Originally Posted by
Cheetah_SA
Two fantastic suggestions! Thank you both.
Lots to think about ...
We wanted to do Denali at the end of the trip to be able to get deeper into the park. Not sure how important that is?
"Deeper" into Denali Park usually means Wonder Lake, more or less the end of the line for shuttles.
If the mountain is visible (half or more of the time it isn't due to clouds) the view from Wonder Lake is great. However, in June, Wonder Lake is overwhelmed with mosquitoes; many people find it intolerable.
The Nome area will also have plenty of mosquitoes at that time; however they won't be too bad in town and near salt water, and if you're touring the road system you can keep the windows up. Bring plenty of bug dope regardless.
Not knowing where you're coming from on the way to Alaska or going after, one other idea might be to fly to Juneau at the end of the trip and get a sense for the southeastern part of the state. You can fly from Juneau to Seattle, or take a ferry to some other town and fly to Seattle from there (Sitka would be my choice.) Several options.