The Ultimate Alaska Road Trip: 3 National Parks in 9 Days
My last state to visit was the last frontier. A dream come true.
Here’s my 9-day Alaska itinerary, including visits to the only national parks accessible by car:
Day 1 – Anchorage to…
Kayaking alongside Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords for my 48th national park visit.
I've dreamt about Alaska for as long as I can remember. After visiting forty-nine states, the last one on the list happened to be the last frontier. It felt like this year may finally align to turn my dream into reality. For years my dad told me to book the flight. And for years, I made excuses. This time around, I didn’t hesitate. My flight was officially booked.
There are always a few hiccups in the planning, but Alaska truly felt like a different beast. I spent this past April feverishly researching and preparing for what I hoped to be the trip of a lifetime.
Here’s my 9-day Alaska itinerary, including trips to the only three national parks accessible by car:
Day 1 – Anchorage to Denali
After a day of traveling from New England to Anchorage (with a lucky, long layover in Dallas to visit my family), we arrived in Anchorage. We landed late at night, so our first official day started the next morning. A major perk of road trip travel is cutting down on food and time expenses. There’s always a time to splurge and try something new food-wise, but going out a couple times a day eats away at time I’d rather spend exploring.
That’s why our first stop on the great big Alaskan adventure was the grocery store. After stocking up on chili, peanut butter and jelly, and tuna (among other goodies), we drove from Anchorage to Talkeetna, a tiny town with a lot of charm. We scored free parking at the Talkeetna Riverfront Park next to the town’s campground (if you see paid parking, keep driving to the end of the road). We stretched our legs, checked out a few shops, and continued to our final destination for the day: Denali.
Talkeetna was a sweet stop where three rivers meet with a backdrop of Denali (though the pinnacle was covered for us, as seen in the first picture above). If I was short on time, I wouldn’t have made the stop. The superior stop is the Denali South Viewpoint when you’re almost inside Denali National Park. On a clear day, which we were fortunate to have, Denali in its entirety is visible. It is at mile 134 on the Parks Highway (the picture above on the right).
We called it a night at Denali Park Hotel and set our alarms for an early wake-up. Tomorrow, we’d dive into Denali.
Day 2 – Denali National Park
3:30 A.M. would typically feel early to me, but considering the sun sets in Denali after midnight, and rises before 3 A.M., it felt like no time passed. We headed into the park for our bus ride.
Denali is incredibly unique in that the singular road, Denali Park Road, spans 92 miles from the entrance to the end of the accessible part of the park. However, the Pretty Rocks landslide a few years ago (at mile 45) cut off access to the latter portion of the road. Nevertheless, Denali is still worth the visit. After debating between paying for a narrated bus or the transit bus, I opted for the latter— the East Fork transit bus. Both buses depart around the same time and travel the same distance. The Denali Tundra Wilderness bus costs $144.50 per person and the East Fork transit costs $33.50 per person. Our driver stopped for wildlife, restroom breaks, and my occasional urge to photograph the landscape I couldn’t get enough of.
I didn’t have high hopes for Denali given the road closure and the hype it gets in the lower 48, but the wildlife was abundant. We saw Dall sheep (from a distance), caribou, alpine ground squirrels, and moose, of course. The highlight was a meandering moose and her calf. After our drive through the park, we felt we experienced Denali and were ready to embark on the next adventure. The long days of sunlight make for smooth long distance driving as we made it to Copper Center for the night.
Day 3 – Copper Center to McCarthy
This part of the trip was the trickiest to navigate. Thankfully, the guides at St. Elias also double as travel agents. At least that’s what it felt like it with how helpful their staff was in ensuring I could make this trip to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park happen in a very limited timeframe.
The tough part is the travel. Rental car companies (aside from local Alaskan ones) ban both the “quick” way from Denali to McCarthy (via the Denali Highway) and the McCarthy Road. Both are unmaintained gravel roads. Though many drive on these roads and have no issues, all it takes is one flat tire with no phone service to make a trip memorable. And not in a good way.
