Dream Vacations: Tour of Alaska's National Parks

Alaska’s national parks cover more acreage than all the other US national parks combined, and most of that terrain has no roads, no trails, and no cell service (sorry, “influencers” — no live-streaming here). Visiting all of them in a single journey is wildly impractical, which is precisely why it sits at the top of my dream-trip list. Barring the barriers of reality (and parenthood), I’d design one long, light-filled summer in Alaska that links tundra, volcanoes, fjords, salmon rivers, and Arctic sand dunes into a single arc.

Only three parks, Denali included, are accessible via roads. Photo: Denali National ParkShawn Quinn

The challenge starts with access. Only three parks (Denali, Kenai Fjords, and Wrangell–St. Elias) are on the road system. Glacier Bay sits off Southeast Alaska, reached by boat and small plane from Juneau and Gustavus, while Lake Clark and Katmai national parks rise above Bristol Bay with no road access at all, their shores connected together by floatplanes. Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic national parks are above the Arctic Circle and nowhere near roads, and where most visitors arrive on bush planes that land on gravel bars or tundra benches. Doing this all in one go would mean embracing charter flights, small ships, and the idea that “connecting” flights might be on a six-seat De Havilland.

Midsummer seems like the only time when this could actually be done. Then, waterways are ice-free (in theory), small-boat tours run daily, and I’d be able to take advantage of Arctic daylight that stretches close to around-the-clock. Summer is also when the parks are most operational, with lodges and flight-seeing operations in full swing. The aim would not be to “collect” parks in quick succession, but to spend a few days in each to get to know the state’s wildlands.

Denali National Park, with North America’s highest peak and a single 92-mile road running into the backcountry, would be the obvious starting point. Private buses or guided vehicles can reach beyond the public shuttle turnaround, and I could hire a mountaineering outfitter to take me high into the alpine. I wouldn’t be going for a Denali summit; even getting onto the massif would be an achievement for me. I’d expect sunrise and sunset to be the most epic of my life, if the clouds cooperate, and would spend a few days either backcountry camping, or at one of the four backcountry lodges.

On the coast, Kenai Fjords National Park would deliver the classic glacier-and-whale imagery many people associate with Alaska. Day cruises leave Seward to thread between tidewater glaciers and rocky islands, passing rafts of sea otters and, with luck, humpback whales. I caught whales breaching slightly on a trip through the Inner Passage, but have never seen a full-bellied breach worth writing about. Next would be Glacier Bay National Park, offering a shift in mood. I’d probably book a small expedition vessel or lodge-based stay focusing on tidewater glaciers and Tlingit history. Few places in the US offer cultural and natural immersion like Alaska, and Glacier is one of the best places to dive into that side of the state.

Photo: Denali National ParkJim Pfeiffenberger

Lake Clark and Katmai would form the salmon-and-bears chapter of the trip. Lake Clark protects a sweep of volcanoes, salmon lakes, and rivers that feed the Bristol Bay fishery, while Katmai is famous for brown bears, something that, as a Coloradan, I’ve wanted to see (from afar) since reading David Peterson’s Ghost Grizzlies in college. I’d need both small plane access and a guide on foot, and would probably book floatplane tours into both parks in August to try to see the bears as the early-season salmon start drawing them in large numbers.

Wrangell–St. Elias, the largest national park in the US, has nine of the 16 highest peaks in the country. Like many mountain destinations, old mining towns stand here in a state of ghosted preservation. The difference here is that massive glaciers encroach from above. I experienced glacial hiking for the first time on my last Alaska trip, and am keen to do it again here in more depth. Though you can drive into the park, it’d be fun to book a ride in via bush plane and spend a few nights sleeping at the Kate Kennedy House, a preserved Sears catalogue home with original furnishings available to rent in the quirky town of McCarthy.

Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic would be the most logistically complex and, arguably, the emotional high point of my Alaska adventure. I have a snowboarding buddy who flies wildfire-fighting helicopters in northern Alaska during the summer months (a fact I didn’t learn about him until I’d known him almost two years, because he’s a humble hero). On past splitboarding tours, he’s told me about the beauty of the Arctic coast (and how he can literally see climate change happening from the air).

Floatplanes and bush planes are the only way to reach many of Alaska’s parks. Photo: National Park Service/Public Domain

Gates of the Arctic has no maintained trails, visitor centers, or roads; it exists as a protected slice of the central Brooks Range. There’s a single village, Anaktuvuk Pass, inside its boundaries, which serves as the arrival point for guests arriving by bush plane. Kobuk Valley, to the west of Gates of the Arctic, protects caribou migration routes and massive sand dunes. To experience both, I’d charter a plane out of Bettles or Coldfoot, land on a gravel bar in the mountains for an overnight backpack, then continue to a remote camp near the dunes, hoping to arrive under the midnight sun. Or if I really wanted to be fancy about it, I’d time my trip with an organized trip like those from Arctic Wild, which occasionally offer guided trips that combine the state’s two most remote parks.

• Day 1: Arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska
• Day 2: Take the train to Denali NP
• Day 3: Full day in Denali
• Day 4: Full day in Denali
• Day 5: Train from Denali to Anchorage, drive to Seward, Alaska
• Day 6: Full day boat tour in Kenai Fjords National Park
• Day 7: Drive back to Anchorage, charter flight into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
• Day 8: Visit Kennecott Mine, set off on Root Glacier backpacking trip
• Day 9: Full day on Root Glacier in park
• Day 10: Return flight to Anchorage, floatplane to Lake Clark National Park
• Day 11: Full day in Lake Clark National Park
• Day 12: Return to Anchorage, meet guide for Arctic segment
• Day 13: Fly to Bettles or Coldfoot, Alaska, wilderness camp in Gates of the Arctic National Park
• Day 14: Full day in Gates of the Arctic
• Day 15: Full day in Gates of the Arctic
• Day 16: Break camp, charter flight into Kobuk Valley National Park, explore boreal forests
• Day 17: Photograph caribou/wildlife in Kobuk Valley
• Day 18: Break camp and return to Anchorage
• Day 19: Fly to Juneau, travel to Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove
• Day 20: All-day small-ship tour of Glacier Bay National Park
• Day 21: Morning kayak before flying back to Juneau
• Day 22: Visit the Alaska State Museum or Mendenhall Glacier, return to Anchorage that evening
• Day 23: Depart for home from Anchorage