Visit to Alaska in May

I wanted to ask a favor as a fellow diver, board member. My Fiancé Marcia and I are going to take out honeymoon in Alaska and I figured I would tap some of the locals for ideas.

We are under 40, like the outdoors, and are looking for any advice for great must-sees, outdoor adventurers; logistics….We are planning to visit in mid to late may and have about 12 days and just starting trip research.

We like to hike and bike, I dont forsee us diving on the trip ( sorry ).

Some ideas we are tossing around are flying into Anchorage and spending 1 day and then making our way up to Denali, Talkeetna (flight tour of McKinley).

Is it worth spending more time in Anchorage?
Given the timeframe of 12 days, is Juneau worth a visit?

That’s about as far as I have gotten for now, any help is much appreciated.
looking for ideas on lodging, cool must sees, food...

thanks

Gary
feel free to also email me at gmbaker@hotmail.com

well, do you like to hike/bike/and climb, or do you like diving more? If you want to go on some awesome hikes, staying near Anchorage would not be a bad idea at all. The Chugach State Park has got some of the best hikes in the state in terms of beauty, range of difficulty and length, and convienience of access (great trails/great trailheads). There are plenty of trails for either walking or biking depending on what you are into.

If you want to dive, get out of Anchorage pronto. You can reach Whittier, Seward, or Homer by car. Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan are also pretty "popular" dive spots-but if you start in Anchorage, you'll either have to fly or boat into these places.

Something to consider about the timing of your trip, in May, Denali is likely to still be pretty snowy. In late May, around the Chugach State Park (near Anchorage), many of the trails are just starting to become totally snow-free.

A good trip idea that I give to alot of people is the Serenity Falls Hut bike out at Eklutna Lake. This is about 45 minutes out of ANchorage, and you'll need to rent bikes to do it unless you want to spend alot more time walking.

The trip startes at the end of Eklutna Lake and follows the bank for about 6 miles, then heads off into an absolutely magnificently mountainous valley. You'll bike another 7 or 8 miles through some beautiful Alaskan forest with breath-taking views ot the mountains the whole way until you get to a pretty large cabin near the back of the valley. The cabin has a wood-stove and gas-lanterns (usually it is stocked with fuel), along with bunks for sleeping. There is no electricity, phones, or cellular reception of course. The amazing thing about the cabin is that one whole wall is entirely made of windows giving you a truly spectacular view of several extremely rugged mountains and part of the Eklutna Glacier. You can expect to see some pretty amazing wildlife along the way, including sheep, goats (yes there is a difference), bears, moose, and smaller creatures like porcupines and such.

The cabin costs something like 40$ to reserve a bunk, and the proceeds go to fund the state park cabins, trails, and other neccessary elements that keep the area enjoyable. You can reserve the entire cabin for something like 120 bucks or so, but beware! The cabin is a major hub on a fairly popular, often week-long ski-trek called the Eklutna Traverse, so there are sometimes a few folks bunked up there either on their way to the glacier or on their way back from it....and some of them won't give a damn whether you reserved the whole cabin or not....sometimes people NEED the cabin on their way down from the glacier. I've never booked the whole cabin, but a few times have still been the only one there anyways. More often than not it seems like if you are the only reservation on a given night, you are the only ones at the cabin-so my advise would be to save your $$ and only reserve bunks. It'd be a bummer to pay for the whole thing and then have to fight off a bunch of trip-weary mountaineers who don't want to give up the only shelter for miles just so you can have the big place to yourselves.

Anyhow, you can check dates of availability by going here: Public Use Cabins, Anchorage Area and calling the number listed under "Serenity Falls Hut." They used to have the availability schedule online, but it looks like they don't anymore.

Well, I've spent way too long on this, so good luck.

btw-here's a pictoral report of a Serenity Falls trip I did a couple years back:
http://chugachpics.tripod.com/serenity/serenity.html

I spent two weeks in Alaska and backpacked in Denali a few years back. Surprisingly, the highlight of the trip was not Denali, but an all day kayaking trip out of Miller's Landing South of Seward. I took a two hour ride on a small landing craft and was dropped off in a remote area. I saw whales, seals, eagles fishing from ice bergs. I would still do Denali, but leave time for some sea kayaking.