I booked a shuttle service from Copper Center to McCarthy through Kennicott Shuttle for $169 per person (for the roundtrip on two different days). A slightly hefty cost for a substantial peace of mind. The three-hour drive stops twice for a restroom break and offers an opportunity to be behind the camera on a drive, instead of behind the wheel.
After the journey along the 60-mile gravel road, and a brief stop at the famous Kuskulana bridge, we made it to the footbridge to McCarthy. There's a free payphone to contact the owners of your stays, but the lovely owner of Blackburn Cabins was waiting for our arrival at the end of the bridge. A short drive later, we were at our remote cabin. Mere steps outside the cabin is a trail that leads to what is known as the Toe of the Glacier. We had this spot entirely to ourselves. It was our first experience with glacial calving, and not our last on this trip.
We sat in awe of the glacier that we’d been setting foot on the following day. Afterwards, we ate lunch at The Potato. One extremely satisfying chicken fajita pita devoured later, and I was ready for a hot outdoor shower and rest.
Day 4 – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
St. Elias Guides bookings include a shuttle pick-up from Blackburn Cabins. We hopped in a van and were fitted for crampons shortly after at their home base in Kennicott. Kennicott is an old mining town and also the start of the trek to the Root Glacier trail. This is the easiest accessible glacier to hike and is completely worth the journey to get there.
After an easy hike to the base of Root Glacier, we put our crampons on before the big moment. Though I feel confident I could have done this without a guide, I would still go with a guide for the knowledge they have. Our guide knew where to find neat spots like blue pools and other gems I wouldn't have found alone. As America’s largest national park, my four-mile hike barely scratched the surface. I already want to go back to ice climb or hike into ice caves... both of which St. Elias Guides offer!
Root Glacier from the dirt trail.
We shuttled back to Copper Center that evening, and while we waited, we met a couple who drove the McCarthy Road and were returning from their Kennicott trip like us. I started to regret paying for the shuttle because it would have been so much nicer to hop in the car on our own schedule, but they returned from their car to tell us they had a flat tire. In one of the most remote corners of Alaska. Another spot where I had no cell signal (as it turns out, T-Mobile has no towers in the entire state of Alaska). Though they had what they needed to replace their tire, it made me grateful for the shuttle route.
Day 5 – Copper Center to Seward
We were back on the road after returning to Copper Center for the night. The best part about a road trip is the random stops along the way to the destination. We left an isolated part of Alaska for a more populated one. A coastal rainforest. I did not realize that type of terrain existed in Alaska. It’s one of the rainier regions of Alaska. It felt like the Pacific Northwest. Like I was back in Seattle wondering when the sun would come out. Or if it ever does.
We weren’t even settled into our campground before we were immediately informed by a fellow camper that a bald eagle landed atop a tree branch directly above our cabin. The eagle’s home was actually diagonal to our cabin, with two eaglets inside. No doubt a good start to this leg of the trip.
Day 6 – Seward
A day to ease into coastal rainforest life. We ate, shopped, explored, and tried to embrace the dreary climate. We also saw more eagles. So many eagles.
Day 7 – Kenai Fjords National Park
We met our tour guide at 7 A.M. and were fitted for rainproof jackets and pants. A blessing. Shortly after we were on our boat ride, highly anticipating a moment I had dreamed about all these years. Not Denali, not the sweet surprise of Wrangell-St. Elias. The latter part of this tour of kayaking alongside Aialik Glacier. I hoped it would live up to the dream I envisioned in my mind. Turns out, it delivered that and more.
On our boat ride, our captain’s (and passengers’) keen eyes caught sight of humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, starfish, porpoises, and puffins! I am not a wildlife gal, but this ride alone made feel like I was living out my middle school dream of being a National Geographic wildlife photographer. It felt incredible to capture so many wild moments.
When we docked, we donned spray skirts (I felt like a pro after it being part of my weeklong wardrobe in Isle Royale), and were on the water in no time. Our guide got us up close to Aialik Glacier for lunch. We ate sandwiches in the company of sunbathing harbor seals and thunderous cracking sounds of the inner icy layers of the glacier. Every part of this trip was worth it.
