The trees here in Montana are starting to change into beautiful fall colors which reminds me of our trip to Alaska last September. We flew into Anchorage and spent the first few days of our trip in Trapper Creek, Alaska about two hours from Denali National Park. This area was so remote, relaxing, and peaceful.
Our first full day in Alaska we spent exploring the area between Trapper Creek and Denali National Park. We hiked several trails soaking up all the beautiful fall colors. That afternoon we found ourselves in a nearby town from where we were staying called Talkeetna. We did some shopping and stopped at the Denali Brewing Company.
We enjoyed our happy hour and found one of our most favorite seasonal beers made by Denali Brewing Company. Every evening we would enjoy the balcony and our wood burning fireplace at our air bnb. We also bought all of our groceries in Anchorage when we arrived and cooked our own meals in our air bnb, since we weren’t really near any restaurants or grocery stores. The next day we had purchased tickets online to do the transit shuttle in Denali National Park. For those who don’t know you can only drive the first 15 miles into Denali National Park with your own car and the remaining 77 miles is only accessed by the transit shuttle.
We purchased the shuttle bus to take us to Eielson Visitor Center which was 66 miles one way and about an 8 hour round trip. We felt like this was the best shuttle for us, but you can view all of the shuttles, prices, and how long each one takes on the Denali National Park website. We loved doing the shuttle bus! We saw so many animals while on the shuttle including: caribou, moose, a grizzly bear, black bear, and doll sheep. At the Eielson Visitor Center we did a short hike called Eielson Alpine Trail.
The views from the top were magificent. Less than 10% of the people who visit Denali get to see it without cloud coverage and we were a part of the 10%. So lucky to get to see Denali Mountain in person and so close is a memory we will cherish forever. The second half of our trip we spent near Seward, Alaska in the Kenai Peninsula. On our way there we stopped in Whittier and did a hike to see Portage Glacier.
The views were beautiful every step. Our next air bnb was at Renfro’s Cabins on Kenai Lake. The water on Kenai Lake was so blue it almost looked fake. The next day we went out exploring in Kenai Fjords National Park. We hiked up to Exit Glacier and all the way to Harding Icefield. At the top it was very cold once you were right by the icefield plus it was foggy and misty.
This hike was about 9 miles in and out but worth every minute. The next day we got in the car and drove towards Coopers Landing where there was a fly shop. Matt had brought his own fly fishing gear and wanted to try and fish some. We got to an area that he wanted to fish on the Kenai River. He didn’t have any luck but it was getting close to the end of salmon season and all the salmon were dying off after spawning so it was pretty cool to get to see them swimming by.
Our last full day in Alaska we did a boat excursion with Major Marine Tours out of Seward. It took us to Aialik Glacier. We saw bald eagles, otters, orcas, seals, and one lingering humpback whale. Once we got to Aialik Glacier we sat there for about 20 minutes admiring it, listening to it crack, and watching the calving of the glacier.
While we were at the glacier, there were several pieces of broken ice from the glacier floating in the water and they scooped up a block of ice and made glacier margaritas out of it! Of course we had to have one since it may be the only chance to have a glacier margarita.
It was a great way to end our week in Alaska. Alaska is so large and diverse we only got to see such a small portion of it. This is one place we absolutely loved and will definitely return back to one day to explore more of it!
