Denali National Park hotels vary widely from full service premium hotels such as the Grande Denali Lodge to smaller family owned lodges offering  cabin style accommodations such as the Denali Crow’s Nest Cabins.  Most visitors to the National Park stay in Denali’s “front country” just outside the Park Entrance along a 13 mile stretch of the Parks Highway.  While those seeking a more intimate experience and an extended stay in Denali often combine a stay at the Park entrance with a two night stay deep within Denali National Park’s at Kantishna, also referred to as Denali’s “backcountry” located at the end of the Denali Park Road.  (more…)

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Since I was a little girl I’ve enjoyed the sport of dog mushing as both a competitive musher and a spectator.  Every year one of the biggest dog mushing events in the world is held in Anchorage, Alaska. The ceremonial start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race begins on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage on the first Saturday each March. The Iditarod Trail stretches over 1149 miles of Alaska’s vast wilderness. The true race begins a day after, on Sunday from Willow, Alaska. This is where you see the mushers dressed in their cold weather gear and their sleds fully packed with food and equipment for themselves, but mostly for the dogs. From my experience as a musher your number one priority on the trail is your dogs. Each dog is treated with great care to assure they are performing at their very best. Imagine what it’s like to care for not just one Olympic athlete but a team of 16. (more…)

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The Crow’s Nest Cabins are a great place to stay at Denali National Park. Working long summer hours in tourism my husband and I rarely get a quiet moment to relax together, but the Crow’s Nest Cabins allowed us to do so. For travelers it is a great property to visit as a quiet get away with beautiful views.  the Crow’s Nest is located just outside the entrance to the Park. (more…)

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 From Anchorage to Girdwood, Seward to Talkeetna, my perfect tour of Alaska continues after an overnight at the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge -

Day 6, Get an early start with a guided fishing trip with Talkeetna Fishing Guides on the Talkeetna River. Their pick up is at 7:45am directly from the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. You can purchase your fishing license at the guide service and they’ll set you up with all the equipment you need to go fishing and they will assist you in shipping home any fish you catch as well. After the 5 hour fishing trip it is time for a break, so explore downtown Talkeetna on foot, and stop by Mile High Pizza Pie for a nice warm pizza or calzone.
 
Top off a great day in Talkeetna with a Glacier Landing flightseeing trip of Mt. McKinley and the Alaska Range with K2 Aviation. This flight is amazing and the knowledgeable pilot will give you all the information you could want to know coupled with the beautiful aerial views of Denali National Park. The glacier landing is a unique experience and the photo opportunities on this trip are once in a lifetime opportunities. After the flight K2 will return you to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge where you can relax and enjoy dinner at the hotel’s Foraker Dining Room where they specialize in fresh Alaskan seafood. (more…)

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The Grande Denali Lodge is one of Denali’s premium hotels and presides over the Denali Canyon area just north of Denali National Park’s entrance.  The hotel is located high on the hillside and has impressive views of the valley and the front country of Denali National Park.  The hotel has a main lodge with the restaurant, lounge, and gift shop in it in addition to the the front desk.  The 166 guest rooms are in separate buildings next to the main lodge.  The interior of the main lodge has high log ceilings and large windows to enjoy the views. (more…)

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For any trip to Denali, especially for a first time trip to Denali, I feel a bus tour into the National Park is a must do. On my most recent trip to Denali National Park I took the Kantishna Wilderness Trails tour, an all day tour into Denali National Park.

My tour began at 6:30am when the bus driver picked up me and other passengers at the Denali Bluffs Hotel. Once we had picked up all the other passengers we headed out with our driver-guide into the park. Our driver-guide was very knowledgeable on park information and told us about the history of Denali National Park as we entered. Our first wildlife sighting was a Bald Eagle. The Eagle sat still on a tree and we were able to take photos. (more…)

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Recently I traveled with my sister to Denali National Park. We took the Alaska Railroad’s GoldStar Dome train from Anchorage to Denali. The trip north on the train was a wonderful way to travel to Denali.

We arrived at the train depot an hour early for check in and easily made our way to the check in counter for GoldStar clients. We were assigned our seats in the Dome car and the friendly train staff gave us our boarding passes and GoldStar service pins. These pins distinguish you as a GoldStar service passenger and allow you to travel between the different cars on the train, and then back to the GoldStar Dome car. We took some time during the ride to explore the train and visit the snack car as well as the gift car.

The train staff directed us to the luggage tent to check in our bags. The train can deliver luggage to most of the major hotels in Denali National Park If they do not deliver luggage to where you are staying they will simply tag the bags to the train depot to be picked up when you arrive. We were staying at the Grande Denali Lodge and had our bags sent directly to the hotel. (more…)

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We have been helping folks plan their perfect Alaska vacation for well over a decade, and we started this blog during the summer of 2008 to share some of the insights and tips we have picked up along the way. Our staff of Alaska travel experts are busy creating ongoing posts on topics like places to stay, things to do, how to get around and where to eat. We will focus on many of Alaska’s most popular destinations like Anchorage, Seward and Denali National Park. We also hope to answer any questions you may have about our great state and hopefully entice you to come visit us in the near future.

Of course, Alaska Tour & Travel is here to help you plan your Alaska vacation of a lifetime. Whether you are looking for just a hotel or train trip, or a complete custom vacation package, we have you covered. Visit our main site at www.AlaskaTravel.com or email us at info@alaskatravel.com or give us a call today at 800-208-0200. We would love to hear from you and assist you with your Alaska vacation plans.

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