Help me plan an Alaska trip that can actually happen.

[teddy12b]

I'd like to know from experienced people where's a good place to start for a trip to Alaska.  I've already got a copy of milepost and it's helpful, but still not much guidance.  The wife and I were thinking it'd be great to drive the Alaskan highway at one point, but between getting to the start and then going it was going to get expensive and being in Canada was going to be somewhat of a hassle. 

Ideally I'd love to hunt while there, but I don't think that's going to be in the budget when I include the cost of getting the meat & hide back home.  Even if I can't hunt anything, I'd still like to see a lot of wild life.  Especially moose, carribou and bears in that order.  I think that only leaves fishing and hiking for activities and that's fine with me, but where to even start looking for location though?

Would I be better off flying into anchorage, ketchikan, or juneau as the first stop?  Out of those three areas, where would i be better off going to see wildlife and do some fishing & hiking?

Next would be time of the year.  Would it be better to go to one of those places during the spring, summer or fall?

I'm sorry if these are a lot of questions, but there's a lot of different places a guy could go to up there and I just don't want to mess it up.

[Dand]

Oowee where to start? I guess if fishing is high on your agenda, figure out what you want to fish for.  Not all fish are available at the same time. Not all salmon are available all the time in most places. Kings (chinook) usually come in first May - early July. Reds (sockeye) and chums come a little later, then pink (humpy) and usually silver or coho salmon last (late July into Sept). In some places some species overlap more than others. Exact timing varies around the state and from year to year.

Even nonmigratory species like rainbow trout, grayling, pike, Dolly Varden have peak times for fishing and often don't overlap each other a whole lot. Check the Fish and Game website for this too.

I suggest you spend some time reading the following websites and associated links.
http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/index.cfm

Keep in mind prices on cars, lodging etc all go up at the best times of year for traveling and fishing. Slightly off-season the prices may be a little less - but it all gets spendy.

If its moose you want to see I'd suggest going to Anchorage or the interior - Fairbanks and not Juneau, or Ketchikan.  Moose are fairly common right in Anchorage - until you go looking for them. There are a few bears in Anchorage too but not always visible. And Dall Sheep are pretty commonly visible on some of the mountains a few miles south of Anchorage - they are usually easier to see in the fall or spring as they sometimes come down close to the highway. Others can be seen on the hillsides above Cooper Landing south of Anchorage or Sheep Mt. north of Anchorage, or on the mts near Denali Park.

All have a number of hiking trails but I think Anchorage might provide a wider variety of driving and hiking / sight seeing opportunities.

A trip thru Denali / McKinley National Park is one of the better places to see a variety of wildlife. Bears, caribou, moose, sheep, wolves, foxes, marmots etc. You have to ride a bus and the early morning and late evening trips are usually best.

I think its pretty common to see goats on the mts near Juneau. And some years they have black bears in town. There is a bear (black and brown) viewing place on Admiralty Island near Juneau but I don't know the details of access or cost - Pack Creek I think is the name.

I think you are right to start researching now so that by next spring you'll have a better idea of what you want to afford and where you want to go.

This site might help:
http://www.travelalaska.com/

You might want to find a copy of Alaska Magazine and check out sources and links from there.
Ask your friends what they have done and what they learned too. Each town usually has a tourism website or chamber of commerce website - check them out.

Getting around by State Ferry can be a good way to go and not too expensive:
ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY
http://www.ferryalaska.com/

Alaska is HUGE. I've lived here all my life and I haven't seen many parts yet. Its expensive too but don't give up - you CAN make it happen.

Good luck. I'd be willing to help with more specifics if I can. My best knowledge is for the remote SW Alaskan areas around Bristol Bay. I grew up in Anchorage and used to spend a lot of time on the Kenai Peninsula - have some knowledge of that but there have been a lot of changes to the area as well.

HTH

[Sourdough]

I agree with Dand.  There is several good places to look at for a self guided hunt for Moose or Caribou.  You will have to be flown in by one of the local Air Taxis.  Contact them for prices and good locations.  Talk to several, not just one or two.  Unit 20-A has the highest Moose population in the state.  The area with the highest numbers is restricted to air craft use only, no other motorized vehicles allowed.  For Caribou I would suggest the North Slope.  Again you need to get flown in from Coldfoot, Wiseman, or one of the other locations along the Haul Road,(Dalton Highway).  Rog

[S.E.Ak]

I would look to S.E. and if you can be happy with deer and black bear its possible to work out a not to spendy hunt

[Sourdough]

The Interior of Alaska is where the big game is except for Brown Bears.  They are along the Coast. 

Virgel Umpahanour and his son are guides and do a good job, just a bit spendy.  Have seen him mentioned in American Hunter, and other outdoor magazines.  Coke Wallace also does a good horse back trip into the Alaska Range.  Coke lives at Healy Alaska.  There is a lot of good guides who can get you to the place to take Dall Sheep, Mtn Goat, Moose, Caribou, Black Bear, Grizzly, or Wolves.  As a non resident, you will need a guide to hunt Sheep, and Goats.  As for Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears, check the regs, there has been some changes trying to get more people to take Bears in the Interior, and they may have done away with that requirement.