We’ll be there next summer. 29 Aug - 2 Sept. If you search the archives from a few months ago you’ll see detailed responses I had from Ken and Dan when I asked a similar question. Like you, I was disappointed that you can only nibble at the fringes of The Park. But from the research I’ve done, it seems that you do have options.
1. There is a lot to Alaska outside of the park. One itinerary I was looking at did a clockwise loop from Fairbanks down to the coast, by ferry over to Seward or Whittier, up to Anchorage, back to Fairbanks… 2. You can ride the shuttle buses into the Park, hike, camp, go back to the road, catch another shuttle, drop off again, hike camp etc. 3. You can stay at one of 5 (IIRC) different lodges/resorts that are at the end of the park road, 85± miles in. Megabucks, minimum stay of 3 or 4 nights. But it is an option (the option I went with). 4. You can stay outside the park and take day trips in on the shuttles, getting off different places different days. Note that the hotels near the entrance are super expensive, the town a few miles north toward Fairbanks has more reasonable prices. 5. You could drive past the park, go on down to the coastal area and watch the bear/salmon interaction… 6. Note that you can easily find RV rentals and not have to worry so much about where to stay... One resource I used which you might find useful is TravelAlaska.com The outfits which advertise there (e.g., tour companies, RV Rentals, etc.) have suggested itineraries, lists of “what to do in x days” etc. stan > On Nov 15, 2015, at 10:20 AM, Darren Addy <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm all ears. I'm more than a little disappointed to learn that you > can only drive 15 miles into the park and from there you must take > buses. I've seen info on day hiking, but that's pretty disappointing - > particularly if you are interested in dawn-golden hour images. > > On Sun, Nov 15, 2015 at 9:10 AM, knarf <[email protected]> wrote: >> Ken has taken spectacular photos there. >> >> When you answer Darren please link to some of those photos, so we can enjoy >> them again. >> >> Thanks! >> >> Cheers, >> >> frank >> >> On November 15, 2015 9:41:28 AM EST, Darren Addy <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> I'm seriously considering a photo safari to Denali late next summer, >>> to hopefully catch the "autumn" colors there (and, if I'm lucky, some >>> Northern Lights from high latitudes). I'm wondering if any PDMLers >>> have made the trip and have any words of advice. >>> >>> My thinking, if I can get away with returning a rental car to a >>> different city than I'm leaving from, is to fly into Fairbanks and >>> drive Denali from the north to the south over several days and then >>> leave from Anchorage. >>> >>> I'm not sure of the length of the trip. Ideally, I'd like to leave the >>> Friday before Labor Day and come home the weekend after Labor Day. I'm >>> just beginning my research of how long it takes to drive, calculating >>> the cost ... hiking options, etc. >> >> -- >> >> "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -- Henri Cartier-Bresson >> >> Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > > -- > Life is too short to put up with bad bokeh. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
