Alaska - family vacation?
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: Hunts_with_stick
23-Jan-21
So debating on what to do this year for a family vacation. Saw the thread on out west. That is an option. Has anyone taken a family vacation to say Juneau - getting a cabin with a boat and going out crabbing and fishing? If you have done that what else is there to do? I have 3 boys - 15,12, and 6. They all love fishing. They may or may not get tired of doing it every day. What sort of sightseeing can be done? Or anything else for that matter. My guess would be that it would take place the last week of July, beginning of August. Any other thoughts or ideas? It can be to other parts
From: Matt
23-Jan-21
I did something like that off Homer. We didn't rent a boat but had a water taxi ferry us around.
From: Hunts_with_stick
23-Jan-21
That’s a good idea. Could you do any crabbing off homer? I know the halibut fishing is good!
From: Mule Power
23-Jan-21
I’d much rather go to the Kenai peninsula than Juneau. Maybe fly over to Katmai from there for a day.
From: Dale06
23-Jan-21
We flew into Anchorage. Spent a day or two there. Drove north and spent a day going through Denali. Drove back to anchorage. Then drove to Soldotna and did some fishing. This was 20 years ago and we were in Ak only a week. The distances there are huge compared to the lower 48, so take enough time.
From: Matt
23-Jan-21
"That’s a good idea. Could you do any crabbing off homer? I know the halibut fishing is good!"
I have no idea, but if you want PM me and I will give you the name/# of the people who rent the cabins we stayed in. It was a fun trip.
From: Mule Power
23-Jan-21
I’d much rather go to the Kenai peninsula than Juneau. Maybe fly over to Katmai from there for a day.
From: TEmbry
23-Jan-21
I concur that the Kenai peninsula is where I’d go if planning a summer family trip to Alaska. Denali is an amazing place to go check out for a day or two if you are up for the drive but the Kenai has a little of everything with far better weather than South East Alaska.
From: Heat
24-Jan-21
My family and I are going to Alaska for 10 days this summer. Kenai Peninsula and Denali are the main destinations.
From: Shrewski
24-Jan-21
I took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Denali, stayed a few days and on to Fairbanks. Bought my ticket for the Princess cruise line domed cars. One of the best things I ever did. Doing it over, I’d certainly go from the Kenai peninsula to Denali then back. Not much to see north of Mt. McKinley. Take the full day bus tour all the way into the park.
From: Hunts_with_stick
24-Jan-21
I like the idea of the train to denali
From: Sand man
24-Jan-21
Rent an RV. Mobile works well as the salmon runs can be a little off. Reserve a spot at Miller’s landing in Seward, good halibut/rock fish/ salmon day trips there. Mount Marathon is a one day climb with a spectacular view. If you spend a day or two in Anchorage, the silver fishing is usually good on ship creek right around that time. Great place to learn the ropes from the locals before venturing out. Word of advice...don’t take braided line....not well received, you’ll know why if you go there...
From: DEMO-Bowhunter
26-Jan-21
Last summer after our family fly in trip to Canada got cancelled, I started exploring options in AK. Ended up taking our family of 5 to ANC and drove down to Homer. We made a few stops along the way and let the kids hike some trails and go exploring. Once in Homer, we cruised on a boat for 5 days hitting several different fishing locations. Kids caught halibut, salmon, rock fish and some others. As part of the boat trip, we took kayak's back in some secluded bays where the kids got to see black bears and the salmon spawning. They had a blast as did I. It was a great trip and would do it again in a heart beat!
From: grossklw
26-Jan-21
I've got a buddy that is a charter boat captain in Homer- if you need a connection there shoot me a PM. We're headed up the end of May and early June for 10 days to visit and fish.
From: McCree
26-Jan-21
Following this. I have 3 girls, 6, 8 and 10. We've done trips to CO and the west but never AK. I wonder if this would be something they would enjoy? I know I would!
