Go rustic or go luxurious -- Denali always worth the trip

Let me guess: Your relatives are coming up next month and they "absolutely" have to see Denali.

Denali is big. Really big. There are three distinct venues for visiting the park: the park entrance, Kantishna and Talkeetna. That doesn't count standing on the new rooftop park in downtown Anchorage. That's free. The other options cost more, but you can pick and choose which one works best for you.

Ride the rails to the park entrance: Sure, you can drive north from Anchorage to Denali Park. I did it last week in five hours. But why not take the train? The Alaska Railroad's Denali Star train heads north each day from Anchorage. For a two-night package, including train fare and accommodations, the cost is from $585 per person. Ask about Alaska resident and military discounts.

The railroad pulls several private cars, including the McKinley Explorer and Princess Rail cars. Princess has a special, tour "02A," which features round-trip rail and two nights at either the Denali Princess or the McKinley Chalets. The cost is $385 per person, double occupancy.

If you just want to drive up and stay overnight, there's a long list of options, although July and August are very busy. I checked on July 6 at the Denali Princess: $159 per night. For the same dates at the Grande Denali Lodge, the cost was $379 per night. Remember, though, rates change all the time.

Once you're at the park entrance, you have your choice of bus tours to take you back on the park road to see the wildlife and, if the weather is clear, Denali. The National Park Service concessionaire runs camper buses ($34 per person), plus scheduled buses back to Wonder Lake and Kantishna. Remember: You can't see Denali from the park entrance. You have to take a bus tour.

For a closer look at the mountain, saddle up and ride back to the end of the 92-mile park road. You can pick the park service's bus, operated by Aramark/Doyon for $194.

Or, two private lodges, Kantishna Roadhouse and Denali Backcountry Lodge, offer day trips in their private buses for about $179 per person. Lunch is included, along with your choice of several activities once you get to the end of the road. With Denali Backcountry Lodge we had a choice of gold panning, a Kantishna history tour or a botany walk. On the park road, we saw several groups of caribou, a couple of bears and Dall sheep. Our driver, Anna, knew just where to look for the critters and enlisted everyone on the bus to watch. Then, she stopped so everyone could snap photos.

Stay overnight in Kantishna: At the end of the road, you can hike around Wonder Lake, where all of the beautiful photos of Denali are taken. You can also go fishing on the Moose River for grayling. If you go flightseeing with Kantishna Air, you're almost in the shadow of the mountain — and you'll be flying over the glaciers in no time. Some guests choose to take the six-hour bus ride in one direction and fly back the other way (from $280 each way). Usually, the flight takes just 35 minutes, but the pilot may elect to do some extra flightseeing if the weather is good.

Overnight accommodations at Denali Backcountry Lodge cost $529 per person, per night. That includes transportation from the park entrance, all meals, guided hikes and activities. There are just 48 rooms, which are nestled together as cabins along a series of boardwalks. There is a large two-story main lodge where meals are served family-style. Upstairs is a bar with a great view of the river and next door is a spa for beauty treatments and massages. There are several screened-in porches to protect against mosquitoes. The lodge offers shuttles to Wonder Lake, which is 5 miles away. Each morning and afternoon, there are guided hikes of varying difficulties. Or the staff can point out some great hikes you can do on your own. If you plan to be gone over the lunch hour, you can request a trail lunch to pack with you.

In addition to the Kantishna Roadhouse (from $495 per person, per night), there are three other options for overnight guests (unless you're camping): the Skyline Lodge operated by Kantishna Air, Camp Denali and North Face Lodge. All of the lodges are small (Skyline Lodge has just five rooms). Very few travelers make it out to Kantishna. Fewer still spend two or three days this close to the mountain.

If you want to be closer to the mountain, opt for a flightseeing tour with a glacier landing from Talkeetna. There are several glaciers on the mountain that pilots from Talkeetna Air Taxi, Sheldon Air Service and K2 Aviation have stamped out and marked for landing. But the Ruth Glacier is the most popular. In fact, the Don Sheldon Amphitheater is the perfect spot for viewing the peak of Denali — you're just 10 miles away (although it seems much closer). When you visit the mountain on one of the air tours, you're typically on the ice for about 20 minutes.

If you want to spend the night on the mountain and you don't want to camp out, there is one option: the Sheldon Mountain House. You can see it when you're flying in to land on the glacier. It's on a huge rock outcropping, a "nunatak." Actually, there are two structures. The smaller one is the outhouse.

This is not a fancy bed-and-breakfast. You have to bring in everything. The hut was constructed by legendary bush pilot Don Sheldon and his wife Roberta back in 1966. It is a six-sided hut with windows all around. To access the hut, you have to hike across the snowfield by the runway (bring snowshoes). Then hike up the stairs to the ridge of the outcropping. Then, walk carefully over to the hut, which features a stove, some basic cooking utensils, a satellite phone, lots of books, maps and memories of the Sheldon family and the climbers who have stayed there. Sheldon's children, Robert and Kate, have laid the foundation for a larger hut, but plan to keep the original Mountain House, which now has been in the family for 50 years.

"Most people are totally gobsmacked by the awesome setting," said Kate. "Honestly, they just sit outside and watch the avalanches, or gaze at the incredible mountains. Oh — and there are lots of wedding proposals made on the mountain," she added with a chuckle.

If you want to hike, snowshoe or ski on the glacier, hire a Sheldon-approved guide from Talkeetna. Otherwise, be prepared to offer your backcountry or climbing resume. "I vet everybody," she said.

It costs $250 per night for two people in the cabin. It's $100 per person, per night, for more than two people. There is a two-night minimum. There are dates available in July, but Sheldon will not confirm dates in August in advance because of variable snow conditions. In September and October, guests can see the northern lights all across the sky.

Now it's your job to pick the right package for your Denali experience. Chances are good that your relatives will love it — and they'll be back next year for more.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.