Somewhere in the middle of the 2021 pandemic, Alaska had tentatively started opening for travel. It was quite the ideal summer to travel to Alaska, flights were back on, national parks were open, and the cruise crowds had yet not made the return to the shores of the northern state. With our COVID shots and masks in place, we decided to venture out to Alaska. Our itinerary was ambitious, a 10-day saunter around the southern parts of Alaska, hitting some national parks, doing some glacier hiking, whale watching and hopefully bear spotting (and not catching COVID).
10 days flew by, and the holiday became one of our most memorable experiences (after we all saw the peak of Mt. Denali!). So, I won’t bother with words when it comes to Alaskan natural beauty and let the pictures speak for themselves.
Day 1: Anchorage to Denali National Park
Considered one of the most scenic drives that should only take you 4-6 hrs took us an entire day. Reason being, 2 hrs. out of Anchorage we realized that our rental car’s doors didn’t lock. This meant driving all the way back to Anchorage and changing our rental car. Not the best start, but important lesson learnt for all future trips. Make sure you to check all doors, windows locking mechanism of your rental before leaving the garage. Discouraged, but not deterred we managed to hit all the major spots on the way.
It was a cloudy day so while we loved our drive to Denali, all our lake stops were cloudy and gloomy. Popular stops on way to Denali include Mirror Lake, Reflections Lake etc. for their wonderful reflections which we saw little off.
Our last major stop of the day was at Denali (Mckinley) Viewpoint, where on a clear day you can allegedly see the peak of Denali. It was cloudy as hell, so obviously we didn’t get to see the top of Denali, but it was a very scenic spot nevertheless.
DID YOU KNOW that Denali was called Mt. McKinley upto 2015, after a US president. To return the place to its rightful native heritage, it was renamed Denali, the Athabaskan word meaning “the high one.
Day 2: Day in Denali National Park
The Denali Park Road is 92 miles, running from east to west. Locations on the road are usually referred to by their mile number, meaning how many miles they are from the eastern end (the park entrance, Mile 0). The meeting of the Denali Park Road and Highway 3 (i.e., the park entrance) sits 237 miles north of Anchorage and 120 miles south of Fairbanks.
Private vehicles have limited passage in Denali and one needs to take the daily shuttle tour from the Wilderness Access Center. Booking in advance is highly recommended and you have to reach there for your allotted time.
Food and beverages were not available in the park and we carried sandwiches with us. The shuttle will take you as far as Eielson Visitor Center. Lot of easy trails around the center and great veiws of the park. If you are lucky, you get to spot Denali’s peak (only 30% visitors get lucky).
Wrapped up the long day with pizza and drinks at Prospector’s Pizzeria & Alehouse.
The food was average, the crowds in the still-in-COVID world downright scary. The place was jam packed and not a single mask in sight!
Seriously lucky, that we didn’t fall sick.
Day 3: Exploring Denali National Park & heading out Fairbanks
Before heading out the Denali region and towards Fairbanks, we decided to explore parts of Denali that are accessible by private vehicles. Highly recommend the Savage River Loop – not at all scary as it sounds. It’s a leisurely trail around the river, with some of the most breathtaking calming scenery. Takes around 2 hours.
On the way out, we stopped at the Dog Kennels to spend some time with Alaskian huskies!
Day 4: Road trippin from Fairbanks to Pippin Lake
Alaska is a massive state with a whole lot of nothing in between. Just spectacular landscape. So an essential part of getting the feel of the place is to just hit the road. We didn’t do much in Fairbanks the night before but got some much needed rest .
We also had 6-8 hours of drive the next day ahead.
Next day we started early. Our first stop was Santa Claus House…you know where the toy factory is and the seven reindeers live . We saw the toys and the Rudolph.
At Delta Junction, we stopped for a brief historic tour of Rika’s Roadhouse and Landing.
The Cabin At Pippin Lake
Our next big item was the glacier hike in Warangal National Park, for which we had to go to south east Alaska. It’s a little out of the way of the main tourist trail and it’s not something I would ever do again or recommend.
Fairbanks to Warangal is a long stretch and not many places to stay in between. So we stopped at the Pippin Lake and rented a cabin by the lake. It was perfect cabin, with all the basic amenities a boathouse and landing and a fire pit.
We spend two nights there and had the most amazing time. And ofcourse we took the paddleboat out into the lake!
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