EMTPDiver, nice write-up of you trip, the ride looks awesome and looks like a strong possibility.

I am getting the feeling that Denali may be a challenge due to the snow as you stated. I should clarify, the wont be any diving on this trip and we like to bike and hike, prefer to not camp.

I also like the Kayak idea, that’s on the list but not sure where to do it yet.

So if Denali is iffy, other than a plane ride to see Mt McKinley, is it worth going to Healy and pushing further north?

Appreciate all the ideas so far, keep em coming...

no, not that time of year. that is an aug-sept thing

EMT did a great job. May is the shoulder season for tourism, the later you are here, the more there is to do. I was in seward the first week of may last year. the tourists had not yet shown up so the town was quiet, but a lot of the attractions were not open yet. Two weeks later everything was going. I was in Juneau the last week of April too and nothing was open.

I do have some suggestions if you find yourself in the Anchorage area, but am not sure on availability:
Horesback riding in the Chugach National Forest with Turnagain Trails
Jet boat up to the glaciers on 20-mile creek. glacierjetalaska.com
Rent ice axes and crampons from Alaska Mountaineering in Anchorage and hike up or go ice climbing on the matanuska glacier (about a 90 minute drive from Anchorage), guide service is available after May 24, MICA guides.
Take the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward (day trip) or one of the drop off points into the wild in between.
Check out the snow machining or skiing at Alyeska/Girdwood.
Flightseeing with Rust's Flying Service down the Cook Inlet if Denali isn't possible.

to add to what covediver stated, there is also jetboating up to the Knik Glacier which is incredible (personally I'd rather do that than 20-mile, but to each his own).

Also there is a great guide service that takes people on glacier tours of the Matanuska Glacier. I forget the company name, but they are right there on site near the beginning of the road that goes from the Glen Hwy to the glacier. They have all the gear, and the people are really cool. I took a bunch of visiting relatives on that tour this summer, and even though I've been all over that glacier on my own, I enjoyed myself.

Another cool thing that people love are the ferry trips that head out of Whittier, Valdez, or Seward (I'd recommend Whittier) to go see glaciers and wildlife. Those are fun, and the smaller the boat you can get, the more flexible the captain tends to be, and the funner time you'll likely have.

Fishing on a charter boat out of any of those places-add Homer to the list of towns-for Halibut, Rockfish, and Salmon (although the latter probably won't be as thick that time of year). Lots of fun.

thanks for the great ideas. keep em coming. We have decided to move out trip to May30th - June 14th which should allow us to see/do everything we want.

Hello!
I would suggest that you take advantage of the following package:
Travel to Seward aboard the Alaska railroad for a scenic trip through Johnson pass and along turnagain arm. You may see mountain goat, beluga whales, and mountain peaks covered in spring snow. Once you arrive in Seward, board Dive Alaska's vessel for a day of diving. They'll provide equipment including a DUI dry suit and Nitrox (if certified) and some world class diving. You may elect to rent a wilderness cabin for an overnight stay in a "yurt" which is a "tent meets the Hilton" accomodation over looking Resurrection Bay. The next day is a sightseeing trip to a Sea lion haul-out, sea bird rookery, and glaciers. Last, sea kayak along rugged coastline and get an "up-close" view of the wildlife. Full vessel support and catered meals will make your trip first class. Local lodging in Seward can also be arranged. If you'd like to get more details, contact scott@@divealaska.net for details

gmbaker:

I also like the Kayak idea, that’s on the list but not sure where to do it yet.

Click to expand...

Here's the link to Miller's Landing:

Seward Alaska Campground, RV park, fishing charters, cabin rentals, sea kayaking, tours, boat rentals, hiking and more.

The surrounding area seems to be the remains of a fishing village and cabins are a little rough, but the kayak trip they offer is outstanding.