A Plan to Visit Alaska’s National Parks

[drop_cap]As we look forward to our epic quest beginning in nearly a month, we have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the greatest challenge of all: How to visit all of Alaska’s National Parks. There are eight National Parks in Alaska and four of them are only accessible by bush planes. Yeah, those little planes that always seem to go down in the movies, right? Well rest assured, they’re pretty safe.[/drop_cap]

Alaska might as well be Mt. Everest in the sense that we had no idea how to tackle this magical land. So to get inspired for the research, we created our latest map in honor of Alaska and all those who dream of exploring or already have a loving connection to its lands.

a_plan_to_visit_all_alaskas_national_parks_alaska_park_map
Alaska: The Last Frontier. Latest illustrated map inspired by our research.

Now to dive into the details behind the costliest chapter of this National Park Quest. No storytelling here folks, just simple facts to hopefully help you plan your journey as well. Read on for the detailed steps from park to park.

Here’s the summary:


a_plan_to_visit_all_alaska_national_parks_map_detail
Detail from our America National Parks map

Parks to visit: 8

Duration of journey: Month of August, 2017 (yep, we’re planning way ahead).

Method: Driving to Alaska with Oscar the Outback, our own vehicle. Either taking Inside Passage, a ferry system along the Pacific Coast, or driving on a highway through Canada. Camping wherever possible. Leaving our car in Anchorage and Fairbanks for flights into 4 parks with no roads. We’ll backpack in the parks we can’t access by car.

Drive to:

  • Denali National Park: (17 on map)
  • Kenai Fjords National Park: (35 on map)
  • Wrangell – St. Elias National Park: (56 on map)

Ferry to:

  • Glacier Bay National Park: (22 on map)

Flights required to:

  • Katmai National Park: (34 on map)
  • Lake Clark National Park: (38 on map)
  • Kobuk Valley National Park: (37 on map)
  • Gates of the Arctic National Park: (20 on map)

Read on for details on why to drive, the estimated route map, detailed info on how to get to each park and the estimated cost of it all:

  1. Why drive to Alaska with our own vehicle (vs. fly / cruise):
  • First off, we are DIYing this Alaska chapter and not going with a tour package.
  • Many folks decide to fly or take a cruise to Anchorage and use that as a starting base, typically renting a car or going by bus. If we flew or took a cruise to Alaska, we’d have to store Oscar the Outback in Seattle. That cost alone is about the cost of renting a car once in Alaska. Plus he’ll get sad without us for so long.
  • It will be cheaper if we can take all of our gear with us.
    • As traveling artists, we have our gear to consider, which we can’t manage with just two backpacks for a month or so.
  • It will save dollars to maintain the same system we’ve been using for the rest of the quest. Meaning sleep in the car if worst comes to worst, rather than rent a hotel room or eat at restaurants.
  • We want the flexibility to change our itinerary or see other things.

Ultimately, our own vehicle is the best way to see more sites, stick to our quest lifestyle, and save money.


  1. This is the estimated route we are taking to get to Alaska’s parks. Note: the map does not include the four parks accessible by flight, only the starting points.

Alaska National Parks Route on Roadtrippers

Breakdown from park to park:

  1. Glacier Bay National Park

The biggest obstacle is getting to Alaska, and we’re considering two options for reaching our first national park at Glacier Bay. One is taking a week-long ferry up the Pacific coast with our car, while the second is driving on the highway through Canada. See below:

