Denali Backcountry

This itinerary starts BEFORE the accompanying cruise itinerary.

Upon arrival at the Anchorage airport, you will be met and transferred to the Hotel Captain Cook. The rest of the day and evening are at your leisure. Just a reminder that you will only be allowed 50 lbs of baggage per person on your flight to the lodge tomorrow, so you may want to spend some of your time this evening re-packing. Excess baggage can be stored at the air carrier's office for pickup upon your return from the lodge. Overnight at the Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage.

After breakfast at your hotel, you will be met at 9:00 am at the hotel's 4th street entrance for a fun and fact-filled tour of Anchorage. Sit back, relax and enjoy a 4-hour tour of the city including history, Earthquake Park and the downtown area. Highlights include a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Visit the home of a local artist and enjoy a light lunch. After lunch, you will transfer to Merrill Field and meet your pilot for your scenic flight to Denali Backcountry. En route you will (weather permitting) have an opportunity for flight-seeing past North America's highest peak, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley which has the highest vertical rise from its base in the world. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. This breathtaking flight may just be the highlight of your journey. Upon arrival at the heart of Denali you will be transferred to the hotel, which offers guests the very unique opportunity to base themselves deep in Denali National Park. While this may seem to be a rustic outpost by some standards, the clean and cozy cedar cabins with private baths are comfortable accommodations in the heart of Alaska's wilderness. The hotels, located at the end of the 95-mile Park Road in Kantishna, offers you a complete Denali Park vacation experience. The rest of the day and evening are at your leisure. Dinner and overnight at the Denali Backcountry Lodge, Kantishna.

After breakfast at the lodge, set out on a day of guided activities. The hotel features many fantastic opportunities for you to explore the wonders of Denali's wilderness. Each day the lodge offers activities that can be educational as well as fun. A schedule of daily activities will be posted in the lobby every morning. Denali National Park is renowned for its wildlife. During your stay you will have fabulous opportunities to see most of the Park's wildlife up close. Bring your binoculars, and photographers be warned; you had better have your favorite camera ready! Your shutter finger is bound to get the workout of a lifetime. Gold Panning Learn the history and methods of the old-time prospectors and try your hand at panning for a little color. Any gold you find is yours to keep! This is a fantastic trip for photo and video enthusiasts. Hiking-Walking Join the lodge on a daily guided hike or walk. Guided hikes and walks depart the lodge daily and last for one to six hours. This is an excellent opportunity to explore and learn about the wildlife and flora of the Kantishna Hills from an experienced guide. Mountain Biking If mountain biking is on the top of your list as a favorite outdoor activity, rev up the pedals of one of the lodges mountain bikes and spend some time exploring the countryside. Pedal to Wonder Lake or investigate the old mining roads in the area. Ask a guide to assist you with a bike selection and please wear the required helmet for your protection. Enjoy the included lunch before an afternoon of more adventure. The rest of the day is at leisure. Dinner and overnight at the Denali Backcountry Lodge, Kantishna.

After an early breakfast at the lodge, prepare for a day of looking for wildlife as you make the 95 mile, 5+ hour trip to the parks entrance. Along the way, your driver & naturalist will introduce you to the park, its wildlife and the wild lands in Denali. You'll learn about Denali's history, geology, and much more. Wildlife within Denali is habituated to the busses and vans that ply the park road allowing excellent wildlife viewing opportunities. The wilderness backcountry of the park supports big game species such as black bear, grizzly, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolf, and wolverine. Forests and high alpine tundra are also home to porcupine, hare, squirrel, marmot, mink, marten, beaver, lynx, fox, and coyote. Numerous native and migratory birds also can be seen in the park. Among the large birds of prey are eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls. Other prominent bird species include ptarmigan, grouse, ravens, jays, magpies, woodpeckers, swallows, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows, and numerous warblers. Whether you are an avid naturalist or photographer, or have casual interest in Alaskan wildlife, the abundance and variety of animals in and around Denali have established its reputation as a premier viewing area of these species within their natural habitats. Visitors on the Denali wildlife tours are advised to bring their binoculars and camera to capture all of the beauty and majesty of the Park's abundant wildlife. Should the weather smile on you; above all of it towers Mt. McKinley (Denali) itself, the highest point in North America (20,320 feet). Your driver will stop along the way for wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities. There are scheduled rest stops along the road where you can get off the bus to stretch your legs, use the restroom facilities, and smell the tundra flowers. At the Park Entrance you will be met by your private driver for the remainder of your journey to Talkeetna. A snack will be served on board the wildlife tour bus, but we recommend a stop for lunch near the park entrance before heading south to Talkeetna, approximately 2+ hours to the south. Arrive at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. Talkeetna is located in the shadow of Denali National Park and Preserve in the heart of North America's largest wilderness and offers breathtaking vistas, flight seeing to Mt. McKinley, world-class salmon fishing, rafting, hiking, boating excursions, and a wide variety of other Alaskan adventures. The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, poised on a hillside above the town, offers stunning views of Mt. McKinley - Denali to the first Alaskans. The evening is at your leisure. We recommend dinner at the lodge where views from the dining room make Denali look close enough to touch. Overnight at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

After breakfast at the lodge, you will start your trip to Anchorage via the George Parks Highway, linking the state's two largest cities, Anchorage and Fairbanks, with Denali National Park and Preserve. The George Parks Highway travels through the kind of scenery that defines the Alaskan interior: tundra and muskeg, the continent's highest peaks, glaciers, forests, wild rivers, and vast expanses inhabited only by moose, grizzlies, foxes, wolves, and a wealth of birds. You will make a stop for a private visit with four-time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser at his homestead. Happy Trails is a family run operation, world famous for its championship sled dogs, including four Iditarod championships, the latest in 2002, along with a number of top 10 finishes. Martin guided each of the four Iditarod champion teams. In 1998, Martin was voted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame. Martin will regale you with stories of the races and introduce you to his dogs. Continuing on you will travel through the Matanuska Valley (home of the gigantic vegetables). Matanuska Valley is known for its rich soil and excellent growing season. Continue on to Anchorage and check-in at the Hotel Captain Cook. Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, is known as the City of Lights in the winter and City of Flowers in the summer. Nestled between the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet, Anchorage has everything you would expect in a major metropolitan area plus oceans, mountains, wilderness, a wonderful mix of cultures, outdoor activities, nightlife and a natural history like no other city. The evening is at your leisure. Overnight at the Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage.

After breakfast at the hotel, meet your driver at the 4th Avenue entrance and begin your two and one-half hour private car scenic transfer along the shoreline between the Chugach Mountains and the waters of Turnagain Arm. A stop will be made at the Alyeska Prince resort in Girdwood for time to explore or have lunch on your own. A trip on the resorts aerial tram is included. You'll stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center whose mission is to provide care for injured and orphaned wildlife and to provide continued wildlife awareness and education to the public. Surrounded by mountains and hanging glaciers, the 140-acre Portage Valley preserve is a nonprofit operation that works to rehabilitate injured or sick animals. Besides bears, there are bison, moose, caribou, elk, eagles, owls, musk oxen, Sitka black-tailed deer and a variety of game birds. Visitors can drive through the area and see most of the animals from their vehicles, or walk the neatly cared-for driveway for a close-up tour. It's a great way to photograph wild animals in a setting as close to authentic as you can get. Then on to Seward and your waiting cruise ship.