Excursions from Princess Mt McKinley lodge?

[Wordzz]

Hi all. If we want to do excursions from Princess Mt McKinley Lodge, is it necessary to pre-book or can we just wait till we get there? I’d rather do the latter so we can decide on the spot whether we want to do anything or whether we’d rather just chill, but might they sell out if we wait?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[granny6]

We to are wondering if we can wait, especially for any flight you might be taking. It appears once you book land excursions, they immediately charge your credit card.

[Momj47]

We stayed at the Princess Denali Lodge and didn't make excursion reservations until we got there and had no problems, even with a trainload of guests arriving at the same time. I would guess you should have no trouble at the Princess Mt. McKinley. It was pouring and foggy while we were there, so no flights were going out. Enjoy your trip.

[Ratdoggie]

Good to know about the Denali Lodge as we may wait to book something when we get there. But I am also wondering about last minute excursion availability at the Princess McKinley Lodge. I'll admit it...I'm replying just to get this back to the front of the board.

 

Thanks!

[Lindypc]

I am also wondering what is the best thing to do at Mckinley........I am having the hardest time finding anything on this board about any (PCL) land tours! Since I'm doing glacier/helicopter/dogsledding from Kenai, I'll be too broke to do flightseeing (unless it is worth taking out a bank loan:p) --what else is recommended at the PCL McKinley Lodge?

[Budget Queen]

I suggest people do their homework and find out, first, what touring may be of interest from the McKinley lodge. Overall it is very limited in selection. Flightseeing only has so many seats, and it isn't just ONE type. I suggest people get familiar with the very different flight tours available- unless they don't care.

 

Finally the Princess Lodge is a 2 hour bus trip from Talkeetna round trip. So some planning will be necessary.

[Lindypc]

I actually have been doing my homework SINCE OCTOBER! I was just wanting to hear from people who did one of the tours from Mckinley lodge and highly recommended it:).

[Sanpan]

We stayed at the Princess Denali Lodge and didn't make excursion reservations until we got there and had no problems, even with a trainload of guests arriving at the same time. I would guess you should have no trouble at the Princess Mt. McKinley. It was pouring and foggy while we were there, so no flights were going out. Enjoy your trip.

 

 

When did you stay at the lodge???? What month??? I'm wondering if the time of year makes a difference. Also just an FYI to everyone, we are doing the Princess cruisetour in September and received our list of optional land excursions. It had about 25 options for McKinley Lodge and some out of Talkeetna. Budget Queen is correct, it is an hour transfer one way to Talkeetna. However only 10 of the excursion options had transfers to Talkeetna. Several had transfers of 30min - 40min roundtrip. :D Better than 2hrs. ;)

[2278]

We did the 2 hour trail ride. They picked us up at the lodge. The stable was a couple of miles away. It was a good ride, easy horses and the guides were very informative.

 

There are a lot of lectures at the lodge as well. We went to one about wolves. The ranger made a wonderful presentation.

 

the resturant at teh lodge, has to die for blueberry pancakes served with BB infused butter - have never had anything as good.

[Lindypc]

We did the 2 hour trail ride. They picked us up at the lodge. The stable was a couple of miles away. It was a good ride, easy horses and the guides were very informative.

 

There are a lot of lectures at the lodge as well. We went to one about wolves. The ranger made a wonderful presentation.

 

the resturant at teh lodge, has to die for blueberry pancakes served with BB infused butter - have never had anything as good.

 

Thanks, sounds delicious! Maybe DH will ride a horse;)!

[Ratdoggie]

I noticed an excursion that we can book through our Princess land tour, it is an alternate route to Princess McKinley Lodge. I believe you get off the bus (or train) at Talkeetna and then take a boat to the lodge (60 miles). There is a stop at a "trapper's cabin" along the way. I thought this might be fun, has anyone done this?

[Wordzz]

Can I just bring this thread back to the original question I asked, which was not 'What tours are available?' - I have the list from Princess also - but rather 'Do we need to book those tours in advance?'.

 

We will be at the Princess McKinley lodge in August, which I am aware is in an isolated location. If possible I would rather wait until we get there before deciding if we want to book a tour or not - if the weather is poor, or if we just don't feel like it, it would be nice to have the choice to decide 'on the spot' whether to do an excursion or not. However, my question is whether that is likely to be possible, or whether the excurions all gtend to et booked up in advance?

 

Many thanks for all your advice!

[Budget Queen]

Can I just bring this thread back to the original question I asked, which was not 'What tours are available?' - I have the list from Princess also - but rather 'Do we need to book those tours in advance?'.

