When traveling somewhere you can’t see yourself getting back to for, say, another decade or two, you should feel obligated to go all out.
Regret ultimately stings worse than a tough month on the checking account. Which is why your Alaska sojourn, that big one you’ve been planning for forever, should include a stay at a lodge 6,000 feet up, in Denali National Park.
That lodge is called the Sheldon Chalet. It’s got history, views that’d make your old man weep … and seafood. Lots of Alaskan seafood.
Nearly 70 years ago, a legendary bush pilot named Don Sheldon built a cabin on Denali (Alaska wasn’t a state yet, and he acquired the land via the Homestead Act). The area is an unforgiving nunatak, and Sheldon’s mountain home is somehow still alive and kicking. It’s a building a bit farther along down the glacier, though, completed last year by Sheldon’s kids, that will host your Alaskan adventure.
If 007 ever finds his way over to the Last Frontier, an evening at The Sheldon Chalet is a safe bet. How you successfully bring luxury a third of the way up North America’s tallest mountain is anyone’s guess, but the Sheldon family’s done it, with a full sauna, a mouthwatering dinner menu based on Alaskan staples and window-heavy living rooms touting wet bars and fireplaces.
Then, of course, there are the natural wonders. Hot springs just an hour away. Endless views of the Alaska Range. And a surefire shot at seeing the aurora borealis … from a stone’s throw away.
As for getting there: fly in to Anchorage, and Sheldon will arrange you a helicopter trip up to the lodge. If you’ve got the vacation days, though, you can fly in to Fairbanks and take the Alaska Winter Train back down to Anchorage.
For more information on booking, head here.
All images from Sheldon Chalet
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