  1. Inside Passage Ferry from Washington to Juneau. Oscar gets to ride a boat!
    1. Travel with car on a ferry along Alaska’s Marine Highway, called the Inside Passage.
    2. Route would take us from Bellingham, WA (70 miles north of Seattle) and end at Juneau. Check this list for full ferry terminals and destinations.
    3. Takes about 5 – 7 days.
    4. Can book a room or camp with your tent on the deck.
    5. Stops at a few ports along the way, few hours at each.
    6. From Juneau take ferry to Gustavus, gateway to Glacier Bay National Park.
    7. Then drive 10 miles from Gustavus port to National Park Headquarters at Bartlett Cove.
  2. Drive on highway from Seattle, WA to Juneau, pick from two routes:
    1. Drive 1,773 miles primarily on Cassiar Highway (37)  (must take ferry for final leg to Juneau). 30 hours driving time.
    2. Drive 1,827 miles primarily on Alaska Highway (97)  (must take ferry for final leg to Juneau). 35 hours driving time.
    3. From Juneau take ferry to Gustavus, gateway to Glacier Bay National Park.
    4. Then drive 10 miles from Gustavus port to National Park Headquarters at Bartlett Cove.

So which option do we choose? There are pros and cons of each, explained briefly:


PROs of Inside Passage Ferry ride:

  • Don’t put 4,000 miles on the car used to drive to and from Alaska.
  • Get to see beautiful scenery of the Pacific coast (it’s like a cruise, but with our car).
  • Adds a unique experience to the journey + break from driving.
  • Can camp on the deck (don’t need to book a room).
  • More time to sit back and create some artwork vs. stuck in the car.

CONS of Inside Passage Ferry ride:

  • Our first estimate is about $2,000 for two people and car, vs. rough estimate of $300 in gas to drive. That’s one way. BUT consider cost of miles on car.
  • Can’t access your car, only when docked at a port.
  • Less flexibility. You’re stuck on a boat, even if it is a stunning ride.
  • Less opportunity to stock up on food.

PROs of Driving on the Highway:

  • Cheaper in the short term ($300 app. in gas)
  • Flexibility, can take detour and possibly see more.
  • Can stick to the same set-up we’ll be familiar with (i.e. car camping, etc.)

CONs of Driving on the Highway:

  • Wear and tear on car + miles.
  • More likely to face obstacles (if car breaks down, can’t find place to camp, etc.)
  • It’s. A. Long. Long. Drive. 33 hours = 4 days, and that’s if we’re huffing it at 8 hours per day.

It seems there are more pros for taking the Inside Passage than cons, with the biggest hurtle being the immediate cost.

Check out this great traveler’s account of her journey along Alaska’s Marine Highway: Ferry-camping in Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Here are also some informative FAQs about the ferry provided by Viking Travel.


  1. Wrangell-St. Elias – America’s largest National Park

This park spans an area greater than Vermont and New Hampshire combined and there are many sections to consider. We’ll start our introductory visit at the main visitors center: Copper Center Visitor Center Complex.

  • After Glacier Bay, take ferry back to Juneau, then ferry back to land.
  • Drive from Juneau to Wrangell-St. Elias Copper Center Visitor Center.
  • Driving time from Glacier Bay: 17 hours and 31 minutes.

  1. Kenai Fjords National Park

Phew, this park is a mere 6 hours from the main visitor center at Wrangell-St. Elisa, a breeze after the previous legs. The route goes right through Anchorage, which is only 3.5 hrs away. This will make the perfect stop to stock up on food and experience city life for a bit.


  1. Katmai National Park – Cannot Drive to

Driving to Katmai is not an option, so this will be the first air taxi experience.

  • After Kenai Fjords, drive 2.5 hours from Seward back to Anchorage.
  • Fly twin-prop aircraft from Anchorage to the village King Salmon (1 hour, 20 minutes).
  • Fly a boat plane from King Salmon to Brooks Camp, Katmai NP (20 minutes).
  • Book flights with Katmai Air (roundtrip per person is about $650 – $750).

  1. Lake Clark National Park – Cannot Drive to

Driving to Lake Clark is not an option, so once back in Anchorage we’ll take our next flight to Lake Clark.

