Mckinley float trip question

[JoriT]

I have a strange question. For the various float trip/white water trips that are offered at the McKinley princess lodge, do the dry suits that are provided come in a variety of sizes? My husband is a big guy, 6'2 and I am wondering if the suits would be big enough. I know that the kayaking trips and the snorkeling trip from other locations had to be ruled out due to the fact that the provided suits would not fit. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for any information that you can provide. Jori

[Alaskanguide]

Jori,

 

What trip are you thinking of taking ? I do not know of any of the float trips here that give you dry suits ( But I can be wrong from time to time) All the floats trips at the McKinley lodge only give you a poncho and boots. And there is no white water around here except up in the canyon.

 

Alaskan Guide

[Budget Queen]

I agree the trips from the Mckinley lodge are float trips only, most going out of Talkeetna? But certainly could be others. There is also easy kayaking at Beyers Lake if the kayaking is of interest. I would inquire if open kayaks are available. Up at Denali Park entrance on the Nenana there is white water with some operators using dry suits. These areas are 100 miles apart.

[seitseman]

Jori :-)

 

Dad and I are contemplating doing the float trip at McKinley. We'll see you guys the next day on the TWT at Denali. I'll let you know what we find out, since you guys are going south and would probably get to McKinley the next day. I've also heard that you can't book these things until you actually get to the lodge. Possibly on the train, but not sure about that. Hope you find your answer before hand, but if not we'll take care of you :-)

 

Beth

[JoriT]

Jori,

 

What trip are you thinking of taking ? I do not know of any of the float trips here that give you dry suits ( But I can be wrong from time to time) All the floats trips at the McKinley lodge only give you a poncho and boots. And there is no white water around here except up in the canyon.

 

Alaskan Guide

Thanks for your reply, I guess the pictures and descriptions are a little misleading on their website. The Argo Adventure tour says it provided pants and jackets. The sustina float trip shows the passengers in what looks like rain suits, but could be jackets and pants (the description just says rain gear). If the rain gear was a poncho then I think we'd be ok. I hope that this extra information helps. Thanks again, Jori

[JoriT]

I agree the trips from the Mckinley lodge are float trips only, most going out of Talkeetna? But certainly could be others. There is also easy kayaking at Beyers Lake if the kayaking is of interest. I would inquire if open kayaks are available. Up at Denali Park entrance on the Nenana there is white water with some operators using dry suits. These areas are 100 miles apart.

 

Thanks budget queen for your reply. I was hoping you would add your two cents! :p I know they don't have much at McKinley Lodge, we expect to spend most of our time in Talkeetna. This being our first trip we figured we'd do a tour and then find out what we want to come back and visit on our own. The excursion that talks about class III rapids is the Talkeetna canyon tour, but I found out it's on a jet boat (seems to defeat the whole purpose of rapids when you navigating them on a jet boat!) I did notice the pictures that the McKinley Lodge shows of the kayaking at Beyers Lake are not open kayaks. I guess we can check that out when we get there. Thanks again for your input, Jori

[JoriT]

Thanks for offering to be our guinea pigs Beth. I like the idea that we'll be meeting up with you guys on our land tour. I have to say, I'm getting mighty impatient for May! I have to be careful though because Todd's birthday is 4/17 and I don't want to rush through that! He deserves to celebrate. But after that, time can fly by until May 12th!:D Jori

[Budget Queen]

I did notice the pictures that the McKinley Lodge shows of the kayaking at Beyers Lake are not open kayaks. I guess we can check that out when we get there. Thanks again for your input, Jori

 

 

I don't know if they are still the contractor but you can try and contact- Susitna Expediations- who used to run the Kayak rentals at Beyers Lake. 800- 891-6916?