The route spans two of Alaska’s five geographic regions – Southcentral and Interior Alaska. Just south of Denali National Park, Broad Pass offers majestic views of the Alaska Range in all directions; north of the park, the train winds along Healy Canyon, following the curves of the Nenana River below. North of Talkeetna, the tracks veer away from the road system and into the backcountry Hurricane area; this region offers views of the snaking Indian River, the occasional remote cabin and the expansive sight of Hurricane Gulch from the top of a 296-foot bridge. Traveling between Talkeetna and Anchorage, the train crosses the Knik River with the Chugach Mountains as a backdrop. Just south of Talkeetna, watch for views of Denali rising high above the Susitna River.
• Depart Denali at 12:30 pm
• Arrive Anchorage at 8:00 pm
• Explore Anchorage on your own, accommodations booked separately and at own expense
• (Option for accommodations or additional rail transportation - to be scheduled directly with Alaska Railroad after booking)Snack bar and optional dining available for purchase.
See Availability.
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA
12:30 PM
8 hours(approx.)
Anchorage Depot, 411 W 1st Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA
Wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Infants (0-1) may be added to a reservation as lap children (not requiring a paid, reserved seat) but they must be registered in the booking. To register an infant as a lap child, please indicate so in the “Special Requests” option in the final checkout and include the infant’s name, age and gender.
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Posted By : KS80537
Comments on riding the Alaska Railroad from Denali to Anchorage: We loved it, but do take note - the first 2-3 hours have great mountain views, and then there's a long, comparatively dull stretch where you can't see the forest for the trees. Near the end of the journey things pick up again - better scenery, with mountains.
Dinner offered cod or pot roast. The cod was great, and was easily the better choice (based on tasting both). There was also an alcoholic blueberry drink that we all really liked.
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Posted On : 2024-01-16
Posted By : KarlynByham
The best way to enjoy scenic Alaska in comfort. Recommend the Gold Star upgrade for some care views, comfortable seats and ease of food purchase. It’s not as premium as the price suggests, but it’s the only game it town to experience the views.
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Posted On : 2023-09-26
Posted By : 366billl
The trip was painfully slow, over 10 hours. They should have warned us to dress extra warmly because the air conditioning was kept deliberately low. I suspect for them to sell more comfort food and drink
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Posted On : 2023-08-27
Posted By : Shravan_P
Tour is very good but the train is very slow .. please plan accordingly.
Good scenic views and very good snacks to eat
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Posted On : 2023-07-29
Posted By : W8143XUmichelles
The BEST WAY TO SEE beautiful Alaska for the tourist! The staff was helpful and friendly, both, and on the train. The food was good for a train. The drinks were awesome and the narration and watching out those special interest places along work great you are sure to see some wildlife and the poor guys are keeping an eye out the entire time and so are the passengers, so any wildlife they will slow down and point it out.
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Posted On : 2023-07-26
Posted By : johnsD4307YB
We purchased the premium Gold Star service from Denali NP to Anchorage. First the positive:
The scenery is awesome, and the ride is comfortable- as good or better than Amtrak in the lower 48. Very smooth. The plexiglas-domed cars are great for viewing the mountains and landscape.
Not so good: the attendant serves as a trip narrator. We had 2: the first half of the trip she was knowledgeable and clearly had the insight of someone who had life experience in Alaska. However, after the 1/2 hour mid-trip stop for a crew change (about 3 hours into the trip), the second person only knew to read a script about the trip. We had already read or heard from our Orbridge tour director all of the information presented. Also, throughout the entire trip, the points of interest were already behind us before the oral description (Gold Star service is in the front of the train).
The worst: the food service is a key selling point. We had lunch ond dinner in a very nice dining car. For lunch, my wife and I had cheeseburgers with chips, and they were good. Not premium, but good. They were apparently out of the locally-crafted IPA beer I wanted and substituted another one, without explanation or apology. We weren’t served lunch until about 3 pm, about 2.5 hours into the ride.
