Anchorage - Talkeetna

Pick up your rental car in Anchorage and drive north on the Parks Highway. Enjoy sweeping views of snowcapped mountain peaks while traveling from Anchorage via Wasilla (Iditarod Museum) to Talkeetna - the base for most climbing expeditions. This afternoon you may enjoy an optional flightseeing tour to Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley). This magnificent flight takes you within six miles of Mt. Denali's summit. As your flight departs, you begin to see how the last ice age has shaped the land. Moments later, you enter a world of rugged high mountain peaks and wide glacier filled valleys. See the Sheldon Amphitheater, beautiful Ruth Glacier, and the Great Gorge. Distance: 120 Miles | Overnight: Talkeetna

Talkeetna - Denali National Park

Continue your journey along the Alaska Range across Denali State Park with countless wildlife viewing opportunities. Stopover at Byers Lake and rent a canoe or kayak. Arrive at Denali Village. The Denali National Parks office provides many informative ranger-naturalist programs, slide shows and sled dog demonstrations. Optional: Visit Jeff King’s Sled Dog Kennel - Join a warm welcome at the year-round homestead of four-time Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion Jeff King at his Husky Homestead Kennel. Widely heralded as the most authentic and entertaining look into rural lifestyles, your visit includes holding Husky puppies, greeting world-class sled dogs, and sharing forty-years of Alaskan tales of the trail. Enjoy the compelling stories and check out arctic survival gear, racing sleds and equipment used to traverse the 1100 mile long "Last Great Race on Earth". Distance: 110 Miles | Overnight: Denali National Park

Denali National Park

Denali National Park offers excellent wildlife viewing opportunities and spectacular sceneries. In the morning drive to the Wilderness Access Center where your wilderness bus tour begins. Pick up your pre-reserved tickets and explore the center if time allows. Board the bus, sit back and look out for Dall sheep, moose, caribou, wolves and grizzly bears moving along the ridges and river beds or observe one of the 150 different bird species which inherit the park area. Your driver informs you about the history of Denali National Park, its diverse wildlife and flora. Once a bear, caribou or another animal has been spotted the bus will stop that everyone can watch and take pictures. Your tour turns around at Eielson Visitor Center - a four hour drive. We can extend the bus tour to Wonder Lake or Kantishna Roadhouse. You can get off the bus anytime you wish and take a stroll, go hiking and enjoy the landscape. Return to the Denali Park entrance anytime during the day. Overnight: Denali National Park

Denali National Park - Fairbanks

Short drive via Nenana (Alaska Ice Classics) to Fairbanks. Fairbanks, known as the Golden Heart City of Alaska, is the gateway to the interior and features almost 24 hours of daylight during the summer months. You are invited to explore the local gold rush history, its vibrant traditional native cultures as well as its abundant wildlife and fantastic scenery. Tucked into miles of unexplored wilderness only 120 miles from the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks offers excellent year-round outdoor recreational opportunities. This afternoon you may visit the renown Alaska University Museum featuring Alaska's natural history best collection, Alaskaland or take an authentic sternwheeler on a scenic 20-mile roundtrip cruise down the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Enjoy lively narration, stop at a reconstructed Athabascan Indian Village to learn about native hunting & fishing techniques and watch a dogsled demonstration. Distance: 120 Miles | Overnight: Fairbanks

Fairbanks - Dawson City

Travel towards Tok, Alaska. The community originated as an Alaska Road Commission camp for the construction of the Alaska - and Glenn Highways in the 1940s. Continue your journey on the Top of the World Highway with endless views into spectacular alpine valleys. If you travel after the first hard frost - usually in mid August, the hills turn colors so brilliant that it seems almost unreal. You cross the mighty Yukon River and arrive in Dawson City. The legendary capital of the 1898 Gold rush is a living relic. After 100 years, miners are still digging for gold. Distance: 380 Miles | Overnight in Dawson City - Please Note: We are able to add an overnight in Tok if you wish to drive the distance in two days.

Dawson City

Visit the historical buildings, Jack London and Robert Service cabins, abandoned commercial buildings and old stores that were the pulse of the gold rush capital in its hey-days. And as you drive across the heart of Dawson City, your imagination will run to the likes of Klondike Kate, Arizona Charlie Meadows and Diamond Tooth Gertie strolling down Dawson's boardwalks. Their spirit is as alive today as it was in 1898. From the one-time capital of the Yukon you'll follow history up Bonanza Creek (pan for gold) to Discovery Claim and Grand Forks once boasted a population of 10,000 where the Eldorado Creek and Upper Bonanza come together to form the "mighty" Bonanza Creek. Visit the Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall tonight for casino games and cancan shows you won't forget! Overnight: Dawson City

Dawson City - Whitehorse

Heading south, the Klondike Highway passes through stands of white birch and black spruce, often photogenically close to the Yukon River. Soak up the raw beauty of the surrounding landscape, often paralleled by the Yukon River. Stopover at the Five Finger Rapids and hike down to the shore of the Yukon River. Late afternoon you will reach Yukon's capital city, Whitehorse - a city with a unique combination of pioneer values and urban sophistication. Take a side trip to scenic Miles Canyon. Distance: 340 Miles | Overnight: Whitehorse