Day 8 – Homer
After such an incredible tour, and a rest day the day prior, we did not really want to linger in Seward longer. We heard from several travelers that Homer was the place to go, and at this point, a four-hour drive one way felt like a short commute. My years of day trip drives to the Adirondacks and White Mountains were great training moments for this. We headed to Homer and the drive alone proved worthwhile. Moose meander alongside the road like deer back in New England. I will never tire of seeing moose in the wild.
Homer is a quaint, seaside town reminiscent of any Rhode Island town in the summer. We ate incredible halibut (in the halibut capital of the world), walked along the beach, and saw eagles on a nature preserve trail. Homer was a very active town, which I loved. There is a great pedestrian path that takes you to town, and in June, the wildflowers were plentiful and bordered the path for its entirety. So stunning!
As our trip slowly wrapped up, my dad said his only regret was not seeing a bear. I found a twenty-mile, less-traveled road on the way back from Homer that gave me a good feeling. The forest that the road envelopes you in experienced a terrible wildfire years ago and sadly was still recovering. We made it fifteen miles in and were still surrounded by dead trees. At mile 16, there was a lovely overlook of the lake we drove past on the way to Homer. The viewpoint was beautiful, and made this detour worth it — with or without wildlife sightings.
Of course once we resigned ourselves to not seeing wildlife, at mile 17, I caught sight of something in the distance – a large, black boulder, and three smaller stones. Turns out, a mama bear and her three cubs were eating their roadside dinner and we stumbled upon it! Two cubs even climbed some trees for some post-dinner playtime. I couldn’t believe our luck!
We returned to Seward, all smiles.
Day 9 – Seward to Anchorage
Our final drive returned us to Anchorage along Seward Highway, where there are ample moments to pull over for seaside, mountainscape views. Our flight out was an early one, so once we returned to Anchorage, the trip essentially concluded.
Day 10 – Travel Day (Headed home)
Have you visited Alaska? Are there any national parks there you’re adding to your bucket list?
If you enjoyed this itinerary, check out these other hidden national park gems:
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Kentucky’s Best Kept Secret: Mammoth Caves National Park
Florida Offers More Than Disney Rides — Go on a Sailboat and Airboat Tour
Kayak Camping is the Superior Way to Explore Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park
No roads. No cars. Little to no service. My kind of vacation.
Isle Royale is one of the few parks that require travelers to arrive by ferry or seaplane. Here’s how we spent five days in Isle Royale National Park with the Keweenaw Adventure Company:
Every summer I gear up to accomplish one of my yearly goals: visiting two new national parks. With my visit to Virgin Islands National Park in the spring, I set my sights on another remote island park in a state I had yet to visit: Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park.
Being on a remote island in the U.S. felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Since my thru-hike in the most isolated corner of the Adirondacks, I have found myself gravitating to quieter, off-the-beaten path (quite literally in the case of Isle Royale) places.
No roads. No cars. Little to no service.
My kind of vacation.
Not only is Isle Royale Michigan’s only national park, but it is also one of the few parks that require travelers to arrive by ferry or seaplane. It’s also only open seasonally (closed from November to mid-April), and typically it is the least visited park in the lower 48.
As I get closer to visiting all 63 U.S. national parks, I try to find special ways to explore them. While it is technically possible to see Isle Royale National Park in a day, most visitors say they regret not spending days there. With possible ferry delays due to weather, though these are rare, you could end up only spending a couple hours in this incredible park by limiting your visit to a day trip. There’s something about how wild and vast Isle Royale is that draws you in for longer.
I stumbled on a new-to-me way to explore an island park: kayak camping with the Keweenaw Adventure Company. This company took care of everything—from ensuring my safety while navigating the waters of Lake Superior to providing gourmet meals in the backcountry.
