Day 1: Pick up your Travel Van from Get Lost Travel Vans office in Anchorage. Drive about 2.5 hours north to Talkeetna. Wander through the historic town and shop the local arts and crafts, take a flightseeing tour around Denali, or take a jet boat tour and look for wildlife along the river.
Day 2:Drive 3 hours north from Talkeetna to Denali National Park. Stop in at the Visitors Center to find your campground spot (we recommend making reservations in advance), learn about the park’s wildlife and climate, and wander through the Alaska Geographic bookstore.
Day 3: Spend the day inside Denali National Park. Take a park tour to Eielson Visitor Center, or catch a ride on the “Backpacker Bus” to Wonder Lake. Watch for wildlife like bears, moose, sheep and caribou along the way, and, of course, North America’s tallest mountain.
Day 4: Drive about 2 hours north of Denali National Park to Fairbanks. Learn about Alaska Native cultures at the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North, take a fishing tour or paddleboat cruise on the Yukon River, or try a canoe or paddleboard tour.
Day 5: Spend the day in Fairbanks. Visit Chena Hot Springs, head over to North Pole and the year-round Santa Claus house, or visit an Iditarod Race Champion’s dog sled kennel.
Day 6: Drive 5 hours south from Fairbanks to Glennallen. Visit a local museum, take a rafting tour, or go fly fishing.
Day 7: Drive 2 hours west from Glennallen to Palmer. Take a day hike, pet a reindeer, or learn the homesteading history of the region at the Palmer Museum.
Return: Drive south about an hour from Palmer to the Get Lost office in Anchorage to return your travel van by 2pm.