Alaska DIY – Fairbanks / Healy / Denali / Seward - July 4-11, 2019

[SeahawkSiren]

Hello everyone.  This is a review of our 7 day Alaska DIY vacation!

 

This was our 4th trip to Alaska, the first 3 all being on cruises.  But this time we chose to do an all land DIY trip so we could really see the interior of Alaska.  I wanted to post a review of this vacation as I will be providing information on our Denali National Park and Preserve and Kenai Fjords National Park excursions as well as photos and information from our entire trip.  So even though no cruise was involved with this vacation I hope it will help people still deciding on certain things, those adding independent land portions to their cruises, or those that just want to view more beautiful Alaska scenery!

 

Our itinerary was as follows:

 

Fly from Seattle to Fairbanks

1 night in Fairbanks

3 nights at a VRBO rental in Healy (near Denali)

3 nights at a VRBO rental in Seward

Fly from Anchorage to Seattle

 

About us:  Married couple who live near Seattle, me – age 50, DH turned 50 on this vacation, we have no children.  We have been on several cruises, including 3 Alaska cruises (I did a review of our most recent Alaska cruise on the NCL Bliss - the link is in my signature if you are interested and the link is also posted in the 2018 Trip Reports sticky at the top of this Alaska forum).  This year we chose not to do cruises.  Our theme this year, as we both turned 50, was “Bucket List National Parks.”  My husband chose Denali National Park for his 50th (I chose the Grand Canyon for my birthday back in March).

[SeahawkSiren]

Thursday, July 4.  Seattle to Fairbanks.  We flew out of Seattle early and had a direct flight to Fairbanks and picked up our rental car.  We landed late morning so had a day to enjoy a couple meals in Fairbanks and do our grocery shopping for the next leg of our trip.  We stayed at the Best Western Plus Pioneer Park Inn.  Nice, basic hotel in a quiet location.

 

We had lunch at Chena’s Alaskan Grill which is at the River’s Edge Resort.  Nice little spot along the Chena River.

 

 

 

 

 

We loved lunch along the river so much that we also had dinner along the river, this time at Pike’s Landing. 

 

 

 

Such a nice, relaxing day in Fairbanks after getting up at 2:30 a.m. for our early morning flight from Seattle.

 

The next time we go to Fairbanks we will plan to do more activities and explore more of the city.  But for this trip we were treating it as more of a travel day and had been up since the middle of the night and were low on energy.  We also had a snafu with our rental car and had to return to the airport to pick up another one.

 

[SeahawkSiren]

Friday, July 5.  Fairbanks to Denali/Healy.  We headed out early from Fairbanks after a generous continental type breakfast provided by our hotel to spend several hours at Denali before we could check into our VRBO rental in Healy.  The drive from Fairbanks to Denali was about 2 hours.  Nice scenery along the way.  And getting a glimpse of Denali on our drive only added to the anticipation!

 

 

Denali had been on both of our bucket lists for so long.  We were finally here!

 

 

 

The weather on this trip was amazing and we never had any rain the entire week!  We did have some smoke from the numerous wildfires burning across the state.  On this day we became members of the infamous “30% club” at Denali.  For those not familiar with that phrase, apparently that is the percentage of time in which some portion of Denali is visible (we later became members of what a park ranger called the “10% club” – more on that later).

 

I couldn’t believe we were finally here!  I am finally seeing Denali in person!  Denali is still 75 miles away in these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

In addition to Denali, the surrounding scenery in the park was magnificent!  And plenty of wildflowers in full bloom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

As most of you probably already know, cars are only allowed to drive in the first 15 miles of the 92 mile Denali park road.  After that point on the road you must be on a bus, a bicycle or on foot (we did the full length bus tour which I will post about).

 

Here a couple photos from the Savage River area at Mile 15 which was the furthest point we could drive with our rental car.

 

 

 

After driving the 15 miles and back with our rental car, we stopped at the park headquarters and viewed a sled dog demonstration in which they talk about how vitally important sled dogs are during the winter season. Beautiful dogs who appear to be very well cared for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

DH and I like to try new pizza on vacation so we stopped to get one at Prospector’s Pizza just outside the park to take with us to our VRBO rental.

 

 

Not a bad view while enjoying an adult beverage while waiting for our pizza.

 

 

Our VRBO rental was only 17 miles from Denali.  A beautiful cabin on 5 acres in Healy.

 

 

I could have sat forever on the deck and enjoyed this view.

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

Saturday, July 6.  Denali Bus Tour.  Today was DH’s 50th birthday!  We did the full length bus tour, 184 miles round trip.  We weren’t going to come all this way and not go to the end of the road! It was a very long day (the bus tour alone was 14 hours), but sooooooo worth it.  We arrived at Denali Park Village in plenty of time for the 6:10 a.m. departure time.  We did the Kantishna Roadhouse Tour which first departs from Denali Park Village (it stops at a few other locations to pick up more people before starting the full tour) and didn’t arrive back to the Village until after 7:30 p.m.

 

Here is a link to our tour operator.  A fully narrated tour with a 2 hour lunch stop at the Kantishna Roadhouse.  The bathroom breaks along the park road are roughly every 90 minutes.  https://www.denaliwildlifetour.com/denali-park-tour/

 

Here’s our ride for the day!

 

 

Just a few miles in we saw our first moose!

 

 

I was getting concerned as Denali was not as visible today (compared to yesterday) with all the wildfire smoke but the view got better later on.  I just wanted everything to be perfect for DH’s 50th, knowing I had no control over any of it!

