Established as a national park: Feb. 26, 1917 (as Mt. McKinley National Park); expanded and renamed in 1980.
Area: 6 million acres.
Visitors: 341,383 in 1996.
Location: Headquarters on Alaska Highway 3, 237 miles north of Anchorage and 120 miles south of Fairbanks.
Flora and fauna: Birch, spruce, larch, quaking aspen, stunted evergreens, tundra shrubs and wildflowers, caribou, moose, wolves, grizzly bears, Dall sheep; 159 bird species.
Entrance fees: $10 per family; $5 per person. Good for seven consecutive days. Additional fee for bus service into the park, the amount depending on length of travel (see Getting Around).
GLACIER BAY FACTS
Established as a national park: Dec. 2, 1980.
Area: 3,225,284 acres.
Visitors: 280,000 in 1996.
Location: Southeastern Alaska, 65 air miles northwest of Juneau.
Flora and fauna: Orca and humpback whales, moose, grizzly bears, harbor seals, a variety of birds and ducks, spruce and hemlock forest, horsetail, fireweed, wildflowers.
Entrance fee: None.
DENALI’S MAIN SIGHTS
The amazing wildlife visible from the park road satisfies most visitors, even when clouds obscure the mountain peaks. On clear days, the panoramas are magnificent.
1. Mt. McKinley/Denali
This peak (one name is for a U.S. president, the other Athabascan for “the high one”) is the main sight, the star of the Alaska Range and at 20,302 feet the highest peak in North America.
2. Muldrow Glacier.
The mightiest glacier on Mt. Denali.
3. Mt. Foraker.
The second-highest peak in the park at 17,400 feet, and nearly as impressive as Denali.
4. Wonder Lake (or any lake in the vicinity).
Water reflects the mountains on clear days, the tundra blooms, animals roam and the interior of Alaska declares itself as the unique spot it is.
GLACIER BAY’S MAIN SIGHTS
A cruise into the west arm of the bay will reveal some of the most imposing ice formations in this collection of 16 tidewater glaciers, but the Muir Glacier–named for Glacier Bay discoverer John Muir–has retreated 60 miles up the Muir Inlet and is slowly melting toward obscurity.
1. Icy Strait
Humpback whales cavort during summer in this strait, just outside the park entrance.
2. Merging glaciers
Melburn and Grand Pacific Glaciers merge at the far end of the bay, some 65 miles from park headquarters, where huge walls of vivid blue ice weakened by melt send “calves” crashing into Tarr Inlet.
3. Johns Hopkins and Lamplugh (cq) Glaciers.
These glaciers present walls of even deeper blue and immense ice caves.
4. Margerie Glacier
Starting high up on Mt. Fairweather, 15,320 feet above sea level, this glacier flows three miles into the bay. The Fairweather/St. Elias range, with several peaks over 10,000 feet, is the highest coastal mountain range in the world.
5. Reid Glacier
This glacier allows one last look at a tidewater glacier before the ship proceeds back home.
6. South Marble Island.
A typical wildlife scene on Glacier Bay voyages, this one featuring sea lions.
GETTING THERE
American, Delta, Northwest and United airlines fly into Anchorage from Chicago (usually with a change of planes). Round-trip fares range from about $400 to $700, depending upon all the various factors that affect ticket prices these days. Alaska Airlines links Anchorage to Fairbanks (the state’s Second City) and several other towns, usually for less than $100 each way.
The Alaska Railroad serves Denali from Anchorage ($99 each way in the peak travel season) and from Fairbanks ($53 each way). Call 907-265-2695 for more information.
George Parks Highway (Alaska Hwy 3) links both cities–with Denali National Park in between and just off the road. Tour buses and private vans leave for the park from Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Glacier Bay National Park can be reached only by air or by boat. Haines Airways and LAB regularly make the short runs from Haines and Juneau to nearby Gustavus airport ($60-$65 each way), where taxi and bus service is available.
