What Do I Need To Know Before I Plan My Trip?
- Just about all of Alaska, south of the Denali Highway, is incredibly scenic.
- The most common first-time visitor mistake: Breaking up the long drives between actual destinations.
- Alaska is larger than Texas & California combined, but only has the population of El Paso, TX. A halfway dot on the Alaska map is often just a gas station.
- Start a day’s drive in the early morning, this greatly increases chances of seeing wildlife.
- It will be light out the whole time you are visiting in the summer. You’ll sleep less, play more, and drive a lot.
Best Advice:
Pick destinations worthy of 2 or 3 nights and do the long drives all at once. Avoid the temptation of breaking up the drive with halfway dots-on-the-map as destinations. You don’t want to end up at 3 in the afternoon at a place not at all worthy of your valuable vacation time! It’s lights out the whole time; you will want to spend your time at the coolest places (you’re a researcher or you never would have found us!). Be careful with halfway dots as substitutes for research.
How do you get to McCarthy, and is the McCarthy Road safe?
Flying in with 3 flights a day, taking a shuttle or driving a rental car; there are several ways to get to McCarthy. The McCarthy Road is an easy safe drive, currently 1/3 of the road is hard surface and the remainder is a gravel road. There are plenty of Alaskan owned car rental companies that allow their vehicles on the McCarthy Road when you stay with us. Remember to keep your speed below 35mph to avoid flat tires.
REGARDING DRIVING ONCE YOU ARRIVE TO THE AREA, Please note that cars are unnecessary once in the area. Please use the Copper Town Shuttle, providing transportation throughout the area.
Why can't we drive the last mile into McCarthy, and how do we get to the hotel once we park?
Ma Johnson’s guests enjoy a complimentary shuttle from the footbridge to McCarthy, 1 mile away from the parking lots at the end of the McCarthy Road. You can call the hotel or just hop on a waiting shuttle for your ride from the Parking Lot Footbridge…
Copper Town Shuttle provides free transportation loop between the parking area footbridge and the Downtown Historic District of McCarthy (Sponsored by Ma Johnson’s Hotel and Lancaster’s Backpacker Hotel, & The Kate Kennedy House).
Copper Town Shuttle provides scheduled, clean, modern transportation on a frequent schedule between the towns of McCarthy & Kennicott inside Wrangell St-Elias National Park.
Copper Town Shuttle provides free transportation at night for late night entertainment in McCarthy (Sponsored by the Golden Saloon).
Copper Town Shuttle also offers Charters from our collection of Antique Autos from Alaska.
Can I get a room with a private bath?
Ma Johnson’s Historic Hotel is a Living Museum, filled with artifacts from McCarthy & Kennicott. Unlike a typical shared bath hotel with limited bathrooms “down the hall”, Ma Johnson’s has a ratio of 1 bathroom per 2 bedrooms. You are always next door or across the hall from a bathroom. Most rooms have sinks with hot & cold running water. There are bathrobes, slippers and handmade soaps and other amenities making the experience like a stay at a good friends’ house.
The Kate Kennedy House does have a private bath.
I have a CPAP machine and there are no outlets in the rooms? What about charging phones?
As a living museum, we are keeping the property to its authentic time in history. Back in the day, McCarthy was electrified before most of North America. McCarthy was high-tech, but plug in appliances were not common. There are plenty of charging stations for your devices in the lobby and secure locations in the hotel. We do have a method of providing power to rooms that require CPAP machines. We can store refrigerated medicines for guests as well.
What's the best strategy for travel around Alaska?
Pick destinations worthy of 2 or 3 nights, and drive the long distance in 1 day. Leave as early in the morning as you can - like 5 am or earlier. Treat the drives through wilderness as a chance to see wildlife! Start your day before vehicles start shooing away the wildlife from the roadsides…
Don’t pick dots on the map as halfway points to break up the drive. Avoid driving every day - better to drive a full day and wait two days to drive again.
Build your trip as one Top-Destination for every 2 or 3 days of vacation. Each Drive between destinations is a Wilderness Roadtrip. Make it a Wildlife-In-Wildenress road trip by leaving very early.
I'm breaking up the long drives, is that ok? or: Are "Dots on the map" worthy of overnights?
Most of our guests will be driving 8 to 10 hours to see us. The most common mistake first time visitors to Alaska make is to pick great destinations and then attempt to break up a full day drive into two half day drives. If you break up the drive to McCarthy into two shorter stretches your only stopping options are unlikely to be a destination worthy of visiting for more than a fuel-up or snack. Please take the time to research those half-way points to see for yourself what they have to contribute to your valuable and limited vacation time.
Secondly, we are confident that you will not regret making that long distance drive in one day, permitting you to enjoy our wonderfully unique town and its many attractions such as hiking, rafting, ice climbing, flight seeing, historic tours, fine dining, and a strong remote Alaskan community more fully. We are also the only place in Alaska where you can experience a present day, frontier-style town in the center of the largest concentration of mountains, glaciers, and wildlife in America - the largest US national park, Wrangell St. Elias.
Finally, if night-driving is of concern, you will never drive in the dark during the summer in Alaska. More so, the roads to McCarthy bring you through the most majestic of mountain ranges and water habitat, where multiple wildlife sightings are possible! We are confident you will not regret the ride.
What is your cancellation policy?
Because we are such a small hotel with a limited season, and no “walk-in” traffic, we don’t want you to book your hotel room unless you are sure you are coming to McCarthy. When we confirm your reservation we will run the charge for the Full Amount and send you a confirmation email with a confirmation number. If you cancel between the time of booking and 45 days prior to arrival there is a $25 per room-night cancellation fee.
An exception to the typical last minute cancellation policies when you book directly on this website:
If you cancel with less than 45 days notice, we cannot give a refund. However, we can issue a full credit towards a future stay if you call us to cancel by 9pm on the day of arrival. This credit would be good for 2 years and is non-transferable. We recommend travel insurance readily available on the internet, through your travel agent, or your insurance agent.
What is your checkout policy?
Checkout time is 11 am. A late checkout fee of $50.00 per room for checkouts between 11 am and 1 pm, and 100% room charge after 1 pm, will be assessed. Check in time is 3 pm. Guests arriving after 9 pm will need to arrange a late night shuttle to the hotel. There is a $50 Charge for a Late night Arrival & Check in; we will be able to provide a Shuttle to the Hotel if you call ahead (during business hours to 9pm).
What is your dog policy?
With prior approval for your dog, you might be able to bring your family pet to McCarthy. People friendly and dog friendly pets can be welcomed, with prior approval from the Hotel Manager. There is a $50.00 non-refundable cleaning fee. There is a $250 Refundable Security Deposit.
Dogs are not allowed in the buildings and making an exception for your pet REQUIRES PRIOR APPROVAL as we are a small hotel with limited dog-friendly rooms.
Dogs welcomed to McCarthy’s Ma Johnson’s Hotel must be under 45 Pounds