  • After Katmai, arrive back to Anchorage.
  • Fly to Port Alsworth (1 hour).
  • This is a good place to start, as the park’s only trail system leaves from Port Alsworth.
  • Book flights via Lake and Peninsula Airlines or Lake Clark Air.
  • Both Katmai and Lake Clark are known for their summer bear sightseeing, so a “flightseeing” option is available. Check out Rust’s Flying Service.

  1. Denali National Park

Yes! We can get back in Oscar and drive to Denali, at least to a certain point. First, stock up on supplies in Anchorage.

  • After Lake Clark, arrive back to Anchorage.
  • Drive to Denali Park Road, entrance to the park. Driving time: 4.5 hours.
  • Drive 15 miles down Denali Park Road, the limit for personal vehicles. The road is actually 92 miles long.
  • From here, take bus deeper into park, or backpack / hike from this location.

  1. Kobuk Valley National Park – Cannot Drive to

The last two parks in Alaska are the most daunting and remote considering they’re both north of the Arctic Circle. Here we’ll travel north by car to Fairbanks, but we’ll have to fly into both parks. The National Park Service provides a list of authorized air taxis.

Bettles is a good starting point for Kobuk and Gates of the Arctic.

Apparently it is possible to drive to Bettles, but only in deep winter. Check out this family who documented it: Driving into Bettles.

You have to cross some rivers without bridges – obviously they must be frozen to do so!

We could technically drive very close to Bettles.

If we are feeling super adventurous, we can drive north to a town called Coldfoot where there’s an airstrip. The Bettles Lodge said we could arrange a short bush flight to get picked up from Coldfoot. The route there is along the famous Dalton Highway which continues on all the way up to the Arctic Ocean. It’s the northernmost route in North America, used primarily by truckers.

Wow, we could drive to the Arctic Ocean.

Apparently it’s a wild ride, as documented by this New York Times article: Driving Alaska’s Dalton Highway. Would Oscar be up for that adventure?

Back to the plan for Kobuk Valley:

  • After Denali National Park, drive to Fairbanks, Alaska (starting from McKinley Park, entrance area of Denali). Driving time: 2.5 hours.
  • From Fairbanks, take flight to Bettles.
  • There is only one hotel called Bettles Lodge and reservations are made in well in advance (after calling, we’re told they’re taking reservations NOW for August, 2017).
  • Fun fact: Bettles was settled in 1868 during the Alaska Gold Rush and its airstrip was built during WWII.
  • Book flights via one of these air taxi services.
  • Flight to Kotzebue, where park headquarters and visitor center is located.

  1. Gates of the Arctic National Park – Cannot Drive to

Our last park in Alaska, Gates of the Arctic is similar to Kobuk logistically speaking, with no roads, trails, and limited services. There is the lodge in Bettles, and backpacking is permitted but recommended for experienced folks with excellent survival skills.

  • After Kobuk Valley, head back to Bettles.
  • Check out Gates of the Arctic NP visitor center in Bettles.
  • Fly from Bettles into the park, depending on what the game plan is. The pilot of the aircraft may drop you off and say “See you in a week!” if you want to backpack. Check out this detailed and exciting story about a week-long backpacking trip in Gates of the Arctic: A Backpacking Trip into the Arrigetch Peaks, Gates of the Arctic.
  • After a little more digging, we came across this awesome looking guided backpacking option: Alaska Alpine Adventures

Route After the National Parks

We’ll greet Oscar back in Fairbanks where hopefully he was snoozing safely in a long-term parking facility. Then we’ll make our way back down to Seattle, either driving the estimated 41 hours, or taking the Inside Passage route back.

One question you may be asking is:

How much will all of this cost?

