I freaked myself out on this trail. It was really thick, went through berries and was actually exactly where you should see a bear. But you probably would walk right on top of it if you weren’t careful so by the time we made it to the lake I was very anxious. Again we packed food in but I was so worried about a bear and didn’t eat! It was a 4 mile round trip.  After this we went to Russian River falls. This is one of the places the salmon run and jump. It’s a bit in the interior so there aren't  a ton to see yet but we were still able to see a few. It was impossible to capture on video or camera. This was another 5.5 mile hike so we were once again exhausted as we headed to our cabin for the night at Gwin’s lodge.  I wish I had booked several nights here and if I ever make it back I might make this my base. It is a great location and actually has a restaurant, guide services, and tackle shop. I didn’t know this when I booked. I was only looking for lodging at the time that would get us close to our fishing trip. If you are traveling to fish I highly recommend it. If you can’t stay here there are actually several other lodges in the area. It’s hard to find them online. Most don’t advertise a lot and stay open basically off word of mouth and referral.

Day 6 THE BIG DAY! Originally we were scheduled to fish in the AM. But we were asked to change to PM. so we had a slow morning before driving to the Kasilof river. When I initially made reservations I was looking for trout fishing. We ultimately decided on Salmon fishing because it's something we can really only do in Alaska. We met our guide Mike at the Kasilof recreation area and drove up to the lake. We got in the drift boat and headed south. People were fishing everywhere! It was a happening place for sure! We eventually stopped and Mike taught us the technique for catching salmon! It was a little difficult at first because after you hook the fish you have to walk backwards. I’m balance challenged so walking on rocks backwards is not my specialty!  I had several that actually got off before I got to shore because I would turn to see where I was stepping. We caught our limit!! It was a great fishing day! After cleaning the fish we had 32 lbs of meat! Mike rowed us down river to our car. It was nice not to run the motor and to just observe nature. We probably saw 15 bald eagles. We stopped in Cooper Creek at the processor to have our fish shipped home. It was around 8 PM and we had a 4.5  hour drive to Talkeetna where we were staying that night. I called ahead to let them know we would be super late and they left a key for us. We stayed in the Fairview Inn which was an authentic roadhouse. Actually a bar with rooms upstairs. When we got there the bar was in full swing despite it being after 1am. They don’t close until 2. Vonnie went down and met the locals. It was really just a short stop over for a little sleep but it was a unique place. **** more to come from this later*******

A note about fishing the area. We booked through Cooper's Landing guide services. Our Guide Mike actually has his own independent company Reel Alaska Fishing and picks up afternoon guide services when the season is super busy. There are a lot of guides that do this. They simply don't have the time to market and don't want really need to. They have built very reputable businesses and stay booked in the mornings at there own places. They exist mostly from word of mouth. If you are looking for a guide and lodging I would suggest calling Gwin's or zooming in on Google maps to locate the business names of lodges in the area. 

 It was around 8 PM and we had a 4.5  hour drive to Talkeetna where we were staying that night. I called ahead to let them know we would be super late and they left a key for us. We stayed in the Fairview Inn which was an authentic roadhouse. Actually a bar with rooms upstairs. When we got there the bar was in full swing despite it being after 1am. They don’t close until 2. Vonnie went down and met the locals. It was really just a short stop over for a little sleep but it was a unique place. **** more to come from this later*******

Day 7 - After repacking our car we went for coffee at Conscious Coffee! Their coffee was magical and I regret not having a second cup! We walked for a few minutes around town but knew we would be back so we didn’t spend a lot of time here. Just buzzed through a few shops and stretched our legs from the long drive yesterday. Then we made our way up to Denali National Park. It is a long and desolate ride. If you aren’t on a full tank you might be in trouble. There is no cell service, no radio, nothing until you are almost at the park. There were several viewing areas but it was once again cloudy and we didn’t get a great view of Denali. Right before the park entrance we saw several cars pulled over. They were watching a Moose. We took pictures and then headed into the park. 

Once in the park we went to the visitor center and then chose the horseshoe lake trail. After hiking we made a quick stop at Riley Creek campground mercantile and then headed south to our cabin. 

 This was one of my favorite places we stayed. We had a small dry cabin, which means the bathroom and showers were communal outside of our cabin. I actually liked these cabins more than Gwin’s and slept better here. We ate at Mckinley Creekside Cabins. Cadence and I shared a salmon pasta dish that was the chef special for the night. It was a bit spicy but still good. Vonnie had the best turkey pot pie. He let me sample! It was a great meal and we picked up food for the next day before we left here. There really were limited options for food and accommodations here. We had an early bus departure for Denali the following morning and most things wouldn’t be open before we left. I was really glad that they had stocked the sandwiches. Of course by now we were all tired of sandwiches!! 

Day 8 - Denali Bus tour. If you want to experience Denali away from the visitor center you have to have a bus transfer. This will take you to the farthest access point in the park mile 43. The road is out the remaining way. The bus transfer is one of the best ways to see wildlife and experience the backcountry. However, there are no marked trails in the backcountry. You can jump on and off the transfer bus anytime you want and explore the area but you are on your own for navigation. We did become part of the 30% club meaning we were able to see Denali today. Pictures don’t do it justice because the white clouds mix with the white snow. It is impressive though. I wish we had been in the 10% club. Because only 10% of Denali visitors actually see it without clouds.