Whitehorse - Skagway

Short drive via the South Klondike Highway to Skagway. In the rush years of 1897 and 1898, Skagway and its ghost-town twin city of Dyea were the logical places to get off the boat to head off on the trek to the gold fields near the new city of Dawson City, Yukon Territory. Skagway instantly grew from a single homestead to a population of between 15,000 and 25,000. This was a wide-open boomtown, a true Wild West outpost that in its biggest years was completely without law other than the survival of the meanest. Then, almost as quickly as it started, the rush ended and the town deflated. Distance: 110 Miles | Overnight: Skagway

Skagway | White Pass Railroad Trip

Today you have the chance to board the historic narrow-gauge White Pass and Yukon Railway and ride along the White Pass Trail to the White Pass Summit. The entire distance between the gold-rush community of Skagway to the summit was completed in only two years in 1900's. The steamer pulls the train a couple of miles, then diesels take the cars - some of them originals more than 100 years old - up steep tracks that were chipped out of the side of the mountains. In the afternoon walk around the historic townsite and check out the old buildings. You may even visit the grave of "Soapy Smith" and walk part of the famous Chilkoot Trail. Overnight: Skagway

Skagway - Haines - Kluane National Park

This morning, enjoy the short ferry ride across Lynn Canal to Haines. The highway winds from here over the Chilkat Pass - the highest summit on this highway. You pass Klukshu, a native summer fishing camp offering great photo opportunities. Drive through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve before arriving at Kluane National Park. The Kluane area covers the largest non-polar ice fields in the world. Visit the sheep mountain visitor center with its interpretive programs about the flora and fauna. Viewing telescopes are available where you can spot dall sheep on the mountain slopes. Distance: 150 Miles + Ferry Trip | Overnight: Haines Junction

Kluane National Park - Tok

This morning, enjoy a short hike surrounded by the pristine beauty of the Yukon wilderness. Drive north along the sparkling Kluane Lake, with its stunning mountain backdrop, and stop at Sheep Mountain to spot Dall sheep grazing on the rugged slopes. Continue along the legendary Alaska Highway, winding through vast, untouched wilderness. Marvel at endless forests and mountain vistas before arriving in Tok, Alaska. Known as the "Dog Mushing Capital of Alaska," Tok welcomes you with its rich sledding heritage and rustic charm. A perfect blend of adventure and tranquility! Distance: 290 Miles | Overnight: Tok

Tok - Wrangell St. Elias National Park - Valdez

Your journey continues on the Glen Highway, offering an impressive view of the Wrangell Mountains - Mt. Deborah, Mt. Sanford and Mt. Drum. Once you have reached the Richardson Highway stopover at the historic roadhouse in Copper Center and watch native fish wheels at the nearby Copper River, providing an excellent salmon run. Shortly afterwards the Worthington Glacier peeks into view where a boardwalk leads to the toe of the glacier. Valdez - often called “ the Switzerland of Alaska” is a gateway for salmon fishing trips and narrated cruise tours to the magnificent Columbia Glacier. Visit the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline Terminal or enjoy some kayaking or short hiking trips. Distance: 250 Miles | Overnight: Copper Center or Valdez

Valdez - Prince William Sound | Ferry Trip - Seward

Scenic cruise across Prince William Sound on board the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry. Watch out for whales, bald eagles, seals, sea lions and other marine wildlife. In the distance you'll see Columbia Glacier - one of the largest tidewater glaciers in Alaska. Arrive in Whittier and drive to Portage Glacier. After a stop at the visitor center continue to Seward, a small fishing community at the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. This afternoon you have time to visit Exit Glacier. Short trails lead to the Toe of the Glacier where you can climb on the surface of the glacier itself. Distance: 80 Miles + Ferry Trip | Overnight: Seward

Seward - Anchorage

In the morning join a Kenai Fjords cruise tour boat for an exciting glacier and wildlife cruise into Aialik Bay with its calving glaciers and stunning scenery. Covering 110-miles, the trip is narrated by a National Park Ranger, who is highly adept at spotting wildlife and pointing out the many spectacular sights. Wildlife is abundant throughout Kenai Fjords National Park, and the tidewater glaciers are massive. You'll visit the mighty Aialik or Holgate Glacier where guests witness calving - a process by which glaciers shed giant blocks and slabs of ancient ice. Leave Seward and travel past saltwater bays, ice blue glaciers and alpine valleys. You have a great chance to spot a bear, moose and Dall sheep along the way. Arrive in Anchorage and check in your hotel. Spend the last evening visiting one of Anchorage's excellent seafood restaurants. Distance: 130 Miles | Overnight: Anchorage

Anchorage

Check out of your hotel. If time allows, you can visit the Native Heritage Center: the The Gathering Place is center stage for Alaska Native dancing, compelling Native Games demonstrations and intriguing storytelling. The Hall of Cultures features exhibits and demonstrating Alaska Native artists. Visitors discover more about each of the five major culture groups through engaging exhibits. Alaska Native craft activities will keep the children entertained. The Theatre hosts a variety of movies all day, including the Heritage Center produced film, “Stories Given, Stories Shared.” Guests stroll through six authentic life-sized Native dwellings around beautiful Lake Tiulana and are introduced to the traditional way of life. Your vacation ends with the return of your rental car.