In our previous post How Much to Visit all National Parks, we estimated $9,000 for this Alaska chapter. Now that we’ve done more research, here is the breakdown of anticipated costs:

  • Gas: According to the Roadtrippers app, gas will be about $1,200 (not including extra excursions). If taking ferry from Washington, we estimate cutting that price in half to $600.
  • Food + Laundry: A generous monthly budget of $600
  • Ferry fee into Juneau: $200
  • Park entrance fees covered by our Annual Pass
  • Campground fees: $200
  • Bush flights: Rough estimate $6,400 altogether
  • Long-term parking in Anchorage and Fairbanks: $200
  • Miscellaneous: (things we didn’t think of): $500

TOTAL cost to visit all Alaska National Parks: $9,300

If going via Inside Passage from Washington: $10,700

*The hardest information to find is accurate bush flight pricing due to the number of flights and variety of options. This will take a lot more research and resourcefulness.

*This price is based on roughing it, so no hotel stays. You could get a tour package for all of the parks, they exist in abundance.

As we continue to plan…

Of course, we won’t head out to Alaska without a spirit of spontaneity and creativity. There will surely be some unexpected challenges, but we look forward to tackling them. For now we’ll just continue to dream about this far away place and plan best we can.

Any gurus or natives who have advice to share, we’re all ears.

And if you want to remember your Alaska journey with the map featured in this post, check it out on Hike & Draw.

Alaska – see you soon!
visit_all_8_alaska_national_parks

51 comments

  1. Good Luck with your NP quest. I’m planning a similar road trip next July from San Jose, CA. Only difference: For Kobuk Valley and Gates of the arctic, instead of Bettles, I’m flying to Kotzebue, and take an Air Taxi from there – might also take the Bering Land Bridge National Monument (weather, time and costs permitting)

    1. Thank you Sashi! Wow good luck to you as well. We’re hoping our ideas for Alaska will hold true, it’s been awhile since that plan so we shall see. I’ll have to get in touch with you closer to July and see how your plans are going 🙂

    2. Hey Karla,

      My wife and I, along with our 7 yr old beagle mix are just now looking into completing our final leg of our bucket list of visiting all 60 National Parks (NPs) with the 8 NPs in Alaska for the grand finale (ie., August and September, if needed). I want to commend you on your summary of your excursion – it gives me a starting point for like you alluded, ‘this seems like a daunting undertaking’.

      I do have several questions and was hoping to strike up a correspondence to avoid possible missteps. Or if there is an organization that now sponsors such an undertaking. Please advise if this is possible with in this format of sending you my email address.

      Thanks for the great article … I look forward in hearing from you soon!

      1. Thanks for the interesting information about costs to camp and visit all 8 Alaska National Parks. I will add my experience to the discussion. First, there are 61 National Parks. Be sure you have counted Indiana Dunes, added in February of this year!

        I am spending about double what the earlier poster is to see all 8 parks. No camping, all lodge and motel nights, some meals covered, a little car travel, a little train travel, lots of small plane travel. Single occupancy rooms (which are typically priced at 150% of the rack rate!). Total costs to me, a little over $21,000, spread over two trips.

        I normally don’t use travel help of any sort either, but for the more complex parts of this endeavor, American Samoa and Alaska, I engaged Off the Beaten Path In Bozeman Montana (ask for Julianne! She is the national park pro). They design custom trips.

        Twelve parks to go!

        1. I am driving from Vermont to Alaska in August to visit 6 national parks…Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Lake Clark, Wrangell St. Elias & Denali. Along the way with stops for camping in Theodore Roosevelt NP in ND and Olympic NP in WA before getting on the Alaska Marine Highway. I quickly realized how complicated travel can get visiting all these locations so I contacted Viking Travel in Petersburg AK for help. Kelly at Viking Travel was SO very helpful putting together a travel plan to make All of this happen with minimal stress to me. This trip will be so enjoyable due to the help from Kelly & Viking travel!!

  2. We’re currently planning a similar trip for August 2017. Wondering what your plans are for Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic and Lake Clark? I’m thinking a float trip down the Alatna in GOTA but unsure of the other two right now. Also, have you managed to price bush flights out to these places yet? I’m having a hard time budgeting for these as I just can’t seem to find information out there.

