If
you're looking for a relaxing trip to Denali National Park, consider riding the Denali
Star. The scenery and small-town history along the way will bring you back to a different place in time.
Take this to:
- Really explore the Alaskan interior.
- Experience Talkeetna, a true frontier town,
for jet boating, rafting, and dog mushing.
- Flightsee around Mt. McKinley (weather-permitting).
- Visit
famed Denali National Park for river rafting,
wildlife viewing, backcountry Jeep Safari, and
dinner theater.
- Explore a gold mine and do a salmon
bake in Fairbanks.
What it's really like:
Head north out of Anchorage along
the Knik Arm, among leafy green deciduous
trees. As you approach the Alaska
Range, you'll also chug into the
small towns of Wasilla and Talkeetna,
a tiny frontier town with all the
flavor of Alaska's past. If
the weather's good,
you'll get your first look at spectacular
Mt. McKinley stretching high into the
clouds.
Just north of Talkeetna, lush fields
full of fiddlehead ferns zoom past
the train's windows, then taper
off to give way to a narrow corridor
of dense forest. You'll
pass over Hurricane Gulch, crossing
a bridge that spans 918 feet almost
300 feet above the Chulitna River.
Soon after, you'll arrive at
Denali National Park, home to gorgeous
scenery, black and brown bears, caribou,
moose, wolves, Dall sheep, and countless
species of birds.
The train then continues
north, through Healy, Nenana, and several
other typical Alaskan communities.
Here the terrain flattens and is
more subarctic. The open space allows
for better viewing of caribou and
other wildlife. The train follows
the edge of a cliff along the Nenana
River canyon, and you may see kayakers
or rafters floating by. Finally,
you'll
end up in Fairbanks, the heart of
the gold rush.
Taking Denali Star from Anchorage to Fairbanks is a no easy day trip. The 350-mile journey takes 12 hours and is more like an expedition, passing through four different climate and vegetation zones. Almost everyone breaks up the trip with stopovers in Talkeetna and/or Denali.
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