My husband and I will be spending 31 days in Alaska this summer (June into July) and would greatly appreciate any thoughts and feedback on our itinerary below. Hopefully I have included all relevant information. A few things to note:
- Car and all lodging (except camp sites) are already booked, though we are in the refundable window for everything
- We have experience backcountry camping (my husband a lot, me a little) and are bringing all the camping gear we’ll need, with the exception of a bear bin and portable electric fence. I've read we can borrow/rent those. Is that true?
- I’m leaving out specific activities since recommendations for those are abundant, and we like to have a general idea of what we want to do but not over plan our days so we can see where the wind blows us. (*Caveat question at the end.) That being said, if you feel so moved to share additional recommendations, of course we'll always take them!
Day 1: Fly into Anchorage
Day 2: Drive to Healy (stop for lunch in Talkeetna)
Days 3-5: Camp in Denali
Day 6: Leave Denali, head to Talkeetna
Day 7: Talkeetna to Girdwood
Days 8-9: Girdwood
Day 10: Girdwood to Homer
Days 11-17: Homer
Day 18: Homer to Seward
Days 19-24: Seward
Day 25: Seward to Anchorage
Day 26: Fly from Anchorage to King Salmon, water taxi to Katmai
- This transportation is not yet booked. See question below.
Days 27-28: Camp in Katmai
- We were not able to get a reservation at Brooks, so we are planning to camp in the backcountry. I’ve read everything I could find about backcountry camping on the Katmai park website, and we’re hoping to get a ranger on the phone to talk through details so we are fully prepared for what to expect. We definitely do NOT underestimate the amount of planning and preparation that will go into this portion of our trip. Any tips here would be especially appreciated.
Day 29: Travel back to Anchorage
Day 30: Day trip to Eklutna Lake, stay in Anchorage
Day 31: Fly home
Questions we have:
- When it comes to activities in Homer & Seward, how important is it to book in advance vs. waiting until we’re there (or at least a little closer)? For example, we are planning to take a Kenai Fjords cruise with Major Marine. Since we’ll have flexibility on exactly which day we want to go within a 7-day window, we’d ideally like to wait and assess weather and how we’re feeling once we get there. Is that plausible?
- Our best options for flying into King Salmon are to land at 8:05am or 1:09pm. The earlier flight is more expensive, but the later flight wouldn’t get us to the park until around 4, since we would just miss the 1:00 water taxi. Should we suck it up and pay the extra money to get to the park earlier? We are worried a later arrival might 1) make us miss bear school (do they only do this at set times throughout the day or as people arrive?) and 2) feel rushed to talk to rangers, hike to camp, set up, and eat before we get too tired.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and thank you in advance for any advice and perspective you are willing to give. I have read countless posts that already exist in this sub and am so grateful to everyone who has contributed over the years.