  3. Thank you for this great information. I am 70 and plan to take one or two really good photos in each NP. That keeps my eyes active. ..Alaska first. Best wishes.

    1. That’s wonderful, and a great project! We are tackling Alaska last, you’ll have to let us know how things really are and share your photos with us :-). Thanks for writing.

    1. Hi Bill! That’s awesome.. Your project sounds amazing. We haven’t made it yet, Alaska will be at the end of our journey this summer. We’ll share more about it on our blog then 🙂

  4. Thanks for the info- I also use Roadtrippers to plan our trips. I have taken my kids to 24 so far and we are planning out a route to visit 6 more this summer. Since I am the only adult traveling with 3 kids, Alaska may not be anytime soon, but I appreciate that you documented this for others interested. Have a great trip!

    1. That’s awesome and admirable to take your kids to so many parks 🙂 – you must have so many beautiful experiences. Well surely when kids are older you can have an adventure in Alaska together. Thanks for stopping by!

  5. Hi! I just stumbled across your blog and it’s great. I too am questing to visit all 59, I’m about 15 in so far. I’m a travel nurse so I’ve been using that to travel a bit of the country and visit the parks in that region of the country to help defer costs. I just arrived in Anchorage for a three month nursing contract yesterday and I’m planning to hit up all eight Alaska parks while I’m here. It’s certainly a bit more involved than getting to any of the other parks! After reading I think that I’ll copy a lot of your routes in getting to the parks. I wish I had done a bit more pre-planning like you’ve done, there’s no way I’ll be getting into Bettles Lodge at this late notice. Oh well! Look forward to following.

    1. Hey Kyle! Combining your profession and passion for national parks is an awesome way to see all 59 – we’d love to read your blog if you write one. Yeah Alaska is definitely a challenge.. sounds like 3 months will give you a good amount of time to get even to the remote ones. Happy the routes can help out, it’s incredible how big this country is. Keep in touch 🙂

  6. I stumbled upon your blog. We are also finishing the Big 59. We have done 30+ so far and now here in Montana to cross to Canada, then drive to Alaska. We are planning to cross next week. I understand from above that you are planning to do this trip next month. If you wish, I can give you some feedback (aka learn from our mistakes. HA!). Feel free to send us a message. Good luck and safe travels!

    1. Thanks for your comment, right now we are in Alaska I will soon post the insights we learned from this trip to all the National Parks

  7. I’m on my way home from doing the four fly-ins, Lake Clark, Katmai, Gates of the Arctic and Kobk Valley. Yeah! That gets me to 46 parks! I plan to come back next summer to do the other four. I haven’t done all my researvh yet, but I am wondering which parks I can get to via the railroad…

    1. Hi Andrea! What company did you use for the Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk? These are the 2 national parks I am having difficulty planning! Thank you!

      1. From Kotzebue, you can use Arctic Backcountry to fly to Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic. I’m planning that next summer.

        – Sashi

  8. Just back from attempted 8-park 25-day Alaska road trip. My plan involved driving to Skagway, take the AMHS ferry to Juneau and from there Alaska Airlines to Glacier Bay. Due to widfires in British Columbia I was Held up a 100+ miles before Prince George and was forced to spend a night in an evacuation center. Long story short I missed the Ferry at Skagway and had to cancel my Juneua/Glacier Bay trip (Glacier Bay has a 2 month cancellation policy, so long the $500+ in addition to the airline fee and the Juneau hotels). Used the days gained to spend additional time in Fairbanks and Anchorage (Portage Glacier, Alyeska Tramway, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center). On the drive to Alaska I wanted to do an Icefield Landing tour in Kluane NP (adjoining Wrangell St Elias in Alaska) in Yukon – land on the world largest non-polar icecap – weather was not in my favor and that could not happen.

