Denali National Park

AMAZING. 6 million acres of amazing. Denali strives to preserve the wildness of the park with very limited trails and only one real road that cuts 90 miles into the park.  This park is home to numerous species of wildlife, stretching from large mammals like moose, small mammals like foxes, and even birds of prey like the American Bald Eagle. The best part of this slice of heaven is that is is only 235 miles north of Anchorage. There is an expensive train that runs up to Denali which takes 7.5 hours, a bus, or another option of renting a car which takes 4 hours. There are 2 airports in the park, but I know nothing about them.

Made it!

Denali offers experiences for all walks of people. Our flight was full of senior citizens, many doing guided tours, but also visiting Denali National Park. I was a bit shocked to hear they were going to Denali after seeing pictures of mountain ranges jutting out of the earth. Then I was surprised to find the elevation change from park's main visitor center to the airport 90 miles away equals to a total of 2,000 feet. This should blow your mind because the Eielson Visitor Center (66 miles in) you can see Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet.

Our view while hiking!

Enough of this, we will cut to the chase… How to tackle Denali National Park:

Experienced Backpackers

Not too enthused about no trails

Backcountry hiking is the best way to explore Denali in its natural environment. This is very easy to do, but MUST BE DONE IN PERSON. How do you do that? Upon arriving, head to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC)/ Backcountry Information Center (BIC). At the BIC, you will check in with the park rangers. A disadvantage to reserving in person is not knowing which units (zones) will be available. Denali’s goal is to replicate solidarity and maintain the wilderness, and this is done by limiting the amount of campers allowed in each unit. This makes it near impossible to plan ahead of time. If you plan to camp in multiple zones… please note that the mileage you cover will be significantly less than normal trail hikes. Denali is TRAILLESS. A good place to start is to cut the number of miles you do in a day on a trail in half. Knowing the dates that you will be camping will help the park ranger and your group put together

No campsites!

a good itinerary. After the itinerary is put into place, there is a mandatory safety video (~30 mins). Then the rangers will put on a demonstration with the bear canisters which will be issued free of charge (make sure to return them or a fine of $80 will be charged per canister). Backcountry permits take at least one day to obtain. Our method helped eliminate this. Get to Denali towards  the end of the day, write down  the unit availabilities (they are posted on the door of the BIC), and watch the safety video at the BIC or WAC. Go to the BIC when it opens the next morning and get your permit.
Please know your experience level as this is NOT for the typical day hiker. 

*Note: Denali Camper Bus is FREE for the first 15 miles (Salvage River) BUT if your backcountry zone has you going past this, you will have to take the bus. Go to the WAC after getting your permit and pay the $35 for a bus ticket (it’s worth the drive out to Eielson Visitor Center anyways).

Campground Hikers

Riley Creek Campground

Love to hike, but would rather have basic amenities at your disposal? Denali has 6 campsites that accommodate backpackers to RV’s. The size of each campsite varies so please check it out before reserving. They are also spread across 85 miles of the park and each campsite is different, for example Wonder Lake is notorious for the abundance of mosquitoes but also has a lot of trails from the campground. Also do not think that because you are setting up camp at a particular site, you cannot explore the park. With a 14 day maximum stay in the park, there is plenty of time. Buy the bus ticket at the WAC, get to your camp ground, set up shop, and then you are free to hitch rides from the camper buses that allow you to be dropped off any unit (zone) you please.

Waiting to flag down a bus

After a day of hiking make your way back to the road, flag down a camper bus (they're green), and head back to the campground. Rinse and repeat!

Overview of campsites and location

Love the Wild, but Not Camping?

You don’t have to love hiking to enjoy Denali. There are other options to enjoy the great outdoors. After our journey we visited the sled dog center and watched a presentation put on by park rangers about the history and training of the sled dogs. It was fun to meet/pet the dogs and learn about their origins… plus see a little mushing/sledding demo! Stay after the buses leave and you can watch how the rangers put the pups away in their kennels (bonus show!). We also saw numerous people renting bikes and riding the 85 mile road. The bus allows 2 bikes to be loaded. Check this out to see more activities like a view from the sky or other guided tours. If you wish to take a guided tour of the park... our advice, take the $35 camper bus. It does the SAME route, stops at the SAME spots, uses the SAME buses (painted different) and uses the SAME drivers as the guided tours... Only difference is price. 

Ride outbound with Alan, our bus driver!

Hanging with my team