 

We will be at the Princess McKinley lodge in August, which I am aware is in an isolated location. If possible I would rather wait until we get there before deciding if we want to book a tour or not - if the weather is poor, or if we just don't feel like it, it would be nice to have the choice to decide 'on the spot' whether to do an excursion or not. However, my question is whether that is likely to be possible, or whether the excurions all gtend to et booked up in advance?

 

Many thanks for all your advice!

 

Then wait until you get there to book. It shouldn't be a "surprise" that you can have some filled tours, like some flightseeing slots, but there will be tours available.

[Longhornfan2]

Can I just bring this thread back to the original question I asked, which was not 'What tours are available?' - I have the list from Princess also - but rather 'Do we need to book those tours in advance?'.

 

We will be at the Princess McKinley lodge in August, which I am aware is in an isolated location. If possible I would rather wait until we get there before deciding if we want to book a tour or not - if the weather is poor, or if we just don't feel like it, it would be nice to have the choice to decide 'on the spot' whether to do an excursion or not. However, my question is whether that is likely to be possible, or whether the excurions all gtend to et booked up in advance?

 

Many thanks for all your advice!

 

I am booked for a land/cruisetour in September and called Princess about 1 week after they posted the land excursions at both McKinley and Denali Lodges.....believe it or not ...a lot of the flight excursions were booked already!!... problem is as stated in this thread..they charge your credit card at the time of booking!

[Sanpan]

I am booked for a land/cruisetour in September and called Princess about 1 week after they posted the land excursions at both McKinley and Denali Lodges.....believe it or not ...a lot of the flight excursions were booked already!!... problem is as stated in this thread..they charge your credit card at the time of booking!

 

 

We are going on a cruisetour in Sept. also. I was surprised this evening when I saw your note that some of the excursions were full already.:eek: I guess we better make our plans and bite the bullet regarding having to pay in advance.:rolleyes: I was hoping to wait ; thinking that September would not be as busy. Back to the drawing board to make some decisions. Thanks Longhornfan.

[grams98]

we are going in june, staying 2 nights at mckinley--doing river float first day (arrival day) and fishing second day. we read over the list and descriptions posted on the odge's website and favored these 2; wanted it all set before we got there, so we booked them both; just so you know, you pay upfront for these lodge excursions, unlike the cruise excursions; however, you can cancel up to a certain time before hand--maybe 2 weeks out--can't remember; but be aware of that; if you book it now, you will be charged now; we knew for sure we wanted to do those two, so we were fine with that--enjoy whichever ones you choose-grams98

[wolfie11]

Mt. McKinley Lodge is located in a pass in the Alaska Range that separates Southcentral Alaska from the Interior. I have left Fairbanks in 70 degree temps and blue skies and by the time I got to the Lodge it was pouring rain and 20mph winds. If you book an excursion in advance, you will pay for it in advance and the excursion (except for flightseeing) will go no matter what the weather. I remember one time watching a group of very miserable people on the covered wagon excursion with the wind blowing the rain into the back of the wagon and soaking everyone. Frankly, there are days to be out on excursions, and there are days to be in front of the fire with a hot beverage of your choice.

 

If you book in advance, be prepared to go no matter what the weather or lose your money. If you wait, your excursion choices may be limited, but at least you'll enjoy them.

[grams98]

i guess that's one advantage we have livig in chicago; we have learned to enjoy ourselves outdoors in almost any weather; however, safety has to be the utmost concern; so i would certainly hope that if the winds are too bad for the rafting trip, that they would not still go; but as we only have 3 days off the ship, we will have to make the most of our time up there, as long as it is safe--grams98

[pal4404]

I noticed an excursion that we can book through our Princess land tour, it is an alternate route to Princess McKinley Lodge. I believe you get off the bus (or train) at Talkeetna and then take a boat to the lodge (60 miles). There is a stop at a "trapper's cabin" along the way. I thought this might be fun, has anyone done this?

 

I checked with Princess and they said it would be up to the tour bus as to whether you could get off or not. Do you have any information to the contrary.

[Adri204]

I noticed an excursion that we can book through our Princess land tour, it is an alternate route to Princess McKinley Lodge. I believe you get off the bus (or train) at Talkeetna and then take a boat to the lodge (60 miles). There is a stop at a "trapper's cabin" along the way. I thought this might be fun, has anyone done this?

 

 

Im familer with that trapper cabin and have been thier. Not on a tour but yes ive been to the trapper cabin and do recommend it as a place to look at. As far as doing one's homework for Alaska. I am a life long Alaskan and am still learning many wonderful things about a State that is so huge and actually divided in to Six regions.

 

Adri :)