Ferries and excursion boats–some linked to whale-watching tours–depart from Juneau. Cruise ships also make regular runs into Glacier Bay; about 80 percent of the visitors arrive that way.
GETTING AROUND
DENALI
A fleet of 43 motor coaches (similar to school buses) travels the 86-mile park road as far as Wonder Lake, 86 miles from the entrance at Riley Creek. Private vehicles cannot go beyond Savage River, 14.8 miles from the entrance. Past that point, the shuttle bus system provides the only ground transportation into the park between May 24 and Sept. 11 (the road is closed in winter).
Bus reservations are a must, unless the visitor has plenty of time. Walk-ons may wait as long as two days for an opening in the summer months. To reserve, call 800-622-7275 or 907-272-7275 (fax: 907-264-4684) at least two days before travel.
Adults pay $12 for the shuttle bus trip to Toklat (40 miles each way, six hours round trip), $20 to Eielson Visitor Center (66 miles, 8 hours round trip) and $26 to Wonder Lake (86 miles, 11 hours round trip). Young people ages 13 through 16 get on for half price. Children 12 and under ride free. Passengers may debark at various stopping points and board other buses if space is available.
Visitors also can sign up for interpretive programs conducted on 33 additional buses. The wildlife tour costs $58 and the natural history tour $34. Lunch is included in the wildlife tour. Natural history buffs get snacks and a beverage.
By most accounts, this system is as unwieldy as it sounds, but on a good day with the mountain in view and wildlife wandering nonchalantly near the road, most people forget about the discomforts. And, of course, park ecology benefits.
Five private resorts in the park provide buses and vans, which have access to the road as well. Those resorts are clustered at Kantishna–90 miles up the road–which also has an air strip.
For information on air charters, call Denali National Park at 907-683-2294.
Hikers will find few maintained trails, and most of those are short loops close to the park lodge. Longer treks are best carried out over dry river beds or ridgetops. Overnight hikers must obtain a free permit.
Mountain climbers who want to scale Mts. McKinley or Foraker need to apply 60 days in advance and pay a $150 administrative fee. Call 907-733-2231. Those climbing lesser peaks should register first.
GLACIER BAY
Most people visit here primarily to see the glaciers and wildlife in and around Glacier Bay. Typically, this is done by cruise ship as an extension of Inside Passage voyages. Currently, 12 cruise lines are qualified–by their safety records and sanitation practices–to enter the bay.
But there are many other ways to see the park, most of them at least slightly more arduous.
I took a “soft” (and fairly expensive) option, riding for three hours on the Auk Nu (Tlingit for “Sheltered Place”) ferry from Juneau to Gustavus ($45 one way, $85 round trip). I stayed aboard for a 2 1/2-hour whale-watching voyage ($78) in Icy Strait, just outside the park.
After a night at the Glacier Bay Lodge, I boarded a large park concessionaire’s vessel, the Spirit of Adventure, for an 8-hour cruise in the west arm of Glacier Bay ($150).
The next day, I did some hiking in the woods and on the beaches around Bartlett Cove, never straying far from the lodge (which holds a compact visitor center in the upper lobby) and park headquarters (a small compound a few hundred yards from the lodge). The seven miles of trails wind through rain forest and a virtually perpetual dew mixed with frequent deluge.
More adventurous visitors explore the back country, first cruising aboard the Spirit of Adventure to an isolated beach, then trooping off the ship with kayaks and camping gear. That enables them to paddle near the glacier faces, hike over glacial moraine and pitch their tents in grizzly country (bear-proof food containers required). A few days later–by prearrangement–the ship picks them up.
Private boats may enter the park from June 1 to Aug. 31, but that sort of access is strictly limited. For more details, call 907-697-2330 (October through April) or 907-697-2627 (May through September).
WHEN TO VISIT
Alaska receives most guests during warm weather, i.e. that short season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Visitors who arrive slightly before or after those dates should encounter smaller crowds but may also find some facilities closed.
