Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Opinion: From Anchorage - Go north or south?

I am finishing up the itinerary for the father/son photography trip previously discussed with the help of this forum (I appreciate the insight). We have a jeep rented with a roof top tent - will be camping out of it exclusively.

Originally I was set on heading north to Fairbanks, making stops along the way for photography (Denali, plane ride out of Talkeetna) and such, when I had a random thought - should I head south instead?

Hope, Cooper Landng, Homer and Seward? or should I stick to my plan and head north?

Again, this is mostly for photography. I am planning a guided quick fly fishing excursion as well (half day).

This is from September 2-9.

Again, I appreciate your help. My son graduates this next year and we are looking forward to this time together!

joe

Sorry - Type of photography would probably help.

We are planning a mix of landscape and animals. We aren't set on any one type....

When I was there in 2018, we put 5,000 miles on the rental car in six weeks. The drive from Anchorage to Homer is scenic and enjoyable. We went north as far as Fairbanks but didn't like it all that much past Talkeetna/Denali. The Hatcher Pass area, north of Palmer, is nice with elevation to 4,000 feet if I'm not mistaken. The area around Fairbanks is mostly forested, not as much to see. We took a boat ferry from Homer over to the Halibut Cove area (don't remember exactly where) but it was nice as well. Enjoy!

For photography, the Kenai Peninsula is pretty much a requirement. So is Denali. Can't you do both?

At this time, It's difficult to go South as the hoards have descended upon the Russian River making it almost impassible. Seward is nearly the same with rain through the 4th which is another extreme crowding situation there.

Friends in Soldotna and Seward are pissed. There are no known camping areas with vacancies.

Seward will have a half million love boat passengers dumped in that tiny town this summer.

Vern which is why I have taken up trout fishing in lakes

OP said the trip is from Sept. 2-9.

Correct- will it be that way the beginning of September?

Huntster- we may do that. Head up to Talkeetna and do a fly on glacier trip, then head south from there.

You chose a good time frame for photography. Latter August starts the red colors in the alpine tundra. Hopefully you can catch the combination of the red, yellow, and green colors of fall.

No crowds on the Kenai Peninsula in April and early May, but the photography isn't as great unless you focus on the coastal evergreen areas of the Gulf Coast and Prince William Sound. The Peninsula crowd here is right; mid-summer salmon/tourism season can be insane. September will see fewer cruise ships. Most of the combat fishing crowding is over, and residents are focused more on hunting.

Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

KK,

Which is why I leave Alaska to fish.

Not "because" I live in the Hope, Alaska area: but I have flown all over Alaska and Western Canada, and Palmer Creek Valley (just out of) Hope, Ak is one of the most beautiful valleys, especially on a clear fall day. Warning if you're in a rental car, you may not make it the back of the valley.

Trying to do it all in 7 days will mean a ridiculous amount of windshield time. September is also one of the rainiest months. First pass for me would be Denali. You will see it from many places as you go, unless you are actually at the base, where it is usually invisible in the clouds. Moose and caribou hunters will have the campsites and such plugged.

There are plenty of pictures to be taken no matter where you go.

A tour boat from Seward or Whittier would be a good trip if the weather cooperates. A week of solid rain in that time frame is far from rare.

And should be expected.

I agree with Art. Those are some of the most photogenic, regardless of the weather.

The last 20 years I lived in Alaska I was a wildlife photographer. You do NOT want to miss Denali the first week of September. The colors are at their peak and the big bull moose are all over mile 7-13 which is before you enter the park gate.

Damn near all of Alaska is view property. Maybe up the trip to about 3 weeks.

As to That first step in the morning is a dandy.

I spent 5 years there, wish I was still there.
You need to do both.
Go south from Anchorage, first down to the Homer spit and poke around Kachemak Bay.
Then Seward.
Then back to Portage and ride the train through the tunnel to Whittier.
Take the Ferry to Valdez.
Then up the Richardson to Fairbanks.
Then down to Denali and back to Anchorage.
Stop at Sheep Mountain Lodge if they are still there for a piece of rhubarb pie.
Comfort food for the sorrow of nearing end of trip.

You could stretch it out by adding McCarthy, Cordova, the Dalton haul road to the North Slope ...
But I digress to my future plans.

It also makes taking a leak in the middle of the night a bit sporty…

I think you are confusing Sheep Mountain and Sheep Creek lodges... The trip into Whittier no longer requires a train ride. And you have described at least a thousand miles of driving in a week, including the ferry ride to Valdez.

Far better to slow down, drive less, let the weather dictate your travel and actually see it and feel it.

Oops.
My sometimer's disease is my excuse.
I even know about the one-way, one-lane motor vehicle
traffic allowed between the train runs every half hour
through the Portage tunnel.
I wonder if I could still put the SUV on the train car for auld lang syne?

Sheep Mountain Lodge must have been a conflation of side trip 'cause I remember Gunsite Mountain was nearby.
Blame the sometimer's again.
Sheep Creek was nice too.

I was a driving fool.
Could do 5400 miles in 6 days and 23 hours back then.