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Seasons
and Weather
Question: Which summer
month has
the best weather for a visit to Alaska?
Question: What’s open in
April?
Question: What to do in
September?
Question: When is the
best time to avoid bugs?
Question: Is June a good
time in Southcentral?
Question: How about Nome in September?
Question: Is camping
good in September (and other autumn
issues)?
Question: How will
climate change affect our visit?
Question: Can we see
giant vegetables and bears in June?
Question: Will we
encounter black flies in May?
Question: Is late June
and early July optimum for wildlife
viewing?
Question: How should
we pack for June?
Question: Can we see
the Northern
Lights in the summer?
Question: Which
summer month has
the best weather for a visit to Alaska?
Answer:
Alaska's summer is brief,
with the peak
visitor season lasting only eight weeks, from mid-June to mid-August.
June
tends to be dry, but in the north and at high elevations the snow
doesn't melt
until late in the month. Night time temperatures can be cool. August is
the
wettest of the summer months, although warmer than June. July is the
driest and
warmest month of the summer, but also the time when you'll find the
highest
prices and the biggest crowds. The shoulder season extends into May and
September, and, increasingly, October. May can be gorgeous, but you can
run into
cool weather, muddy and snowy hiking trails, and some attractions that
don't
open until Memorial Day. September also can be crisp and spectacular.
The
leaves turn yellow and the tundra red, making the Interior and the
Arctic their prettiest. It's
also a
rainy month, however, and camping can be frosty. October is really
pushing it.
Snow often comes at mid-month in the Southcentral and Interior regions.
Cruises
still run in
Southeast Alaska,
but the rainy season there is in full swing.
Question: What’s
open in April?
I am
going to Alaska April
13-28 on
business. I'll be in Anchorage the
first week,
followed then by Fairbanks and Juneau. From
what I've read
a great many of the places are closed then. Can you help? I'd like to
see the
wildlife (bears, whales, wolves (are there any?) etc., perhaps dog
mushing, and
experience the Native culture. I'd also like to go to
Denali Natl. Park (I
think) but I'm not
sure its open.
Answer:
You're
coming before
the summer season and after the winter season, when there isn't nearly
as much
to do around here. (We don't have spring, just break-up.) Many cultural
attractions will be open, including the museum, zoo, and
Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage.
Downhill skiing will
still be going strong at Alyeska Resort, just south of Anchorage.
Flightseeing
operations can take you to see Mount McKinley, and
even land on it,
from Talkeetna, which is between Anchorage and Fairbanks; that
would be your
best chance of getting into Denali National
Park, which
will be snowed
in and closed down during your visit. Chances of seeing bears outside
the zoo
are not good in April. Wolves are aplenty, but they don't stand still
long
enough to be watched. The gray whale migration will be going on, if you
have
time to travel to Seward. Kenai Fjords Tours offers those outings (
http://www.kenaifjords.com).
You could also contact the
flight services listed under "Fly-in Fishing" in the Anchorage chapter
and ask them
if they can find anything for you to look at. There will still be dark
skies at
night, so you could possibly see the Northern Lights, but you'll have
to stay
up late and be lucky. There may yet be enough snow for dog mushing in
Fairbanks, but I
wouldn't count
on it. In Juneau, the State Museum will be
open, the
glacier is always open, and the legislature will still be in session,
but I'm
afraid that's about it.
Question: What
to do in September?
My
husband and I will
be renting an RV in September for two weeks & will cover the major
highways. After reading your Frommer's
Alaska book, we
have decided
to stay a third week(putting us into the last week of September).
Renting a car
would allow us to explore a little deeper but we can't make up our mind
on what
to do(as the possibilities are endless). Is there something special you
might
suggest we do that extra week as the season creeps closer to winter?
Answer:
Not
knowing what you
are planning, it's a little tough to advise what to add. If you are
covering
the highways in the first two weeks, maybe you should spend a week in
Southeast
Alaska. You
could go ferry
hopping up and down the panhandle, visiting Haines, Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway. If you
parked the
car in Haines and came back to it, traveling as a foot passenger, you
would save
money and aggravation on the ferry. Or your could rent one way to
Haines and
fly home from Southeast--a bit more expensive, but you would make
better use of
your time. The season will be late in Interior and Southcentral
Alaska, but
there still will
be silver salmon fishing on the Kenai
Peninsula, and
good hiking and
other outdoor activities if you don't mind chilly weather and a higher
chance
of rain. You will probably see beautiful fall colors throughout your
trip.
Question:
When is the best time to avoid bugs?
WHEN IS
THE BEST TIME
TO GO WHEN THERE IS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF BUGS (MOSQUITOES, FLIES, ETC )?
Answer:
This is a
common
question, and unfortunately, I don't have a great answer. Bugs vary
year to
year and place to place. My own experience tells me that early June is
good for
avoiding black flies, but can be bad for mosquitoes. That's a fair
trade,
because DEET repellent works on mosquitoes but is ineffective on black
flies
without a very strong concentration. Bugs usually die down in the fall,
and
mosquitoes can get much less by the beginning of August. All this is
based on
my experience in Southcentral. My final point, however, is that I don't
think
bug differences are great enough to determine the timing of your trip.
Weather
differences are more important, and in that respect June is a clear
winner.
Question: Is June
a good time in Southcentral?
How is
traveling
Southcentral Alaska the
first week of
June? Particularly are the mosquitoes in Denali bad at
this time? How
good is this week for seeing wildlife? Are the conditions good for
kayacking in
Prince
William Sound? Also
for novice campers (3 people), would you suggest
car camping during this time or sticking to hotels? The reason I'm
thinking car
camping is because of
Denali
accommodations, we
want to be close but can't aford the lodges for $300/person. Thanks in
advance
for further enlightening me.
Answer:
Early
June stands a
good chance of being very nice in Southcentral. The weather could be
cool at
times, but it won't get cold. Light will be constant. Mosquitoes could
be bad,
but they can be bad at any time of the summer. Some people think the
first crop
of spring is the worst; if they're right, early June could be toughest
time,
but I wouldn't make any decisions based on that. Wildlife viewing also
is hard
to predict; I don't think this would be worse than any other time in
the
summer. Denali NP probably will not be free of snow at higher
elevations,
toward Eielson VC. I love camping at
Denali. If you
keep the car,
you'll have to choose Teklanka or Savage River (Riley Creek isn't
much further
into the part than the hotels along the road, which are much cheaper
than the
prices you quote). I recommend camping for the love of camping,
however; if you
try to do it just to save money, you may not be happy. Kayaking should
be good
in PWS. It's my opinion that the bugs are significantly less there in
early to
mid-June compared to later in the summer. If it has been a heavy snow
year, you
will run into snow in the woods, but that shouldn't be a problem. Let
me know
if you have more questions.
Question:
How about Nome in
September?
Is
September a good
month to go to Nome? Will
most of the
stores and attractions be closed?
Answer:
I think
September
would be OK. Most businesses in Nome are
year-round because
the town doesn't get a huge number of tourists. You should expect some
nippy
weather. There's not a lot to do in
Nome if you
don't go for a
ride on the roads around the town. If you want to do that with a guide,
I would
recommend checking with them in advance to make sure they will be
operating.
They are listed in my book, Frommer's
Alaska.
Question:
Is camping good in September (and other autumn
issues)?
I've been
poring over
the Frommer's Alaska Guide for an early September (8/31-9/12) trip in
the
Southcentral region (Anch, Kenai Pen,
Valdez, Fairbanks, Denali) and
have some
additional questions for you.
1)We'd like to camp for a good bit of our trip. I've been seeing in my
research
that September can be a 'wet' month. Can you give me an idea of what
typical
early Sept. weather is like? Is camping not such a good idea then? That
said,
if it turns out to be a generally ok idea, do you recommend
reservations at
campgrounds, or will the crowds have subsided enough where we could
wing it and
be ok?
2) Would you recommend campground and shuttle bus reservations at this
time of
year in
Denali? (My
concern w/ reserving too much ahead of
time is a lack of flexibility when we actually get there if things
don't go
quite to plan.)
3) We're hoping to do some sea-kayaking, but are novices. From the
book, it
looks like Homer and
Valdez might be
the best
places to find kayak trips at our level? Would you concur?
4) We'd like to take the ferry over to Valdez, but it
looks like it
arrives at 9:30p. I'm wondering if it'll be too dark to see anything as
we
approach. We're looking at this ferry ride as our primary 'tour' of the
sound.
5) Lastly, (for now!!) just to confirm--shuttle bus tix in
Denali are good
for just one
day, right? (Unlike the Park user fee, which is good for a week..or
maybe two.)
Answer:
Early
September is the
end of the camping season. You could run into hard frost and snow at Denali. It
would be warmer
but could be damp on the Kenai
Peninsula. You
won't have
crowds or need reservations anywhere you go, except possibly at Wonder Lake or Savage River at Denali. I enjoy
camping in
September, but you will need warm clothing and gear.
You don't need shuttle reservations for Denali in
September. Shuttle
tickets are good for one day except the camper shuttle for three-day
stays at
Teklanika.
The places you mention are good for first-time guided sea kayaking, as
are
Whittier and Seward. I would not advise any beginner to go sea kayaking
in
Alaska without
a guide,
period.
The ferry trip will be fine. The sun will set in Valdez on Sept.
10 at 8:30, with
twilight past 9 p.m.
Question:
How will climate change affect our visit?
We are
planning a
visit to Alaska in July.
What changes
or unusual weather/effects (if any) do you anticipate after the
unseasonably
warm winter you're having? We'll be in the SE, the
Anchorage-GlennAllen-Fairbanks loop, and in Barrow.
Answer:
I don't
think it is
possible to predict the weather so far in advance. The warm winter this
year
comes in a long string of warm winters going back more than a decade.
The
warming trend seems to be extending steadily. The summers are on a
warming
trend, too, and precipitation has increased. However, there's no way of
knowing
how this will affect the time you are planning to visit.
Question:
Can we see giant vegetables and bears in June?
We are
flying into Anchorage and
renting a car
June 27. We have 2 nights in Anchorage, 2
nights at the
McKinley Creekside Cabins and then 3 nights at Rivers Edge Resort in Fairbanks. Then we
travel to Valdez, ride
the ferry to Whittier and on
to Anchorage and
home. One day we
are doing the tour to the Arctic
Circle and
back. About 8
days only for the trip. My questions: I would like to see the giant
vegetables
grown in Palmer. Is it the wrong time of year to visit? Also, we
(husband, 14
year old son, and myself) want to see some bears and some salmon. Are
we going
to be near any places where it is possible to see that?
Answer:
I'm
afraid you will
miss the vegetables, which won’t have grown yet. The only time/place
that I
know of for the public to see them is at the Alaska State Fair, which
happens
the 11 days before Labor Day.
You have a good chance of seeing bears at
Denali National
Park on the
shuttle bus
ride. There should be salmon spawning at various places. On your route,
your
best chances of seeing them are probably in
Valdez and Anchorage. Check
with the
Alaska Department of Fish and Game information sources listed in the
book when
you arrive to find out what is happened up to the minute.
Question:
Will we encounter black flies in May?
We're
planning a 3
week trip to AK in May; will we encounter black flies? Someone told me
they
read that they're out in June so I hope we miss them (or most of them,
anyhow).
Answer:
I think
the chances
are strongly against running into black flies in May, but Alaska is a big
place and I
don't know what the bugs are like everywhere. Mosquitoes get started in
late
May in southcentral Alaska, and I
suppose
earlier in Southeast, but repellent works on them, so they're not as
bad as
black flies.
Question: Is
late June
and early July optimum for wildlife viewing?
We want
to come to Alaska on a
cruise. Our
booking agent had suggested late June and early July as the best time
to see
optimum wildlife (salmon, bears and eagles, etc.) but we would like to
get your
input as to the best time for wildlife viewing.
Answer:
I think
your agent is right about timing. Mid-July would be the
absolute peak. You can see eagles at any time. Salmon are plentiful
mid-June
into September, with the peak depending on the river and species. Bears
can be
found all summer, but congregate around salmon streams during runs, the
most
famous of which (for bear viewing) peak in July. However, this all
depends on
the particular destination. Keep in mind, however, that if it is your
primary
goal to see bear and catch salmon, you probably will have to break away
from an
escorted cruise-tour package, as these are not large-group activities.
Question: How should
we pack for June?
I'm
coming to Alaska in June.
We're taking a cruise up the Inside Passage, then
visiting Denali National Park. What kind of clothing
should
we pack?
Answer:
To really
enjoy the
incredible scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities you are going to
encounter, you'll need to get outside a lot. Even in the height of
summer,
Alaska can be
rainy and
cool. There's no need to bring winter parkas in June, but you should
have
layers of warm clothing and a waterproof outer layer. You'll be able to
handle
almost anything with a wool sweater, a warm Polarfleece-type jacket,
and a
sturdy rain suit. Depending on the conditions, you can wear any
combination of
those garments, or, if it's really cold and wet, all three. If you'll
be
spending a lot of time on the water or camping out, a hat and gloves
aren't a
bad idea, too. Everyone who comes to
Alaska should
pack good
walking or hiking shoes--crosstrainers are great for hiking. Of course,
bring
some warm weather clothes, too. Highs in the mid-70s are not unusual in
June.
Question:
Can we see the Northern
Lights in the summer?
Answer:
Not really. Sometimes
we see a
hazy green glow in the summer, but not the colorful, psychedelic
spectacle that
shows up in winter. Summer's midnight sun is the culprit. In
Fairbanks, at the latitude where
the best
aurora viewing begins, the sky is light all night in midsummer, with
the sunset
and sunrise separated by only two hours of twilight glow on the longest
day of
the year (June 21). A wintertime visitor season has developed there
based on
the stunning auroral displays that come many winter nights, and the
University of Alaska's
Geophysical Institute is a world center for the study of the
phenomenon.
Check out their website for aurora predictions, and
Alaska earthquake and volcano
information, too. If you don't want to come when it's really cold and
snowy,
the best compromise is a visit in September, when the skies darken
enough to
allow occasional aurora sightings. The weather may be cool, but the
yellow
leaves and rust-colored tundra are gorgeous at that time of year.
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