BLUEBERRIES OF SOUTH-CENTRAL ALASKA

It seems that as the guide I always have my eyes out for wildlife and my mind on the next creek crossing, or making sure everyone is having a great time. But in August and September there are countless times I will turn around to check on my group of hikers only to find that everyone is bent over with their hands in one of the millions of blueberry bushes. 

Caribou Lodge Alaska is surrounded by 3 types of blueberry species: The Bog Blueberry, Low Brush Blueberry, and the High Brush (or mountain) Blueberry.  

In addition to these crowd favorites our hiking trips also bring us through patches of Cloud berries, Crow berries, Watermelon berries and 3 different cranberry species. It's an incredible thing to walk through such beautiful tundra. 

Everyone knows that bears love berries, but so many birds, and small mammals also rely on this organic bounty. Wolves, River Otter, Martin, just to name a few have realized that the bear are onto something with how delicious and calorie packed the berries are. 

So if you are planning a summer trip to Alaska and have your heart set on picking your own berries (and don't want to be limited on how many you can pick, like in the national park) then make sure you plan a visit to Caribou Lodge in August or September. That is your best option for catching the berries while they are ripe.

Book your trip by reaching us by email info@cariboulodgealaska.com

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