Kayak camping is the superior way to visit Isle Royale National Park because the guides at Keweenaw Adventure Company tailor your trip to your interests. When asked what we wanted to do, our only requirements were seeing the Rock Harbor Lighthouse, getting a hike in, and spending as much time on the water as possible.
Our guide through the Keweenaw Adventure Company took us on an adventure in June 2023 that did just that. Here’s how we spent five days in Isle Royale National Park:
Kayaking along Lake Superior to one of our campsites for the night.
Day 0: Orientation
After exploring Houghton, MI, we made the short, tree-lined trek to quaint Copper Harbor. Prior to the trip, we were required to participate in an orientation. Upon our arrival, we were introduced to Bonesy, our guide for the trip. He asked us to place our belongings for the trip on a wooden table. Then, he handed us three dry bags. Our first task: fit all our desired belongings into the bags. After what felt like an hour, and most likely was given how many things we thought we wanted to take, we were ready to go.
Bonesy instructed us to suit up in our wetsuits, and zip ourselves into our spray skirts. We learned skills like the J-lean and hip snap, along with paddling strokes that would help us navigate the waters of Lake Superior. He demonstrated a self-rescue flawlessly and I was in awe. More awe struck me when he told us we were up next to practice.
I absolutely love the cold and all things winter, but nothing prepares you for such frigid waters. Except this Water Safety Course. The chill tingled down to my toes as I leaned to my right to submerge myself to complete the lesson. He made sure we didn’t forget any crucial steps and despite this being the part I was most nervous about, I am beyond grateful that this was part of the trip. A sense of reassurance poured over us after successfully completing a self-rescue; knowing now that if it did happen in any event, we had skills to tap into to ensure we would be okay.
Day 1: Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor
We arrived to the ferry, a 3-hour ride, from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor. Our park and ferry fees were included in our tour cost and taken care of so we simply had to walk aboard when it was time. As much as I enjoy being on the water, ferry rides are the only ones I have gotten sick on, so I made use of the motion sickness pills I packed.
The 56-mile ride on the Isle Royale Queen IV flies by as you gaze out the window. Being on the world’s largest freshwater lake felt surreal. When we docked, Park Rangers split up visitors into smaller groups and gave a ten-minute safety talk, including fun call-and-responses to ensure we would remember the tips she was providing visitors with. The most important one? Emergency services are extremely difficult to come by due to the remoteness, so to be careful even with what is considered easy, like hiking.
Entering Isle Royale National Park
After the talk, we were off to snag a campsite nearby. Once we secured our spot, we explored while Bonesy prepared dinner. I don’t usually do guided trips, but this part alone was worth it. To be able to go with the flow and not worry about logistics, or the need to prepare a meal, truly felt like a vacation. My friend and I watched the sun set at 9:30pm. As we returned to our campsite, the smell of stir fry filled the air and soon after both our stomachs and our hearts were full.
Day 2: Rock Harbor to West Caribou Island (Base Camp)
Bonesy took us on a short hike while we were still in Rock Harbor. I was eager to start kayaking to truly start the trip, but he said an early morning hike to Scoville Point made the most sense before starting our adventure on water. And he couldn’t have been more right.
Not even ten minutes into our walk to the trailhead, we turned a corner and were thirty yards away from a moose.
If this was any indication of how the rest of the trip would go, I was in for possibly the best trip of my life. It took years hiking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains to encounter a moose once. Apparently, all I had to do was go for a hike on a remote island off the coast of mainland Michigan to make this dream come true.
We embarked on the Stoll Trail for 4.6 miles (roundtrip) to Scoville Point. A very moderate hike with stunning views of Lake Superior for most of our trek. Bonesy pointed out an eagle’s nest along the trail that I would have missed otherwise. In less than a mile, I had two incredible wildlife views, and we hadn’t started kayaking yet!
Afterwards, we loaded up our kayaks alongside Rock Harbor’s dock. Soon enough we were off to base camp. Two hours and about six miles of paddling took us to West Caribou Island.
While we explored our new home for the next two nights, our dinner was quite the feast when we returned. Despite being in the backcountry, my food tasted gourmet. A major upgrade from last year’s thru-hike meals I prepared myself.