    Stayed in Anchorage 5 days. Visited Katmai for a day trip (there overnight stay was sold out by last December). Went well. Visited Lake Clark using Lake Clark Air and stayed over night at the Farm Lodge. Took the 7 hr Kenai Fjords boat tour and also visited Exit Glacier. Took a Flightseeing tour of Wrangell St Elias NP, landed in McCarthy and got my passport stamped in Kennecott. Drove to Denali, camped there 2 days, and took the 13 hr Kantishna experience bus tour – weather and chance favored me that day – goot good views of Denali peak (only 30% of visitors get to see it, it seems), and saw a decent amount of wildlife. So that is 5 out of 8 parks visited.

    For the final stage of my trip, boarded the flight to Kotzebue (from where I was to visit Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic NPs). Because of bad weather in Kotzebue the AA plane was not allowed to land. After a 2+ hrs on the tarmac in Nome, the plane returned to Anchorage. AA said they could not fly me even the next day and refunded my fare. So had to give up Gates and Kobuk.

    Alaska was amazing. Saw a fair amount of wildlife in Alaska and also the drive there in Yukon and Hwy 37 in British Columbia. On the drive back , on Hwy 37 I saw 10 black bear in a 1-hr period at dusk! My advice to anyone driving this hwy, allow ample time for this ~450 mile road , and drive slowly – you will see plenty of bears and foxes.

    Disappointed that I could not see 3 of the 8 parks (Glacier Bay, Gates, Kobuk). Planning to go there again next year (by flight not road) to see these 3 parks and also to take the WhitePass and Yukon railroad from Skagway)

    PS: I have so far visited 45 of the 59 NPs. By next summer, after my Alaska trip, hope to complete 50. However I’m not seeking to visit all 59 (the remaining 9 involve visiting distant states for just 1 park )

    1. Just back from an awesome Alaska trip. Visited the 3 parks I missed last year – Glacier Bay, Kobuk and Gates; and a lot of other places including Katmai, Denali and Kenai Fjords. I’m now at 53 out of 60 NP.

  9. Please share your experience. My husband, myself and 2 dogs plan on doing this in August 2018. Would love your feedback. We will be roadtripping from Atlanta, Ga.
    My bucket list is to see all NP.

  10. To all those on their NP Quests looking for tips on this page: If, in addition to seeing all NPs, you also want to have your NP Passports stamped in all NPs, that will determine the exact routes you will take in some cases. For example, if you are not into passport stamping, and just want to visit the parks, you would fly to Bettles from Fairbanks and take a tour to Gates and Kobuk NPs. On the other hand if you are into passport stamping, the passport stamp for Kobuk Valley NP is only in Kotzebue, so you would fly there by Alaska Airlines and take a tour of Kobuk and Gates of the Arctic from there.

    Also if getting your passports stamped is the primary driver of your quests a few things to consider: The Alaska Public Lands Info Center (APLIC) in Fairbanks has the stamp for Gates of the Arctic NP. The APLIC in Anchorage has the stamp for Lake Clark NP. If you are considering day trips to Lake Clark NP and Katmai NP, you could consider skipping Lake Clark (not much to do/see there), get your passport stamped in Anchorage APLIC and plan a 2+-day trip to Katmai (lot to see there).

    1. Hi! We just came from Bettles 2 weeks ago (Aug 14). There is a stamp for both Kobuk and Gates at the visitor center there. There is also a visitor center inside Lake Clark during summer months (we were there 2 days ago). They have a stamp there (in addition to the APLIC in Anchorage).

      1. Hello! I’m planning a trip to Gates from Fairbanks and trying to decide whether to drive (on Dalton) or to fly. I wanted to ask if you have any thoughts/tradeoffs on one vs. the other (financially, experience, etc)? Also, if coming from Denali, are there any other transportation options to Gates beside driving into Fairbanks?