 

 

Aside from the views of Denali and the wildlife, all of the other scenery was just incredible as well.  Millions of acres relatively untouched by humans.  So vast, wild and rugged.

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

Caribou time!

 

 

 

 

Fox time!

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

At Eielson Visitor Center at Mile 66 we became members of the 10% club which a park ranger stated is the percentage of people who are lucky enough to see all of Denali at one time, from base to peak.  We mentioned numerous times during our vacation how lucky we were to have the weather we did, especially considering all of the wildfire smoke/haze we encountered during the week.

 

 

 

 

We were soaking in every moment.  So amazing.  I will never forget this day.

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by SeahawkSiren

[SeahawkSiren]

Soon after we left Eielson, we spotted moose!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

As we passed by Wonder Lake at Mile 85, the smoke was starting to fill back in so we were thankful for the more clear views we had earlier in the day.

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by SeahawkSiren

[SeahawkSiren]

We made it to the end of the road!  This was a 2 hour stop.  We were welcomed to the Kantishna Roadouse where we enjoyed a hearty lunch.  And then a choice of two activities after lunch – a sled dog demonstration or gold panning were offered.  Since we had seen a sled dog presentation the day before and weren’t interested in gold panning, we just chose to walk around and enjoy the beautiful property.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

Time to get back on the road after the 2 hour lunch stop!

 

Such beautiful scenery.  Lots of little lakes and ponds.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by SeahawkSiren

[SeahawkSiren]

These moose photos are probably some of my favorite of the entire trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeahawkSiren]

A fox looking for a meal.

 

 

And a caribou just chillin’ near the road.

 

 

What an amazing, unforgettable day!  We absolutely loved the bus tour and the scenery was just astounding!  And our bus driver, Craig, was wonderful.  He is an encyclopedia of knowledge about Denali.  You could just hear the passion in his voice and his love for Denali.  He's been a bus driver there for many years and has driven that road more than 1,100 times.

 

[SeahawkSiren]

We hit 49th State Brewing Company in Healy for DH’s birthday dinner.  A nice place with good food.

 

 

For those that have seen the movie Into the Wild, the bus used during the filming of that movie is a tourist attraction at 49th State.

 

 

 

This was my first vacation being so far north this time of year where it does not get dark at night.  It was very strange being outside after midnight and the sun was still up!

 

This was the view back at the cabin at 12:30 a.m.

 

 

An incredible and memorable day!  DH and I agreed it was one of the most special days of our lives.  A very long day.  Up at 4:00 a.m. and by the time we got back to the cabin after the full day bus tour and dinner it was nearly 10:00 p.m.  We were exhausted but have zero regrets!  Totally worth it!  I urge you to do the full length bus tour if you can.  It may be only a once in a lifetime experience for many of us.

 

I'm going to stop here for tonight.  Will continue with this review during the week.

 

[AlohaBoundHK]

Following...thanks so much!  

[Pepper0074]

Thank you! I too am following as we are in the process of planning our next trip to Alaska.

[Travelingzumbamom]

Thanks for posting this DYI! We have never been on a cruise, always have done a DYI! 

 

I’m learning a lot about cruises...thinking if we do one eventually, it will be an uncruise or the like. However, I’m enjoying all the info on this site!

 

Awesome pictures! We stayed at the same VRBO in July 2017. I agree about the deck...we spent most of our time at the cabin on the upper deck enjoying the view!! Can’t wait to read and see more! 

[quack2]

Nice trip report!

[SeahawkSiren]

10 hours ago, AlohaBoundHK said:

Following...thanks so much!  

 

You're welcome.  Glad you are following along.

 

10 hours ago, Pepper0074 said:

Thank you! I too am following as we are in the process of planning our next trip to Alaska.

 

Thanks for following along.  Hope some of the information is helpful for you.  I love the planning process.  It really helps to build the anticipation!

 

8 hours ago, quack2 said:

Nice trip report!

 

Thank you.  Thanks for following.

 

[SeahawkSiren]

9 hours ago, Travelingzumbamom said:

Thanks for posting this DYI! We have never been on a cruise, always have done a DYI! 

 

I’m learning a lot about cruises...thinking if we do one eventually, it will be an uncruise or the like. However, I’m enjoying all the info on this site!

 

Awesome pictures! We stayed at the same VRBO in July 2017. I agree about the deck...we spent most of our time at the cabin on the upper deck enjoying the view!! Can’t wait to read and see more! 

 

Wow!  What are the odds that someone reading this review would have stayed in the same cabin?  Incredible!  Yes, it's a beautiful place.  It was very hard to leave there.  DH and I agreed it was the best VRBO we have ever rented.  Thanks for following along!

 

[SeahawkSiren]

Sunday, July 7.  Stayed at the Healy cabin and nearby area.  After such a long day at Denali the day before, we just stayed at the cabin and nearby vicinity on this day.  The smoke was definitely thicker on this day and we commented how lucky we were with those 2 days at Denali which ended up being the clearest days of our week in Alaska.  We could no longer see the mountains from the deck of the cabin.

 

We hiked to a nearby lake, Eightmile Lake on Stampede Road.  Is there anyone who is familiar with this area who could tell me who owns the cabin on this lake?  There were people at the cabin and out on the lake.  Is it owned by the government/forest service?  Can you rent it out?  I can’t seem to find any information on it.