Still, the dead of winter brings its own excitement, which only a few outsiders manage to see. Dog sledders and pilots of snowmachines (the preferred term for snowmobiles in these parts) speed across frozen lakes and snow-covered clearings. Elsewhere, a quiet descends and the long periods of darkness make the glow of cookfires and cabin lights appear even cozier.
No matter what the season, visitors should prepare for all kinds of weather. Residents prefer wool and synthetics, because those materials dry rapidly and are more efficient than cotton at wicking away sweat. They shun goosedown in favor of fiberfill insulation.
Those who venture into Glacier Bay’s backcountry and paddle the smaller inlets should pack wetsuits as well.
PLACES TO STAY
DENALI
The Denali Park Hotel has 100 units and charges $139 for a single and $149 double. For reservations, call 800-276-7234, or write Denali Park Resorts, 241 W. Ship Creek Ave., Anchorage, Alaska 99501. All park reservations should be made as far in advance as possible. Mail requests must be received at least 30 days prior to the travel date.
Eight campgrounds are available, from $6 to $40 a night (not including a one-time $4 reservation fee). For more details and reservations, call 800-622-7275.
An additional 750 rooms can be found in the vicinity. They include bed-and-breakfasts, hotels, motels and lodges. The area keeps a listing. Call 907-683-4636.
Private lodges and resorts are another way to go. At Denali West Lodge (see main story), rates (per person, based on double occupancy) are $500 a night, half of that for children under 12. The price includes meals, guide services and one float-plane flight (two if staying seven nights). Phone and fax: 907-674-3112.
GLACIER BAY
The 56-room Glacier Bay Lodge is nestled unobtrusively in the rain forest next to Bartlett Cove. Rooms are up to deluxe standards and cost $133 for a single or $156 double.
A berth in the adjoining men’s or women’s dormitory rooms is $28 a night. The nearby primitive campground charges no fee. For lodge reservations and information, call 800-451-5952 or 206-623-7110. Or write Glacier Bay Concessions at 520 Pike St., Suite 1400, Seattle, Wash. 98101.
Lodges and bed-and-breakfasts operate in Gustavus, about 10 miles from the park entrance. For details, write Gustavus Visitor Association, P.O. Box 167, Gustavus, Alaska 99826.
WHERE TO DINE
My dining here in Denali was limited to the food provided by Denali West Lodge (see main article), but there are restaurants and groceries clustered near the park entrance and a dining room in the Denali Park Hotel. Those who venture deeper into the park, either on foot or in the shuttle buses, should pack enough nourishment to last all day; no food or drinks are for sale out there.
The excursion boats that ply Glacier Bay and surrounding waters offer a limited selection of snacks, sandwiches and beverages. On the daylong Spirit of Adventure voyage, a hot lunch is included in the fare. Spirit passengers may help themselves to free coffee and juice or purchase nibbles and other drinks at the concession counter.
The Glacier Bay Lodge dining room proffers an ambitious (and expensive) menu. Most of the seafood items are delicious, fresh and worth the price. The adjoining bar serves up less elaborate fare in a cozy, hunting-lodge atmosphere. A general store and a handful of cafes in nearby Gustavus also feed the hungry and provide backpacker provisions.
ACCESSIBILITY
A few of the shuttle and tour buses at Denali are wheelchair accessible, as are most of the lodging facilities in and around the park. Some visitors may drive the park road in their own vehicle if necessary. Advise the staff of special needs when making reservations.
At Glacier Bay, the visitor center in the lodge is accessible to wheelchairs, as is the initial–boardwalk covered–portion of the Forest Loop Trail.
INFORMATION
Denali National Park, P.O. Box 9, Denali Park, Alaska 99755; 907-683-2294.
Glacier Bay National Park, P.O. Box 140, Gustavus, Alaska 99826; 907-697-2230.
The National Park Service home page is http://www.nps.gov with links to individual Park Service units and their home pages.