Dinner was a disaster. We were called for the dining car at around 7:15, only 45 minutes before the scheduled arrival in Anchorage. We were the last table in the dining car to have our orders taken. Upon ordering, I requested a garden salad, but I was told that there was only time for the main course. I ordered the cod, which I had been told was the better choice.
Every other table received their food (albeit without the soup or salad course) but we were told at least 3 times that our food would be out soon. It wasn’t. It was 7:45 before food arrived. The cod for all 4 of us was uncooked except for the edges of the fillet. I had about 3 bites and told the waiter, who replied that the only option was to re-order a dinner salad. It was nearly 8 pm and we were on the outskirts of Anchorage. I declined, as they had already informed us that food service was ending.
We were told that we would have a choice of assorted desserts and drinks in the upper main section; however, there was no dessert offered. Instead, there was a tray of packaged desserts, which one would find in the frozen food section of a grocery.
To add insult, the train arrived over 1/2 hour late in Anchorage.
My advice is to save your money- don’t make food reservations. Food is available about the national park, and Anchorage has excellent restaurants. Bring your own snacks for the trip and don’t use the dining car.
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Posted On : 2023-07-21
Posted By : christinemY6666BK
We took the train to Denali 5 days before and it was great but this time going back to Anchorage the train had to make several, longer stops and the trip took alot longer this time. Were supposed to arrive at 8:05 and didnt get in until almost 10pm. We were flying out and had to be at the airport by 4:15 am so those extra hours hurt. By the time we got our luggage and to the hotel it was midnight. Leave an extra day in your trip of you are taking the train back to Anchorage to get a good nights sleep before flying out. Everything else on the train was good. Food was good and staff great except the bartender treated me like a liar when I left my boarding pass on the table at lunch and it was thrown away and you get 2 free drinks if you are a gold star member when you show your boarding pass. Pretty sure he could remember I didnt get a drink already there werent that many people in our car. He made me walk down to the dining car with him to look for it.
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Posted On : 2022-08-24
Posted By : NewYorkTravellady
Used the gold star service to get from Denali to Anchorage. Very comfortable, loved the domed glass car. We actually had a sunny day and we were able to see Denali from the train., beautiful scenery. Food was more than decent, good service, it was a fun way to get to our next destination.
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Posted On : 2022-08-19
Posted By : TMW3000
We booked the Goldstar class for our return to Anchorage from Denali. We took the Wilderness train to Denali.
If you can choose, choose the WILDERNESS! Not only did I expect the pricier Goldstar to outdo the Wilderness, it paled in comparison!
Goldstar offers a 2 meal allowance included with your price as well as two alcoholic beverages and tea, coffee and sodas. For a price. They do not offer dessert. Here is a comparison:
Wilderness - excellent commentary and service. The bartender comes to you (for non alcoholic drinks too) and brings you beautiful and creative drinks. The hot chocolate was spectacular! Delicious hot chocolate. Service was amazing. Meals were good and served in a timely manner and you could choose dessert. Keep in mind that you do pay for your drinks and meals at the end but it comes out about even or less price wise. When a group gets off they jump to their feet sanitizing every chair that was occupied before the next guests board. They offer phone chargers at your seat.
Alaska Goldstar - don’t clean between persons. Not even note worthy commentary. Hot chocolate from a powdered pack. No service (you visit the bar yourself). Mediocre meals with no dessert option unless you want to pay for a sweet treat from the bar car which is very limited. The only benefit to Goldstar was a little more room for your legs. No phone chargers.
If you are coming to Alaska to spend your hard earned money do the Wilderness train!
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Posted On : 2022-08-12
Posted By : Lederhosentoo
We booked the train trip through Holland America. The Denali to Anchorage was great. We saw Denali with no clouds so often on the trip that some people were starting to say "boring" when someone shouted "Denali".We are the 10% that got to see Denali with no clouds. The views from the dome cars were great.
Our carriage guide was a retired teacher and knew her material and presented it well.
Food was available and was quite good. We didn't mind being seated with "strangers" and now we can no longer call them strangers.
We had to stop twice for trains going northbound and I wonder if the routes could be scheduled a little better.
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Posted On : 2022-08-08
