Princess Cruises has many land excursions across the state of Alaska. One spectacular option is to disembark from a Princess Cruise Ship in Whittier and get directly onboard a luxury railroad car that travels north up the Cook Inlet and into the heart of the Alaska Range. This train brings guests directly to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge just outside Denali National Park. Aliy and Allen have worked on the “Denali Express” Northbound train for years. They share their passion of dog mushing with Alaskan visitors and tell stories about sled dogs, racing adventures and, of course, each other.

Aliy and Allen jump on board at the Hurricane Depot. The Alaska Railroad conductor is a friend and generally slows down enough to let them on! The train then crosses Hurricane Gulch (Milepost 284), goes through Broad Pass in the Alaska Range (Milepost 304), peaks at Summit (Milepost 313), passes the village of Cantwell (Milepost 320) and pulls into the Denali Railroad Depot (Milepost 328). As the train makes its way north through the mountains, Aliy and Allen walk through the train cars speaking to between five and six-hundred guests. They hand out photo postcards to everyone and several lucky guests win SP Kennel t-shirts. The Denali Express Train runs from mid May until mid September. If you find yourself onboard, please take time to say ‘Hello’ to our two Mushers!

13 Responses

  • Thanks! I love the AR it always has such spectacular views any time of yr. The passengers are the lucky ones to have you on board. Thanks for what you do for our sport and way of life.
    Padee still in CA.

  • I've taken the train south, not a double decker tour train, but as a regular Alaska Rail Passenger. It's long ride, the whole way but worth it. Yesterday, while in Anchorage, I was stopped by a train crossing of passengers, probably from Seward.

    I have not outgrown my love of trains!

  • Thanks so much. What a great adventure for the lucky travelers from Princess Cruises. It is great that both of you are such awesome ambassadors for the state sport–dog mushing. What fabulous scenery the train travels through.

  • That's got to be one of the prettiest train rides ever!! Throw in a couple of famous Mushers along the way and wow….what a thrill for folks!! The video makes me want to visit in the summer time…..March was gorgeous and fun due to race season but we missed seeing a lot of views due to the snow packed and slick Parks Highway! It would be nice to take a leisurely train ride to experience it all!

  • I was on that train back in 2010 where I first met Aliy! I got her card and have been following ever since! I LOVE Alaska!
    Wyn Ball

  • Was there last Sept and just tooling around in our rental car and stayed at a B&Bnoff the Chetna Spring Road outside of Fairbank. My only regret is not stopping at your sponsor the Pleasant Valley Store to show support. Can't wait for your season to start so I can be an official "fan" of the SPK!!!! Love this video, thanks for sharing!!

  • Awesome video of train ride. Thank you or doing this! We can't wait to do this!

    Thank you, and hugs to both teams😊

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