With over six million acres of land and home to North America’s tallest peak at 20,310′, any trip to Denali National Park is sure to be humbling. There’s a reason this national park is on so many bucket lists, and no trip to Alaska would be complete without a visit. Whether you’re attaching a land cruise to a water one, or simply flying into Alaska, it isn’t known for being a budget-friendly travel destination. So even though I’m sure you could fill an entire summer exploring Denali, if you’re short on funds or time, the park is still worth visiting even just for two days. Keep reading to discover how to make the most of them!
Day One In Denali
The Black Bear Coffee
Whether you’re coming from Anchorage or Fairbanks, your journey to the park will be anywhere from two and a half to four and a half hours. Before heading to the park, you’ll need to make a stop for two vital provisions; coffee and bear spray. Maybe the coffee isn’t vital, but you might regret not getting it when you’re half-way through your hike later in the day. As the point of going to national parks is to be out in nature, don’t expect a built up downtown area anywhere nearby. The closest you’ll come is the strip of shops along Denali Drive where you’ll find The Black Bear coffee house. The Black Bear is a small, cabin-style building with counter service. As it’s a popular go-to before heading into the park, plan on a short wait. We enjoyed lattes and a happy bowl to power up.
Bear Spray
Then, walk just a few doors down to Denali Mountain Works to purchase your bear spray. You cannot fly with bear spray, and it’s not something you should chance going without. Think of it as your life insurance for under $50. We found it was cheaper to purchase it at Denali Mountain Works than it was in Denali National Park’s gift shop. This store also had camping gear and rentals if you are planning more intense excursions.
Bus Ride Through Denali
The road through Denali National Park is 92 miles long. Cars are only permitted to drive the first 15 miles of it, so to see the park you’ll need to take a bus — or I guess get a REALLY good pair of hiking shoes. Currently due to a landslide, the buses are only going up until the 43rd mile mark at the East Fork River. While I’m sure it would have been amazing to see beyond this point (extreme adventurers can still hike beyond), they do not know when the road will be open again. There is no time to travel like the present, so don’t wait on the road’s account! Additionally, taking the bus to the East Fork River and back is already a four and a half hour journey. There are bathroom and viewing breaks along the way, and you always stop to see wildlife (staying safely on board, of course).
The landscapes and wildlife of Denali are truly breathtaking and something you have to see for yourself to fully comprehend. You’ll never feel smaller, yet fully connected to the earth at the same time as you do when you look out at the vast plains of the tundra. When on the bus, keep your eyes peeled for animals such as grizzlies, caribou, black bears, moose, wolves, and dall sheep. On our bus ride, we saw all of these, minus the black bears and wolves. We even had a grizzly hunting for a ground squirrel no more than ten feet from our bus window! The bus offers you an amazing way to safely view these predators and we truly could not be more grateful for how amazing the bus drivers were about pointing everything out.
Type Of Buses
There are two types of buses you can take into Denali. The narrated tour bus provides binocular viewing screens of the animals and historical narration of the park along your journey. While you can still get off the narrated tour bus for the bathroom and viewing breaks, you are locked into the full journey on that particular bus. The other option is a hop-on-hop-off transit bus. The transit bus allows you to get off wherever you please (as long as you tell the driver) and hike. Then, you simply go back to any portion of the road and flag down another transit bus when you’re ready to be picked up. Just know, you may have to wait for a bus for a while, and can only get picked up if they have open seats. This was never a problem for us. Both bus types stop for wildlife and share the road so that all visitors get an optimal view. To save money (over $80 per person) and get our own feet in the backcountry, we opted for the transit bus. We followed the recommendation of others and took an early bus all the way out to East Fork River and saved our hikes for the second half of the day to ensure we were able to complete the full route.
Hiking in Denali
The extra time you save by not going to the 92nd mile allows you to get in some hiking on day one! As mentioned, we took the bus to the East Fork River and disembarked to have some time to walk along the water. We then took a different transit bus back to mile 17, where we hopped off again.