From: Jeff Holchin
26-Jan-21
Took my family of five on a 9 day family vacation in AK a few years ago. Rented a big RV in Anchorage, then drove up to Denali NP for two days, then up to Fairbanks and over to Valdez, then down to Anchorage, then to Whittier, then Seward, then down the Kenai peninsula to Homer, and finally back to Anchorage. We did a lot of fishing, explored some glaciers, did lots of hiking and even spent a day rafting the Kenai River. LOTS of driving and we saw a lot of the state, but agreed that the next time, we’ll focus on the Kenai Peninsula. One of our best family vacations yet! Pro tip: get the extra insurance on the RV, don’t ask how I learned this...
From: South Farm
26-Jan-21
You simply can't see or do all that Alaska has to offer in one trip, so here's my suggestion for getting a good taste and give you ideas for a future trip.
Fly to Anchorage, rent a car and head down to the Kenai peninsula. Stop at the glaciers along the way, stop in one of the towns and do some fishing, and just take in the sights...lots to see! Then, head back to Anchorage and hop on the train to Talkeetna which is a quaint little village that will keep you busy for a day. From there (or points further north) you can book a sidetrip (or private charter a sightseeing trip) to Denali. Catch the train back further north if you want, or head back to Anchorage and hang out in town a couple days. Regardless of what you decide to do I think the train ride is an awesome way to see and experience the Alaskan landscape...and it's FUN and relaxing!
From: MathewsMan
26-Jan-21
It’s hard to see and do it all living here. We have yet to experience the train even though it’s just at the end of our street.
From: MathewsMan
26-Jan-21
It’s like anyplace we live, you kind of take what’s in your own backyard for granted.
From: MathewsMan
26-Jan-21
From: keepemsharp
26-Jan-21
Wonder full place, been there several times, hunted there once. The wife has been there twice and just loves the place. It is so large and diverse, so many different places, no place to go wrong.
From: Saphead
27-Jan-21
I have been to Alaska on 9 trips. Taken my family 4 times. Hunting and fishing sight seeing. Never lived there. I would NOT vacation in Juneau. Rain Rain Rain. Limited things to do, Not the great Alaska trip.. Take the ferry to Haines (Awesome trip itself) and do what you said in your post. Or do some of the other trips suggested.
From: stagetek
27-Jan-21
Millers Landing in Seward. Fishing was very good.
From: Ziek
27-Jan-21
One thought on the Kenai that hasn't been mentioned. We had been there several times back in the 90's spending some time before and after fly-in hunts. More recently, since I retired in 2014, we have done 3, 2-3 month RV trips to northern Canada and Alaska. We had been avoiding the Kenai because I knew it had grown substantially since our earlier visits. But we did spend about a week there in 2018. It was an eye opener! We happened to go through Anchorage on a Sunday afternoon heading around Turnagain Arm. The traffic coming the other way was like going up I-70 out of Denver on a Sunday afternoon during ski season. The Kenai is the playground for Anchorage. It IS still a spectacular place, and definitely worth going to, BUT don't expect a rural Alaska experience there anymore. Salmon fishing anywhere on the Kenai is a shoulder to shoulder combat endeavor. While not what I normally like, the Fishing Hole on the Homer Spit can be fun if you hit it right, especially if you fish the bay side of the short channel.
One thing I would highly recommend, especially if you hit good weather, is a jet ski trip out of Whittier, up Blackstone Bay, to several tidewater glaciers. Spectacular! There is also a great hike over Portage Pass to the Portage Glacier out of Whittier. They also have a fairly new, nice lodge there.
From: Zbone
28-Jan-21
Have often wondered if a person could hunt off a train up there?
From: DEMO-Bowhunter
28-Jan-21
We were going to do the pass to Portage Glacier, but it was raining pretty heavy that day and decided not to push it up there. Looked like it would be a nice hike.
From: Hughiam
28-Jan-21
The train will drop you off. I know people do it north of Talkeetna for their cabins as well as hunting and fishing.
From: Hunts_with_stick
29-Jan-21
Good info. I forgot about the fishing hole in homer. My little guy would like that. I remember someone telling me once you are more likely to die from a car accident on the road on the Kenai peninsula then be attacked by a bear. I was there in 2011 for 10 days or so and sure enough there was a deadly accident.
One other thing that had me cracking up, is Mary Lou’s still there?
