Katmai, Lake Clark, and Wrangell - St. Elias National Parks
Trip Type: Custom-Made Travel
Territory: North America
Region: Alaska
Trip Price: $9,300
Duration: 12 days/11 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: Anchorage, Alaska / Anchorage, Alaska
National Parklands: Wrangell-St. Elias NP;Lake Clark NP;Katmai NP
All custom travel is tailored to the desires and interests of our traveling clients (see How Custom Travel Works tab). Trip pricing detailed is an estimate of the per person pricing for the sample itinerary detailed and includes all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences described. Actual pricing for the trip designed expressly for you and others traveling with you will depend on the features and elements developed during the trip planning process. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or kiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-12 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
The Energy Index detailed above relates to the level of exertion associated with the sample trip detailed. This would be modified to fit the style and ability of your group as a part of the custom trip planning process
We’ve been tailoring custom journeys for clients since our very inception in the mid-1980s! The process is all about connecting the interests of the travelers with the best that a given destination has to offer. To achieve this, we rely upon good ol’ fashioned conversation! Our geographically focused travel designer love to meet new people and learn about their interests for travel. Understanding your goals informs the process immensely and serves as the foundation for the development of a bespoke travel experience for you and yours.
The trip detailed on this web page is a sample of something we’ve done for other clients over the years. In order to start the process of designing your own custom travel experience, just call us at (800) 445-2995 and ask to speak with one of our Travel Advisors. After a bit of time on the phone, you will then have the opportunity to connect with one of our travel designers.
The entire planning process is very personalized and works in an iterative fashion until a final, perfect trip has been created. We then secure all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences associated with your trip and send along abundant trip materials capturing these details – and much more about your travels!
Depending on when you arrive in Anchorage, you may want to walk the Tony Knowles coastal greenbelt trail, visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center or Anchorage Museum, or consult your personal OBP Journey Guidebook for other ideas on shopping, attractions, and dining.
From your downtown hotel overlooking the St. Paul Harbor, you can walk the docks, visit the Russian cemetery or Baranof Museum, explore historic ruins of a World War II coastal defense installation, or find other ideas in your OBP guidebook.
Catch a 45-minute floatplane ride to Katmai Wilderness Lodge for four extraordinary days of being with bears. You will see bears right from the lodge, but each day you’ll set out on short boat rides with your guide to look for bears on beaches and in meadows around the bay. In addition to bears, you might see bald eagles, sea otters, seals, and seabirds, as well as occasional whales, moose, and wolves.
A floatplane takes you back to Kodiak to hop a jet for the hour-long flight back to Anchorage. Depending on your timing, you can catch some of the sights you missed the first time around.
A breathtaking small-plane flight through Lake Clark Pass delivers you to the park and your fabulous backcountry lodge. Choose your joy here: hiking, kayaking, fishing, or even helicopter-in bear viewing.
Wake up on the shores of Lake Clark this morning, and two flights and a drive later, you’re in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. On your spectacular first day, you jump in a bush plane and land with your guide on a tiny dirt airstrip right next to Kennicott Glacier. The flight is spectacular, and the hiking is even better, with wildflower meadows and panoramic views. Climb the mountainside, or cross the moraine to explore the glacier. On your amazing second day, learn all about glaciers as you trek on Root Glacier. You’re back in plenty of time for a fascinating afternoon prowl through the Kennecott ghost town (spelled with an “e” instead of an “i” after the Kennecott Mining Company), where you can go inside historical buildings still strewn with remnants from the copper mining heyday—including the 14-story concentration mill. Ready to tackle some stairs?
In reverse of what you did coming in, catch a small plane to Chitina and drive back to Anchorage. The pleasant 5.5-hour drive takes you through the farms and gardens of the fertile Matanuska Valley, settled in the 1930s by farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl. Stop in at the Musk Ox Farm to learn about qiviut, the finest wool in the world, eight times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere.
It’s never easy to leave Alaska, but you’ll be taking the sense of space, and thrill of true wilderness, home with you. You can always come back.
Conveniently located near the airport, this Marriott hotel has a full-service restaurant, fitness center, and swimming pool. A complimentary shuttle is available to get you to and from the airport as well as take you downtown to explore.
_sized.jpg "Katmai Wilderness Lodge")
Wilderness is literally their middle name, for good reason. This very secluded fly-in lodge on Kukak Bay in Katmai National Park & Preserve has only bears for neighbors—and otters and seabirds and sometimes orcas. The lodge hosts 12 guests at a time, in seven comfortable guest cabins with full bathrooms, and a lodge with dining room and a deck for relaxing and seeing what creatures might walk by. The food is artfully prepared and fabulous. Guides take you out every day for exclusive and intimate wildlife adventures.
Remote and remarkable sums it up. Six private, comfortable log cabins set in pure Alaskan splendor, plus a staff of passionate guides, deliver an experience you’ll never forget. Hiking, fishing, and flight touring are the name of the game here. The lodge is on the lake and surrounded by 4.1 million acres of wilderness, so there’s plenty of room to roam!
You’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time and you have, at this lodge tucked into the copper-mining ghost town of Kennecott. The Main Lodge is one of the original company-town buildings (bathrooms down the hall) while the South Wing is more modern, with a bright common room and spacious front porch with panoramic view. A casual dining room offers delicious meals, with dinner served family style.
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