        1. Hi Mary,
          Thanks for your comment, we can say from our experience that the only option we found was from kotzebue since the bush flights take off from there, I honestly do not know about flying into the gates of the Artic from anywhere else.
          We took a flight from Anchorage into kotzebue using Alaskan Airlines you can probably fly from Fairbaks into kotzebue.

          1. I also thought that Kotzebue was the best option to see Kobuk and Gates but another commenter corrected me – it seems Bettles is also an option.

            I’m just back from an Alaska trip and visited Kobuk and Gates from Kotzebue. The plus points for choosing Kotzebue was 1. convenient Alaska Airlines flights 2. excellent hotel in Kotz (the Nullagvik).

            However from my experience it seems, from Kotzebue, the bush flights are ideal for a Kobuk Valley visit, but are limited to landing in the western edge of Gates of the Arctic. If your goal is just to ‘visit’ all 60 NPs, landing in the western edge is good enough. On the other hand if you want to see the iconic sights of Gates (such as Arrigetch Peaks or the actual ‘gates’ – Frigid Crags+Boreal Mountain – etc) Bettles MAY be a better option.

            Ideally, if time and costs are not a concern, it would be good to visit Kotzebue (and see Kobuk Valley NP and Noatak and Bering Land Bridge), and Bettles (and see Gates of the Arctic).

            Hoping to take another Alaska trip next year to visit Gates via Bettles and maybe see the polar Bears on the North East Coast.

          2. Hi Sashi,
            Thanks for your comment and sharing this new information, definitely we will keep Bettles in mind next time we visit Alaska for sure. You are right everything comes down to time and money, we did Kobuk and Gates of the Artic in one flight from kotsubue since 4 hour flight in the region is around $2K. Next time we go I would love to see a Polar Bear.

  11. Hi Andres,
    Can you get an air taxi in Kotzebue that will take you over Kobuk and Gates and land in Bettles and then return to Kotzebue? Who can I call for that kind of info?
    We are planning a trip for 2019 to get the 5 Alaska Parks that require flights. We are at 47 of the 59 NPs!!

    1. Hi Linden,
      Thanks for your questions, we are always happy to share. Yes you get a taxi from Kotzebue into Gates of the Artic and Kobuk we did it using Golden Eagle Outfitters
      In this post we give details how we did the 2 parks on the same day;
      http://nationalparkquest.com/visit-alaska-gates-of-the-arctic/
      The other flights you would need is one to get to Lake Clark National Park and to Katmai National park. Good luck with your journey you are almost done, also keep in mind now we have 60 National Parks, Gateway Arch in Saint Louis Missouri just became a national park in February of 2018, Please let me know if you have any other questions.

      Godspeed.

  12. Wow! I have just returned from a 5 week tour of national parks in the lower 48. I did 13 parks and one national historic site ( 9937 miles ). I am now starting to plan for the AK parks for summer 2019 but after reading all the comments I am kind of on info overload. Did anyone use a travel agency or guide site to coordinate all of this or did you just make the arrangement on your own? I live in northern Vermont so doing the AK trip takes me a Long way from home. I am retired so time is not the issue…it’s all the planning!!

    Any help, suggestions or comments from any of the travelers here will be MUCH appreciated.

    Thanks

    Jeff Morris
    Waterford VT

    1. Hi Jeff,
      Thanks for your comment, we did not use any travel agency we just planned on our end, we are putting together a compilation for our Alaska trip specifying the details, itinerary and the cost we will share it soon with you in a blog post so it might give you some insights for your Travel Plan.

      1. Thank Andres. Would love to see the finished itinerary and prices. It sounds like you need to plan at least one year in advance, yes?

    2. Hi Jeff,

      Fellow Vermonter here also ticking off the National parks. I’ll also be in Alaska this summer! I will be in Katmai, Kenai Fjords and Denali. I have never used a travel service as the planning is half the fun and there is SO much information on the web.

      Enjoy!

      Sue
      Waterbury Center, Vermont

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