Denali National Park and Preserve is a US national park located in the State of Alaska. It encompasses 6 million acres od wilderness as well as the 20,000 feet high Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), which is North America's tallest peak. The variety of the park is impressive, with tundra, glaciers, forests and wildlife such as bears, wolves and moose. Denali is a place you cannot miss on your Alaska itinerary. Here are 10 things to know before visiting Denali National Park and Preserve.
Denali is both - the park and the mountain
I actually found this quite confusing when I first started researching about my trip. Denali the mountain has had many names, such as Dghelay Ka'a fiven by the Dene'ina people of the Sustina River, Bolshaya Gora, given by the Russians and Deenaalee or Dinale, given by the Koyukon Athabaskan. The names all roughly translate to "the big one" or "the big mountain". In 1917, the US government officially named it Mount McKinley, after William McKinley. Most Alaskans and Alaskan Natives however kept using the name Denali. After mounting political pressure since the 1970s, and finally, in 2015 the mountan was renamed to Denali again.
Denali is only visible around 30% of the year
With 20,310 feet, Denali is the highest peak of North America and can be seen all the way from Anchorage or Fairbanks, if the weather conditions are right. The National Park Service rangers emphasize that the mountain is only out roughly one of every three days. The mountain is also not visible from the park entrange or the surrounding campgrounds and hotels. You first chance of spotting the mountain in the park is at around miles 9 and 11. The most iconic view of Denali is at Reflection Pond, near Mile 85
Denali National Park and Preserve is open year round
Although the park is open 12 months of the year, most visitors come between May and September. Only around 3% of park visitors come during the winter. Although you can visit the park year round, many park services are closed during the winter and only the first 15 miles of the Denali Park Road is open to passenger vehicles. The rest of the 92 mile road is only open from May to September for bus and bicycle traffic.
Access is limited
There is only one road in Denali National Park and Preserce, the 92 mile Denali Park Road. 6 million acres are a lot of land to be accessed by only one road. You are only allowed to access the road with your own vehicle for the first 15 miles. After that, only park service busses, Kantishna lodges and professional photographers with travel permits can access all 92 miles. You are allowed to drive your own vehicle up to mile 29, if you camp in Teklanika River Campground, but are only allowed to drive to the Campground and then back to them main entrance.
Due to the road and maintenance costs, vehicle traffic is limited and believe me - you do not want to navigate those roads with your own vehicle. I was seriously impressed by the driving skills of our bus driver. Many parts of the road are build on permafrost, a reason why the road cannot be paved. Personal vehicles are allowed during the Denali Road Lottery. 1,600 people are allowed to drive the entire 92 miles of the park during one of the last five days of the Denali summer season for 18 hours only.
You can take tour busses and shuttle busses. While tour busses make stops in the park but don't offer long hiking oppoerunities, shuttle busses have specific destinations within the park and you can hop on and off as you go. There are a few companies in the area who are allowed to run air tours and shuttle flights. Those also give you the opportunity to land on some of the Denali glaciers or the Denali Climbing Base Camp.
Denali doesn't really have hiking trails
Denali National Park and Preserve has one 92 mile long main road, the Denali Park Road. Aside from that, the park has about 40 mikes of maintained trails. But that doesn't mean you don't have a lot of hiking opportunities. Most of the hiking in Denali is off-trail, and thus it is not the ideal park for beginner hikers. You should be able to read a map and compass. If that sounds too adventurous for you, you can stick to the maintained trails or hire a company that provides hiking tours.
The wildlife is amazing
Denali has its own 'big five': caribou, moose, dall sheep, wolves and grizzly bears. But they are only five of many species you might be able to see in the park. More than 160 bird species come to Denali to breed.
You can summit Mount Denali
If you are determined to get all the way to the peak of Denali, there are two ways. The easy way is to take a plane. Unfortunately, this will only give you a fly-by experience. THe second way is to actually climb it. However, you will have to have certain climbing experience and spend a lot of money on gear before you can book a tour with a guide.
There are many things to do in Denali
One of the first things you'll see when entering the park is the Denali National Park Visitors Center. It houses exhibitions on the park's history and wildlife and several ranger-led activities launch from there. There are two more centers, the Murie Science and Learning Center for children, and the Eielson Visitor Center, located at mile 66. The center hosts a small art gallery and is the starting point for three of the maintained trails. Denali is the only national park in the U.S. where rangers do winter patrols on dog sleds. Tourists can visit the kennels for sled dog demonstrations and educational purposes.
You can do many adventure activities such as flightseeing, ATV rides or yiplining or raft down Nenana River. One of the most famous spots in the park is the Wonder Lake, where Ansel Adams took his famous photograph of the mountain.
Denali has fossiles
One especially great activity you can do in Denali is to explore dinosaur fossiles. In 2005, a three-toed theropod fossile was the first one to be found. Sine then, thousands of trace fossils have been discovered and visitos can see many of them at the Murie Science and Learning Center.
You can camp in Denali National Park and Preserve
The six campgrounds in the park are Riley Creek (at the park entrance), Savage River (13 miles), Sanctuary River (23 miles), Teklanika River (29 miles), Igloo Creek (35 miles) and Wonder Lake(85 miles). The Sanctuary River, Igloo Creek and Wonder Lake campsides only allow tents. Otherwise, you can book hotels, cabins, B&Bs and hostels in the area, such as Denali Park Salmon Bake Restaurant and Cabins, Crow’s Nest or Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. There are some accomodations at the end of the park road in Kantisha, such as Denali Backcountry Lodge, Kantishna Roadhouse and Camp Denali.
Is the Denali National Park and Preserve on your travel bucket list?
Kate recommends: The Final Frontiersman by James Campbell folloows the life of Heimo Korth. Heimo meets his wife Edna on St Lawrence Island, where he learns how to live with Eskimos and survive in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.