Alaska Camping Adventure

Welcome to Anchorage! Your Alaskan adventure will start with a welcome meeting at 6 pm. If you arrive early enough feel free to stretch your legs, wander the city, and check out highlights like the Anchorage Museum or the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Following the meeting, your leader will arrange an optional dinner for the group, otherwise you’ll be free to head downtown and try out some of the local fare.

After breakfast, you’ll hit the Parks Highway headed north for Denali. Settle in and enjoy the drive as you wind through the Alaskan wilderness and keep an eye out for a caribou or two! Along the way you’ll stop at Talkeetna, a small town known for its big views of Denali and the Alaska Range, where your leader will take you on a walking tour. There’ll also be some free time for lunch. When you arrive at Denali National Park, you’ll set up camp near the park, get a campfire started, make dinner and finish the day with some s’mores under the stars.

You’ll start the day in Denali by heading into the park and visiting the kennels of the National Park Service’s working dogs. Park Rangers will lead a demonstration, showing off some of the National Park while offering a glimpse at how the dogs support operations and protect winter travellers. You’ll then enjoy a picnic lunch in the park, followed by a leader-led hike – taking in the highest mountain peak in North America. Head back to the campsite later in the afternoon, where you’ll be able to rest up and share stories around the campfire. For those who want to see more of the park, you can choose to forego today's activities and pay for the full-day Tundra Wilderness Bus Tour which includes the Toklat River’s incredible scenery and some of the park’s best wildlife spotting opportunities.

Today you’ll be departing early and driving south, heading back through Anchorage and along the Seward Highway. This is one of the most scenic roads in North America – there'll be plenty of stops for photos (and a picnic for lunch) as you ride beside the peaks of Chugach State Park to your left and the plains of the Turnagain Arm to your right. If you’re lucky, you might spot Dall sheep clinging to the cliffs and beluga whales wading through the water! The day’s travel will end at Seward, a picturesque town on Resurrection Bay where you’ll be setting up camp for the night and settling in for a communal dinner.

Enjoy a full free day in Seward choosing your own adventure! You might hike a local trail, book a cruise to see the Kenai Fjords or go on a guided sea kayaking tour. Between July and September you might spot salmon swimming upstream at Bear Creek Weir, otherwise you can get your fishy fill by heading to the Alaska SeaLife Centre. Be sure to leave some time to wander around Seward itself and peruse the shops, restaurants and scenic harbour, potentially spotting porpoises, eagles and whales!

Before leaving Seward, you’ll do a short hike to get up close to the icy blue tongue of the Exit Glacier. You’ll then head south along the Kenai Peninsula until you reach Homer, also known as the ‘cosmic hamlet by the sea’. After unloading your gear, you’ll head back out along the scenic Skyline Drive, getting picture-perfect views of glaciers, volcanoes, towering mountains and Homer Spit. Later, you’ll visit a nature centre for a leader-led walk, hopefully spotting moose meandering along! You’ll then set up camp for the next two nights, enjoying dinner around the campfire in the evening.

Today is another day free for you to fill with solo exploration or optional activities. Wander around the artsy town and spot the eagles that call Homer Spit home or book a ferry to take you to the former Russian settlement of Seldovia. To live like a local, you could book a halibut fishing charter and attempt to land a catch, or you could rub shoulders with the people that call Homer home at the famous Salty Dawg Saloon.

Time for the home straight! After breakfast you’ll drive back to Anchorage where your adventure will finish. Accommodation isn’t provided for the night, so you’ll say your fond farewells to your fellow travellers and local leader. You’ll either need to arrange additional post-trip accommodation or make your way home from here.