Once we made it to mile 43 a lot of people did explore and took a later bus back. By now my crew was a bit over hiking and chose to just ride back and look for wildlife. We saw caribou and mountain goats as well as several types of birds. We exited the bus at the dog kennels. They keep a dog sledding team and use them in the winter. Even though the park is pretty well snowed in it stays open all year and the rangers use the dog sleds for transportation.We decided to walk from there up the Rock Creek Trail back to the bus depot. 

We headed back down to Talkeetna to return to the Fairview Inn. Once we got there I went inside to check in. Normal check in is inside the bar area. We avoided this the previous time because of late arrival. The bartender gave me the keys and told me where to go. Vonnie and Cadence came in and suddenly the bartender says “she can’t stay here” and points to Cadence. She then says only adults are allowed to stay. So technically Cadence is an adult. She is 19. We had noticed that several restaurants had posted that people under 21 could not be in certain establishments. Apparently,  Alaska has even more strict laws than GA when it comes to alcohol. Who would have thought. They have legalized marijuana but no one under 21 can be in any store or restaurant that sells alcohol. Grocery stores have to have separate entrances to the beer and liquor. And apparently if hotels serve alcohol people under 21 can’t stay. By now I’m about to have a come apart! It’s the middle of nowhere Alaska and we have nowhere to stay. I looked back at my hotel confirmation and saw that it only said guests had to be adults but it didn’t matter. We were still being denied access. This actually ended up working out very well for us. I began trying to find somewhere to stay and the bartender said she was going to call a place. Honestly I had little faith in finding something that wouldn;t break the bank and I wasn’t sure if I wanted anywhere the bartender suggested.  I was wrong on both accounts. As I was talking to someone on the phone the bartender told me she had secured a spot. Vonnie took over the conversation with the bartender. In short both places told us to come look at the rooms and decide where to stay. The spot the bartender secured for us was at Swiss Alaska Inn and it would not have worked out any better. We had the best room. The owner gave us the same rate we were paying at Fairview minus the concert/bar noise. It was updated, family owned, and excellent. I recommend 10 out of 10. Not just because they helped me out of a bind but because if the accommodations were perfect don't get me started on the breakfast! 

We ended our night by browsing shops and eating at Mountain High Pizza where we tried the mountain high. 30 ingredients on one pizza! We opted for 29 ingredients and had them take off anchovies. 

Day 9 started with this awesome breakfast! We all decided on the Roesti. We only got the half order but we certainly could have still split the half!!  We also ordered a side of reindeer sausage. They are one of the only sit down breakfast places in town and they excel! This is just what we needed! We once again ventured in and out of a few shops before heading back to anchorage for our red eye flight. To fill time on the way back we drove through Hatcher's pass. I almost took this off the agenda because I was tired of riding but our waitress told us it was well worth it and she was right. Although I have to say that as we got toward the top I was gripping the arm rest pretty tight and I thought I was going to puke. The drop off the side of the road was unlike anything I have ever seen. It reminded me of the Swiss Alps. As we got to the top we parked at summit lake. I didn’t get a picture but people were actually doing the polar plunge in this lake filled with ice. It is a stocked lake so some people were fishing. We walked up to the actual summit and looked down briefly because it will make you dizzy! There is an old mine on the other side to explore as well but we decided to head on into Anchorage. 

We spent the rest of our time in Kincaid Park walking on the beach and watching the planes. We saw one more moose before we left and he was huge! 

This was absolutely a great trip! If you know me well you know I have OCD and am constantly looking for ways to improve and weighing different options. This plan worked well for us. My family would probably say that they would take some of the hiking and driving away. I’d agree with the driving part!  If I ever go back I definitely would leave Denali National Park off. I feel like a traitor for saying this but I didn’t feel like it was overall worth the long drive and extra days spent there. I love National Parks! However there is a reason why National Parks in Alaska aren’t visited as often. They are often remote without a lot of activities. Denali is great if you are going all the way to Fairbanks however the road to Fairbanks was closed due to wildfires while we were there. Instead of traveling to Denali I would plan more time in Cooper Creek and would definitely fish a few more days. 

If this itinerary seems like a lot for you I totally recommend a Cruise tour. In an ideal world I could afford the cruise and the land option but since we are both teachers with a college kid that just wasn’t going to happen.  I like the idea of the cruise for simplicity of not having to pack and repack as much as we did. You also have the option with several vendors to add a land tour and have someone else do the driving!  If you don’t mind group travel it’s really a no stress easy way to travel. We took a group tour last year to Switzerland, Italy and France. It definitely has its perks. No stress, someone else handles everything! My husband calls it traveling for dummies. However for Alaska we knew specific things we wanted to do and my travel style is not just active it’s strenuous! We stay moving! So deciding on this itinerary allowed us more control of the budget and pace.