Unreal Meals in the Backcountry
A major perk of this guided trip is that not only are meals delicious and prepared for us, but our tent, camp equipment, water purification, and even bug spray were included in the trip. My friend and I could truly just enjoy ourselves and the wonder of Isle Royale, without having to run through a to-do task list in our minds multiple times day, like other camping trips we’d gone on.
Day 3: Rock Harbor Lighthouse to Daisy Farm
West Caribou Island was a great jumping off point for day adventures. The island has very limited spots for camping as it is only accessible by watercraft. We had a lean-to to ourselves and could offload some gear to go exploring for the day.
Our first stop: Rock Harbor Lighthouse.
I have always had a fascination with lighthouses and couldn’t pass up the chance to paddle up to one, dock there, and head inside.
Afterwards, we ventured off to Daisy Farm – Isle Royale’s largest campground that doubles as the trailhead for Mt. Ojibway, the highest point on the island. The sunshine finally greeted us on this hike after a couple chilly days. Isle Royale’s weather is as everchanging as New England’s – rain jackets and pants one day, a t-shirt and shorts the next.
This hike reminded me of hiking in Acadia – where the land meets the ocean. In Isle Royale’s instance, the land meets the lake. The hike, part of the Greenstone Ridge, is a little over 5 miles and about 1,000 ft of elevation gain. I love a lookout tower view and Mt. Ojibway delivered! Mt. Ojibway’s summit, at 1,150 feet, was the only spot I had phone signal for the entirety of the trip. We ended our evening enjoying a nice campfire back on West Caribou Island and slowly the stars outshined the fire’s flames as the night went on.
Day 4: West Caribou Island (Base Camp) to Merritt Lane
Bonesy knew we were an adventurous pair and at this point had earned our paddling arms (the equivalent of sea legs on a ship to me), so he set his sights on Merritt Lane for our last night. We loaded up the kayaks to backpedal to Rock Harbor, but first made a lunch stop at Three Mile. This would be our longest day in the kayaks, so Bonesy did a great job of breaking it up for us to also see more in the meantime. After Three Mile, we kayaked a little over 2.5 miles to Rock Harbor, giving us the chance to move our legs and buy a couple refreshments from the park store before departing for the last stretch.
Rock Harbor to Merritt Lane
This portion of the trip was roughly four miles, and as we approached Merritt Lane, I couldn’t believe how lucky we were. There was a small opening among the trees just for this site. It felt like we stumbled upon the perfect one. The mosquitoes swiftly brought me back to reality as they were hungrier than I was for dinner. They made sure they ate well. We layered up and ate our final feast, overlooking the water that just days ago felt so foreign and cold, and now felt familial and warm. I truly didn’t want to leave.
Day 5: Merritt Lane to Rock Harbor
Our final paddle was our slowest four and a half miles because I kept resting my paddle on my legs to soak in the moments. In a couple hours, I’d be back on the ferry heading home, and I wasn’t ready to leave. Each paddle stroke was one step closer to leaving a place that I felt so at home in, in only a matter of days.
We splurged on a timed shower token (mostly to not take away from others’ experience on the ferry ride back since we hadn’t showered in days), bought a few postcards, and disposed of the trash we accumulated over our time in the park at the Rock Harbor Camp Store. We settled onto our ferry seats, and after docking in Copper Harbor, I was ready to do it all over again.
Check out our route (including our two hikes) below. The first image is zoomed out to show just how much more there is to explore on Isle Royale, and the second image is zoomed in to show the route we took on our five day kayak camping trip.
Tips:
Bring layers!
I didn’t think we’d face such chilly weather, followed by mosquito-biting summer sunshine, but I’m glad I packed for it.
Pack your camera. You won’t want to miss the wonderful wildlife.
Book your adventure with Keweenaw Adventure Company. It truly made this trip special and stress-free. Give the owner, Raymond, a call at 906-289-4303 or send him an email at info@keweenawadventure.com.
Add these other national parks to your bucket list: