Why You Should Visit Caribou Lodge Alaska & How To Get Here

Caribou Lodge Alaska is located only 20 air miles from the Denali National Park boundary. We have many of the same wildlife species around the lodge that people enjoy inside the park while on a tour bus, including moose, caribou, grizzly bear, black bear, and many species of birds. The main difference between a Denali Park experience and a Caribou Lodge experience is the number of annual visitors. While over 600,000 tourists visit the park in a span of about 90 days, we host approximately 200 guests at Caribou Lodge per year, truly making a visit here a Denali experience without the crowds. We love Denali park, but for some folks, it's just far too crowded to really enjoy the experience.

Caribou Lodge Alaska is the only remote wilderness lodge outside the park with an unobstructed view of the highest mountain in North America. Denali rises up over 20,000 feet and is easily seen from our lodge only 75 miles away.

For any visitor to Alaska, the float plane is such an iconic symbol of access into true wilderness. Here at Caribou Lodge, we are only accessible by float plane in the summer. So to experience an off-grid, remote wilderness lodge - where your transportation to and from the city is a float plane - is an amazing experience in and of itself.

If you are interested in the local flora and fauna of south central Alaska, Caribou Lodge is the perfect place to stop and enjoy the unique plants and animals of this region. Many types of migratory birds come to our location every summer, from tundra swans to Wilson's warblers and so many in between. This is truly a birding paradise. For the wildflower enthusiast, there is no shortage of photography opportunities of all the beautiful plants here on the alpine tundra. (See our blog about Alaska wildflowers)

These are just a few amazing reasons (besides the primary activities posted on our website HERE) why we think you would really enjoy it here at our family-owned and operated lodge. If this seems like a great fit for you or your whole group, we look forward to hearing from you soon! Don't hesitate. We only book 3 cabins at a time June - September, and groups no larger than 6 - 8 people. (Two guests per cabin, plus additional beds for families if desired)

HOW TO GET HERE

Planning your trip to Alaska can be challenging enough, but trying to determine how to get from Anchorage to the middle of nowhere to visit a wilderness lodge can seem downright daunting! So I hope to have explained it here in a way that helps you understand how easy it really is to get here.

-First things first....
We schedule flights to the lodge for 10:00 AM if you are driving yourself, and 11:30 AM if you are arriving in Talkeetna by train.
If you do not plan to make it to Talkeetna in the morning, please let us know. We may be able to set up an afternoon flight to the lodge or will be happy to recommend a place to stay overnight in Talkeetna before your arrival at Caribou Lodge. Do this soon, because accommodations in Talkeetna book up fast!

-After you have arrived in Anchorage, the next step is to decide how you would like to get to Talkeetna, a 2½ hour drive north of Anchorage.

Your options for getting to Talkeetna are:
1: Rental car
2: The Alaska Railroad train
3: Shuttle bus
4: Fly directly to Caribou Lodge from Anchorage. (Very expensive option, but we are happy to coordinate this)

-Once you've booked your stay here months in advance, we will coordinate the air taxi service from Talkeetna to Caribou Lodge, which is one less thing you have to worry about.

-After your arrival in Talkeetna (unless you chose option #4), there are two options for the day of your stay at Caribou Lodge.
1: Park your rental car at the float plane office FOR FREE on the morning of your flight.
2: Let us know where you're staying in Talkeetna the night before, and we can coordinate a shuttle to bring you to the float plane office.

(Also, check out THIS PAGE of our website for more details on flights to our lodge)

We hope you find this information helpful and encouraging during your trip planning process. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any additional questions.
You can reach us by:

Phone:  1 (907) 733-2163

E-mail:  info@cariboulodgealaska.com

or Facebook: facebook.com/cariboulodgealaska

We hope to see you here!

Caribou Lodge Alaska Photo Tour

We have only owned the lodge for 4 years, but have already made so many great memories with people from literally all over the world.  Mike & Pam (the original owners) didn't have the amazing photography technology during the 1990's and early 2000's, so we prioritized a nice Cannon Rebel camera and a very expensive zoom lens to go with it. That investment has paid off as we have gotten some great photos over the past few years.  

Our goal is to help people connect with nature, and unplug from their crazy lives. I hope you see that in these photos. A genuine look at my family running a wilderness lodge, hiking, camping and feeding people some of the best home cooked meals this side of the Canadian border.

Alaska Wildflowers (if you're into that type of thing)

It's amazing how a land that can be so harsh and desolate in the winter can also be the perfect biome for so many beautiful flowers and plants come summertime. Up here at an elevation of just over 2,000 ft., where the tundra is covered by snow for 7 months out of the year, we have a short window of time to enjoy and research the flora around here. From mid June through August, the flowers make an incredible effort to grow, bloom, and wilt just in time to go to seed before they are covered in the first snows of the upcoming fall. 

So during the short summer season everywhere we go hiking we are surrounded by millions of flowers, ferns, and berry bushes. Some people do not care too much while others take extra time to enjoy the hearty little plants of the arctic.

While guiding our hiking trips, we are usually in a mindset of looking for wildlife, so it still takes us by surprise sometimes when we turn around to chat with the group and someone is pointing their camera at the ground.  Getting down low in the tundra, using the camera's macro setting to photograph a plant. It's really great for us to see our guests enjoy the small, simple things. To share in these moments while someone is photographing a flower they've only ever read about and seen in books is a very special part of what we get to do out here at Caribou Lodge.  It has also caused us to slow down a bit and experiment with our own camera settings. Here are some photos we have taken from around the lodge.

Arctic Lupine

Alaska Violet

Pink Plume

Arctic Lousewort

Labrador Lousewort

Alpine Bog Swertia

Arctic Aster

Northern Starflower

Moss Campion

Arctic Iris

Northern Ground Cone

Wedge-leaf Primrose

White Bog Orchid

Fireweed photographed at Caribou Lodge with Denali in the background

Our First Year In The Alaska Wilderness

It has been exactly a year since Alyssa, myself (Zac) and the girls hopped in a ski-plane with over 1000 lbs worth of personal effects, uprooted from our home in Palmer, and moved
into the Alaska wilderness.

Not your average U-Haul... All loaded up, moving into the wilderness on 4/17/17

We were prepared for some culture shock and eventually settled in to the new home and lifestyle, but honestly it started out a bit rough. We got here just as winter was turning to spring, so being outside was no fun. You could not walk anywhere on the property without sinking up to your butt in soft rotten snow. Riding the snowmobiles was quickly out of the question as the patches of mud soon became larger than the patches of snow. We also knew in the back of our minds that less than 3 weeks after we moved, our first guests were going to arrive, so the stress of our first tourist season loomed closely.

Chloe and Eiley adapted easily and loved having mom and dad around all the time. They missed extended family that we left in Palmer, but overall, they have done great living out here.

Taking advantage of a hot summer day

A successful day picking blueberries

Alyssa didn't seem to go through many extreme changes because she's always been home with the girls and mostly missed her time with friends at church or the gym. I think the hardest part for her was getting used to having me around 24/7.  I did a pretty good job of driving her crazy.

My problem was that for the first time in over 7 years I wasn't waking up to an alarm clock, rushing out the door, combat driving to work, or answering phones and dealing with customers all day at my office job in Anchorage. So I think I went through the most culture shock. I would wake up not knowing what to do with myself.... no phone calls, no traffic, no demands. Honestly, I didn't like it. It wasn't that I didn't like living here, I just didn't like having nothing to do.

Another thing that almost drove me crazy was a ringing in my ears that lasted about 4 weeks after we moved. Every night as I lie in bed, I swear I could hear a lawn mower or generator ever so faintly; it sounded like it was across the lake 400 yards away. I would ask Alyssa, "Hey, are you up? Can you hear that?"  We went through this several times until that ringing left my head. She would try to be nice and say something like, "No, hun. All I can hear is you. Just try to ignore it."  Easier said than done for someone who would rather punch a bear in the face than sleep in a bedroom with a ticking clock. I can't stand undeviating, soft noises when I'm trying to sleep or concentrate.

A quick family road-trip to Seward

Having Joe and Bonnie out here was our saving grace. It would have been a nightmare first year  without them. Having people to visit with and show us the ropes around here was priceless.
As summer arrived we found a groove as best we could. Bonnie, Alyssa, and Caitlin (Alyssa's twin sister) worked well together in the kitchen and shared duties as equals. Joe spent a huge part of the summer building their cabin so they wouldn't have to live in the loft above the shop anymore. That left me with doing about 95% of the guiding and hosting. It all worked out well.  Whenever someone wasn't busy working, they found time to play with Chloe and Eiley, so the girls almost always had a parent, uncle, or aunt to play with them. Some of the girls favorite things to do was go down to the lake and throw rocks, hike, or pick berries.

When we first moved to the lodge Eiley hated being outside, but now it's hard to keep either of the girls indoors. Chloe (5) is so passionate about animals and nature that she absorbs everything she learns and has become very knowledgeable about many aspects of life out here.

Eiley really started to enjoy being outside more once she knew how fast uncle Joe could go on the snowmobile. She loves playing with Howie and sledding. Now that she's a little bigger (3), I think she'll have a great time outside this summer.

Flying to town in an R44 helicopter

Both girls love to help around the house.. from dishes and sweeping to stacking firewood, I think they just love being around adults and feeling like big helpers.

Flying home in a Cessna 206 float-plane

As I weighed the pro's & con's about life and making a living in the wilderness, I couldn't help but think that spending more time every day with my wife and kids was going to be worth more money than I could ever make at any job! And I was right. If drinking coffee with my wife, eating breakfast with my kids every morning, and on occasion staying in my PJ's until noon playing board games and doing puzzles with my 3 & 5 year old was currency, I would be the richest man in the world.

Then summer comes, and my job consists of hiking, kayaking, camping......and helping with dishes. I can't complain.

Alyssa & Eiley Kayaking, Summer 2017

Zac & Chloe Kayaking, Summer 2017

One concern of mine was wondering how all of our guests would treat our kids...or rather how our kids would respond to having strangers around all summer.  It ended up being a really amazing thing to watch. All summer the girls had fun interacting with guests from all around the country and all over the world. They did origami with ladies from Japan and played board games with people from Finland. Guests read to and played with them, and both of my girls made tips. I am not sure how many 2 year olds are getting gratuity for being a lodge host, but I'm sure it's not many...

I am just going to be honest: I was kind of dreading our first whole winter out here. There is a lot of it! We have had over 6 months with snow on the ground, but the experience has actually been pretty neat. We learned a lot and had lots of fun playing in the snow. We also broke up the long winter with a trip out of state to visit friends and family for Christmas. That was an important trip for me because it was the first time in 8 months that I felt excited to go home.  Now it's almost May, and we can look back at the snow storms, the crazy winds, the warm fire, and hot coffee, and it wasn't all that bad.

So, there you go. A quick look at how our first year living at the lodge played out. It has been fun, rewarding, hard, and exciting. It has taught us so much about ourselves, not to mention what it has taught us about running a business. It took me a long time to get to this point, but now I can finally say this feels like home.