Posted by Ray Rafiti on August 22, 2010 at 2:05 PM
I'm traveling to Fairbanks the end of September to help a friend with a field trial competition. I have September 22-27 wide open to do as I please. I have never been to AK and I'm looking for some tips and guidance. Looks like Denali is pretty much shut down. I'm primarily a wildlife shooter, but my traveling companion is telling me fall color should be near peak. Thoughts??
Posted by David Taylor on August 22, 2010 at 6:17 PM
That's actually past peak fall color time, usually fall colors peak in/around Denali National Park the 1st week of September. I'm not sure about Fairbanks, perhaps a local could chime in here - but I assume they are about the same. If you can get down to Anchorage, that can be a very good time for fall colors in the bowls and valleys above Anchorage in the Chugach Range, Powerline Pass is usually very good that time of year for the moose rut coinciding with fall color. You are correct about Denali National Park, being mainly shut down. But you might still be able to drive the first 15 miles of the park road. The crowds will be gone and there will likely be some moose activity.
Hope this helps.
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on August 23, 2010 at 12:03 PM
The Park won't plow the roads during that time of year, but if you get lucky with a lack of snow, you can drive the first 30 miles into Denali, and that area can be mildly productive then. That is your best bet without a long drive.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on August 23, 2010 at 6:41 PM
Most of the leaves will be down by then, I'm afraid. I don't expect much by way of color anyway; we've had a lot of leaf blight, leaf miners and moths this summer, and the leaves are fairly grey already.
Unless we have a very mild autumn, tundra colors will be pretty much brown as well. You might find a bit of color still in the lower elevation alpine zones (Ester Dome, west of Fairbanks), but you could just as easily find snow. Ditto for Broad Pass on the Parks Highway (3.0 hours).
If the weather is good, you might try down the Richardson Highway towards Isabel Pass (3.5 hours) or even the east end of the Denali Highway (4.5 hours). Bear in mind the Denali Highway is not plowed in the winter; if it has snowed, you'd be prudent to stay out. You can get an idea of road conditions at Maclaren River Lodge's webcam. People have died on the Denali Highway trying to drive it in the autumn.
Critters: Chena Hot Springs Road from MP 26 -59, especially in twilight hours; Steese Highway MP 30-100, again in the twilight hours. Denali National Park is the best, but as Dave noted, it may well be closed. Hunting season in Interior Alaska will be just closed 09/20 or still open, depending where you are, and that obviously impacts what's around.
If you want to contact me by email shortly before you arrive, I can let you know how things are doing.
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on August 26, 2010 at 9:22 PM
That is an interesting observation Jim - I thought the plants in Denali were looking terrible a week or two ago and I was questioning then if there would be much in the way of fall colors in there this year. Some of the better areas of the Kenai Peninsula look similar. It reminded me of how Colorado looked last fall where huge areas just turned gray before dropping leaves.
Discussion
4 repliesHope this helps.
Unless we have a very mild autumn, tundra colors will be pretty much brown as well. You might find a bit of color still in the lower elevation alpine zones (Ester Dome, west of Fairbanks), but you could just as easily find snow. Ditto for Broad Pass on the Parks Highway (3.0 hours).
If the weather is good, you might try down the Richardson Highway towards Isabel Pass (3.5 hours) or even the east end of the Denali Highway (4.5 hours). Bear in mind the Denali Highway is not plowed in the winter; if it has snowed, you'd be prudent to stay out. You can get an idea of road conditions at Maclaren River Lodge's webcam. People have died on the Denali Highway trying to drive it in the autumn.
Critters: Chena Hot Springs Road from MP 26 -59, especially in twilight hours; Steese Highway MP 30-100, again in the twilight hours. Denali National Park is the best, but as Dave noted, it may well be closed. Hunting season in Interior Alaska will be just closed 09/20 or still open, depending where you are, and that obviously impacts what's around.
If you want to contact me by email shortly before you arrive, I can let you know how things are doing.