Primrose Ridge
Hiking in the backcountry of Denali is a bit different from most National Parks. Many of the hikes don’t have actual trails, and you’re encouraged not to create them. This means you can wander wherever you would like, but you’ll want to do so with caution. At mile 17, my partner Eric and I decided to hike the Primrose Ridge/Mt. Margaret trail. We knew this would be the only time we hiked off-trail, and it was enough to get our blood pumping! Though we were dealing with an incline, the real heart racer was walking through brush several feet above our heads after just seeing two grizzlies while on the bus. With all hiking in Denali, make sure you’re talking, carrying bear bells, and have bear spray — just in case the first two don’t scare them away! While we only did a very short portion of this hike, the views were amazing!
Savage River Loop
After getting some otherworldly pictures, if you head back to the road, you can take another bus or walk down two more miles to mile 15. At mile 15, you’ll find the starts to both the Savage Alpine and the Savage River trails. Being within the park’s first 15 miles, you can also drive to these popular trails. The Savage River Loop is a two-mile loop along both sides of the river, with a bridge to cross, of course. It’s easy and rewarding, with almost Lord of the Rings-type vibes.
Savage Alpine Trail
In full, the Savage Alpine trail is a four-mile, grueling trail that will spit you out at the Savage River Campground at mile 13. Starting from the Savage River Area, we had an uphill battle, but the views were worth it! Plus, we got to see magpies and an adorable tundra mouse. The ground was quite uneven, and I did have a bit of a fall, so be careful and consider trekking poles. As it was very windy and starting to get dark, we turned around and went back the way we came after reaching the peak. Denali National Park is amazing and worth visiting, but it’s also dangerous. Always be aware of your surroundings and judge your own safety and comfort levels. The vast planes can mess with your head and warp your perceptions of distance and time. In this particular circumstance, we were very lucky that we turned around when we did, as we ended up being the only hikers on the last transit bus out of the park that night. Even if you’re exhausted, try to make the most of your time in the park. In doing so, we were rewarded.
Seeing Denali
On our transit bus back, the skies opened and we were able to see the actual mountain of Denali! Due to its elevation, the mountain practically has its own weather system that seems to be perpetually cloudy. Only 30% of people who visit the park actually ever see the mountain, and I’ll tell ya, getting to be a part of the famed “30% club” is really something. I may or may not have teared up a little at the sheer beauty of the mountain, and even our bus driver got off to take a picture. Don’t worry! Even if you don’t see Denali, the entirety of the park is awe-inspiring!
Dinner at 49th State Brewing
After a long first day in the park, you’ll want to have a hearty meal so you can get a proper night’s sleep to do it all over again. The cozy lodge-like interior at 49th State Brewing, complete with fire pits and antler chandeliers, was the perfect spot to warm up and fill up. I personally opted for a crab filled grilled cheese and a flight of their house-made sodas — the most unique being the frontier spruce tip. Everything about 49th State Brewing was great, and fans of the book Into The Wild can see the bus used in the film of the same name parked right outside as well!
Day Two In Denali
Denali Visitor Center
No, you’re not in Denali to spend your time indoors, but you really shouldn’t skip checking out the museum at the Visitor Center. Information there spans from the creation of the mountains of the park to the modern day impacts humans have on the area. My favorite parts were seeing the size of different animal scats, artifacts of indigenous peoples, and information on how the need to protect the declining dall sheep population actually led to the creation of Denali National Park. We spent about 30 minutes here reading up about the park before watching one of their informational videos which provided sweeping aerial views of the park throughout every season. The Visitor Center is right near the restaurant, giftshop, bus stop, and train depot.
