Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Opinion: From Anchorage - Go north or south?

not much to see off the road once you get past the Denali Park tourist trap area and beyond Healy

Driving Wild Alaska began like this for me:







Last time I did the one-way was in January 1994, from Anchorage to Kentucky.
Same 1985 Jimmy did it then too.
Big Jimmy was good to me,
except for that darned defective 1985 GMC paint that peeled.
I paid to have Jimmy painted all white before it left Alaska the second time, 1985-1988 and 1992-1994,
inspired by O.J.'s Bronco.

Now there is an idea for a driving and photography vacation,
a white Bronco on every road I can find in Alaska,
now that I am retired.
Yee ha! I'll wear my favorite cowboy hat and wave it at y'all as I go by.
Wife of 48 years is invited, and can hop an airplane whenever she has had enough.

Riflecrank…A great post Sir! I love the “old” pictures. 👍🏼

AGL had a good suggestion

I heard a rumor that there was a skinny dyck, approximately 50% in?

If the weather is decent, I'd be happy to skip the drive north and take a flight out of wasilla/big lake /willow. Fly the southern ak range glaciers and then try to tell me that it sucked. A couple hours in the air and you will see some things that most never do.

I lived and worked for the feds up there for quite a few years. My area was Tok to Fairbanks to Unalakleet to the end of the Aleutians down to POW island. Just my opinion but if you want to see some real Alaska, get in a small plane out of Anchorage or Kenai and get off the road system. Also, unless you are very lucky, it is going to be raining.

The fall colors will be better going north at that time. Still mostly green in southcentral. But, the weather will have the final say in where is best, and is often quite different from each other.

Thanks, old "Instamatic" photos from an album.
Last one above was about 400 miles to Anchorage just after Yukon border.
Two more days of luxury driving and sightseeing.
I got to fly in C-130s above the Yukon Flats, down to Kodiak, and out to Shemya.
Had a bush pilot fly me into the Chugach Mountains to stay for a week (Super Cub on floats)
and a couple of bush flights into Kodiak stays for a week at a time (Beaver and Otter),
a charter flight over to the Peninsula to snag reds and watch bears (Beaver),
a waste of time with a motor boat "guide"/salesman on the Kenai,
and a productive drift boat float on the Kasilof.
Motored around Prince William Sound for a couple of 3-day trips.
As a civilian I worked at Dutch Harbor and Cordova for 6-month spells,
boated out to Hinchinbrook on that last one.
Did a little 4-wheeler riding around the Copper River area,
and also on a caribou hunt off the main drag north of Anchorage,
and up to the face of Knik Glacier another time.
Got dumped out of a scanoe by a sweeper in the Knik Arm Hay Flats area while duck hunting, or was that the Palmer Hay Flats ?
Something I would rather forget.
I have seen a bit from the air, still want for the roads.
Again I say, do both, north and south and now I say
do it three ways: Land, air and sea.
Heh-heh-heh.

Oh yeah, don't forget doing it on foot too.
The 28-mile Crow Pass Crossing is highly recommended.

My first trip up the Alcan was April 1977. I think 90 miles of it was paved. Was driving a 1977 Jeep CJ7. Was lucky to do 300 miles a day.

My first Alcan trip was in 1975 in a '69 Volkswagen Beetle. I was alone.The only pavement I remember was a few miles before and after Whitehorse. Motels/lodges were rough. Sleeping in the car was often better.

In 1978 on a drive south with my teenage sister in a 1975 Datsun pickup we burned up a rear wheel bearing and limped into Liard River Lodge. It took a week to get a bearing and seal from Grande Prairie. We fished for grayling and chased bears around the hot springs for a week. Nobody around then. Now it looks like Yosemite Valley.

Get out of that hell - hole down South, go North to see Alaska.

As to the topic of weather, if you don't like it, wait one half hour. It will have changed - most likely, to the worse.

Sorry - I could not resist. Rain in Alaska still beats shine anywhere else for me. Takeetnas and Denali beginning of September will not disappoint. Pick a few places to be rather than many places to get to. Let your memory not be a windshield.

If I was recommending a trip for 7 full days to maximize photography opportunities the first week of September, this is my recommendation.
Day 1 drive down to Seward, stop along the way to take photos.
Day 2 Glacier tour or fishing trip out of Seward weather permitting.
Day 3 drive back to Anchorage.
Day 4 take the Alaska railroad from Anchorage to Denali, stay at a lodge.
Day 5 bus tour of Denali
Day 6 train back to Anchorage.
Day 7 hike around Anchorage, drive to Matanuska Glacier, drive to Girdwood.

I advise the train and bus for Denali because the driver will be able to take photos instead of driving, and to me the train route is more scenic than the drive.

Just remember you are at the tail end of the tourist season and many places close up after Labor day, so make sure you know what places are open.

If you drive the whole way and have an extra day on the way to or back from Denali, stopping in Talkeetna and taking a Mahays river boat trip is worth it.

Look at this trip as a wet the whistle trip and come back after he graduates for fishing and places you missed.

I literally felt as if I was sitting around the campfire with you guys. I appreciate the information and will take to heart what each of you said. I look forward to sharing stories when we return. Thanks again

Like the blind men describing the elephant, do not forget your limitations...