Alaska Trip- advice welcome(paging Roger)

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I'm headed to Alaska in late June and am looking for some suggestions of things to do. We fly into Fairbanks and have 4 days in Denali before heading south to Anchorage for 5 more days.

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4 days in Denali is quite a bit. I'd catch a flight into the interior of the park, hike and camp overnight to get away from the hordes at the park entrance. Check out Alaska ALpine Adventures, they have day adventures and multi day adventures in the park. Outside of the one road, there is no access with a vehicle.

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I'll be going with my fiancee and her family, but everyone is fairly skilled outdoorswise and in good shape, so we're willing to do some of the more physically taxing hikes/trips.

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Make sure you're up on bear behavior. Interior brown bears are different than coastal brown bears and charge (bluff) fairly often.

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I'll list a few of bucket list things I'd like to see/do to give yall an idea of what we're looking for, but am open for any and all suggestions.

Bear viewing (seems like Denali is the place to go, or take a bush plane trip to some of the more secluded rivers)

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If you can, go to Brooks Falls. It's expensive, but awesome. Katmai and Lake Clark both offer fantastic bear viewing.

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See Mt. McKinley- is it worth doing the hike to base camp, or are there better trips within Denali?

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Wait to see what the weather is like. Chances are if you're there for 4 days, you may can see the summit for one. If you want a memorable experience, get flown into Don Sheldon Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier.

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White Water Rafting- seems like Six Mile Creek is the best river near where we'll be.

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Yeah, there are some on the Nenana River in Denali but Six Mile can be more adventurous.

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Glacier hiking/kayaking- any suggestions here? I see there are some companies that do a joint package out of Seward but the prices were steep.

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Knik Glacier out of Anchorage or some of the Glacier trips out of Girdwood. At ALyeska you can take the tram up to the mountain where they will outfit you for a glacier hike on Alyeska Glacier. Probably not as expensive as the rest since you'll be hiking instead of flying.

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Ice climbing- this might be a solo trip by me, and possibly her brother. Any suggestions for a intro trip/class?

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Knik Glacier or some of the glaciers around Girdwood. Chugach Powder guides has a base in the Tordrillo Mountains West of Anchorage. Also might look at some of the operators in PWS.

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Moose viewing- from what I've read, there are some good places outside of Anchorage, any suggestions?

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Really don't have to plan for this. You'll see em. They are all over the Palmer Hay Flats about 35 miles north of Anchorage. Go check out Palmer and Hatcher Pass. Spend an afternoon at Hatcher Pass and hike, look at the old mining ruins. It's a beautiful area. Palmer is a neat little town.


If you have time, go to Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound and do a glacier cruise. It's worth it. You can do a train/day cruise package from Anchorage.

No problem. If you have any specific questions I'll be glad to help. If you've only got 9 days, you'll want to make the most of them.