This 604-mile loop trip from Anchorage uses the Glenn, Richardson, Denali and Parks highways. Allow about 3 full days to drive it.
Leaving Anchorage late in the day and driving just an hour or two before stopping for the night is a great way to begin a multi-day trip from town. Rather than spending the first day getting road weary, you drive just long enough to get out of town and on your way. There are many appealing places to stay in the Mat-Su that are within an hour or two of Anchorage. Overnight in the Palmer area, or drive farther out the Glenn Highway to Pinnacle Mountain RV Park (Milepost A 69.7), Tundra Rose Guest Cottages (Milepost A 109.5), Grand View RV Campground (Milepost A 109.7), Sheep Mountain Lodge (Milepost A 113.5), Slide Mountain Cabins and RV Park (Milepost A 135), or Nelchina Lodge (Milepost A 143.3).
Allow time to stop at Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site (Milepost A 101 Glenn Highway) to stretch your legs on the Edge Nature Trail and view the glacier. Or stop at Glacier Access at Glacier Park (Milepost A 102) and hike to the glacier. MICA Guides at Milepost A 102.5 offers ice climbing treks, no experience necessary.
Our first full day on the road, we drove only about 160 miles, traveling northeast on the Glenn Highway to Glennallen, then north on the Richardson Highway to Paxson. While anyone in a hurry could cover this same distance in 3 hours, we took our time. Here are just a few stops to plan for on the Glenn Highway: drive out Lake Louise Road (turnoff at Milepost A 159.8); stop for lunch at Tolsona Lake Resort (Milepost A 170); check out the Alaska Wildlife Museum in Glennallen.
About mid-afternoon, we turned off the Richardson Highway at Milepost V 175 and drove down to Paxson Lake, just to take a break and wade in the water.
That night we stayed at Paxson Alpine Tours & Cabins.
Owner Audubon L. Bakewell IV is also a naturalist and he
leads a variety of wildlife tours. We took his evening wildlife
float down the Gulkana River to Paxson Lake. Along with
some German tourists staying at the cabins, we sat quietly
in the big raft, looking and listening for birds and other
wildlife, while Audie did all the work of steering us downstream.
The next morning we headed west on the Denali Highway. This
134-mile road is only paved for the first 21 miles; the
remainder is gravel. Although proposals to pave all of the
highway crop up once in awhile, most fans of the Denali
Highway hope it will remain gravel. We had clear, dry weather
on our drive, which gave us spectacular views of the Alaska
Range to the north, but also meant eating the dust of passing
cars. The bicyclists we passed got the worst of it.
The Denali Highway demands more driving time than its 134-mile
length suggests. A 30-mph speed limit is recommended on the Denali Highway's 110 miles of gravel road, with even slower speeds suggested in areas with rough and rocky road surface. The highway gets quite a bit
narrower and more winding west of Maclaren Summit, at 4,086
feet the second highest highway pass in Alaska and the only
significant grade on this road.
It's the natural attractions along the Denali
Highway that slow you down: great scenery, ORV and mountain
biking trails, fishing, bird watching and canoeing. Lodges
along the highway--Tangle River Inn, Maclaren River Lodge and Gracious House-- offer accommodations
as well as these kinds of activities. We took our time driving
the Denali Highway, stopping to fish the roadside lakes
for grayling, then overnighting at one of the highway lodges.
Our final day on the road, we drove west to Cantwell at the end of the Denali
Highway and headed south on the Parks Highway. From the
Denali Highway junction to Anchorage it is 210 miles and
an easy 4-hour drive back to Anchorage via the Parks Highway,
but we took another full day. South of Cantwell, the Parks
Highway travels across Broad Pass, probably one of the
most beautiful areas on this highway. Although it is one
of the lowest summits along the North American mountain
system, it feels very top-of-the-world to motorists, with
its alpine valleys and mountain peaks on either side.
Mount McKinley/Denali is visible (on a clear day) from
Broad Pass. We also stopped at the Denali Viewpoint North
(Milepost A 162.4) and Denali Viewpoint South (Milepost
A 134.7). If the weather is clear and it's lunch time,
also consider stopped at Mary's McKinley View Lodge (right
on the highway at Milepost A 134.5) or turning off at
Milepost A 132.9 and driving a mile east to the McKinley
Princess Lodge. Both places offer views of "The Mountain."
There are many distractions on the way back to Anchorage.
We stopped at the Alaska Veterans Memorial at Milepost A
147.2. A popular rest stop with picnic area, visitor information
center and restrooms, the memorial itself is also a big
attraction. Located just south of the picnic area, it consists
of an alcove and a semi-circle of 5 20-foot-tall concrete
panels, each representing a branch of service.
We also turned off the highway just south of the Alaska Veterans Memorial
to go see Byers Lake. There's a state campground at the
lake, as well as a day-use area.
The only difficulty on this leg of the
trip is deciding how many stops we can make, given that
we want to be back in Anchorage tonight. (At least we
have very long days: it's June and the sun won't set until
around midnight.) It would be easy to extend the trip
another day, allowing for another overnight. There are
plenty of places to choose from along this stretch of
the Parks Highway between Petersville Road, Talkeetna
and the Wasilla area.
We regretfully head down the highway towards Anchorage,
noting the places we'll stop on our next trip.