Sled Dog Demonstration
You can’t beat getting to see a grizzly bear in the wild, but the dogs at the Denali National Park Kennels will surely try their hardest to steal the show! Not only are the pups cute, but they play a vital role in the park. Since 1922, the park’s sled dogs have helped rangers patrol the park and cut down on poaching. They also keep the true spirit of Alaska alive and act as an eco-friendly form of travel for scientists conducting important research in hard to reach areas. Attending a sled dog demonstration is a must do! Rangers will tell you all about these gorgeous huskies history and let the dogs show you for themselves how impressive they are. You can walk through the kennels, meet and pet the dogs, talk to rangers, and check out the mushers shed, where there is a small museum and nametags of all the Denali sled dogs that have passed. During the summer months, demonstrations happen at 10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm. If you need a seat, arrive early as seating is extremely limited. Luckily there is plenty of standing room. Though we drove, rangers said the parking lot is often full. You can get to the demonstrations via shuttle or a two-mile walking path from the Visitor Center.
Horseshoe Lake Trail
There are several hikes with trails right near the Visitor Center, and one of the most popular is the Horseshoe Lake Trail. This two-mile loop immerses you in the trees and gives you views of a turquoise lake before taking you right down to its shores. As you can tell from the photos of the view, there’s quite a drop in elevation. Since you’ll be giving your lungs a good workout, plan for about an hour and a half to complete the loop, stopping to see beaver dams, a river, and wildlife along the way. We were taking a picture by the water and almost missed the moose that was watching us less than twenty yards away! You can also attach the Taiga Trail onto this hike if you would like to see some aspens.
McKinley Station Trail
Another trail right near the Visitor Center is the McKinley Station Trail. Just over three miles and relatively easy, this loop shouldn’t take you very long, though you will again be descending on the way out and ascending on the way back. The highlight here is viewing the train bridge from a wooden one below. Along the way, there was a placard that explained about the previous buildings and town that was in this area as a result of the gold rush.
Talkeetna
If you’re coming to Denali from Anchorage, either on your way to or from the city, make a short stopover in the quaint town of Talkeetna, about two hours from the park entrance. If you found local hikes, you could do a full-day trip here, but otherwise, just give yourself an hour or two to walk around the artisan shops and grab an ice cream.
Listen, I know it’s cold in Alaska, but Shirley’s Homemade Ice Cream is known for having two very rare flavors; fireweed and northern lights. Fireweed is a wildflower that got its name for being the first plant to sprout after a large fire. While we did not have northern lights, we enjoyed the fireweed, which tasted a bit like botanical vanilla. The real champions of it were the consistency (seriously, maybe the best we’ve ever had) and the bright pink hue.
Dessert before dinner is great, but for the latter, we headed to Denali Brewing Company. We visited the tasting room and found it to be a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. While the cider and mead we sipped on were great, what we really came for was the wood fired pizza. We got the margherita and the mushroom and they were both a satiating way to end the day! (Gluten free friends: in terms of crusts, this was the best we’ve ever had!)
Additional Tips for Denali:
Lodging Near Denali National Park
Like with many national parks, accommodations near Denali are limited. Due to demand, this also means they’re pricey. While there are a few higher-end options, such as the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and McKinley Chalet Resort, we of course went with something a little more budget-friendly. Just ten minutes further north is the small town of Healy, where we stayed at the Denali Park Hotel. Set up as a motel, this place wasn’t anything special, but it was the cheapest option we could find and it suited us just fine. We did like that they had free coffee (with multiple flavors) available in their recycled railway car lobby in the morning and saw online that many people have seen moose on premises. We did not, but that does seem like a little perk for supporting local tourism!
The Best Time Of Year To Visit Denali
While the park is beautiful year round, Denali’s tourism is extremely seasonal. The best time to visit is late May to early September. During this time, you can rest assured that things will be open. We visited August 31st–September 1st and felt like we were there at the perfect time. Wildlife was very active, days were still long, and we also got to see some of the park already in the hues of autumn. Since this is also at the backend of the tourist season, even the popular trails of the park felt peacefully empty.
Gluten-free note: All of the food mentioned in this blog (other than the crab grilled cheese) was consumed by a celiac traveler with no issue. Of course, recipes and protocols change, so always check with staff for your safety!
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