On any summer day in Denali, Alaska's most well known national park, hundreds of people see sights that will stay with them the rest of their lives. Perhaps a golden eagle will soar off the cliffs at Polychrome Pass, or 20 Dall's sheep will rest on a green shoulder of Primrose Ridge, or a grizzly will ramble over the tundra at Sable Pass. Maybe a caribou will pause on a ridgetop, silhouetted by the warm light of day's end, or a loon will call across Wonder Lake, or clouds will part to reveal the great massif of Mount McKinley, 20,320 feet high, the roof of North America.
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The drama is always there. To see it, all you need to do is travel the 92-mile park road. The farther you go, the more you'll see, for the subarctic landscape will open up as big as the sky and the animals will move through it with wild, ancient poetry.
Other North American parks have their wildlife, but none has animals so visible or diverse as Denali. And other parks have their mountains, but none with a stature so stunning, a summit so towering as McKinley.
Denali's visitors have increased almost 200 percent in 30 years. Accommodating them without eroding the park's wilderness has been a struggle. A bus system that permits maximum wildlife viewing while holding down traffic has been designed. Campgrounds are modest and unobtrusive. And the wilderness areas have strict overnight camping ceilings to prevent overcrowding and damage to the flora and fauna. Unless you plan ahead by using the park's easy-to-use reservation system, you may have to wait a day or two to get your preferred campsite or bus reservation.
How to Get There
From Anchorage, take Alas. 1 (Glenn Hwy.) 35 miles north to Alas. 3 (George Parks Hwy.). Go north 205 miles. From Fairbanks, take Alas. 3 west and south 120 miles. In summer, the Alaska Railroad runs between Anchorage and Fairbanks and stops daily at the Denali railroad station. In winter, the train runs on weekends only. Air service available in summer to nearby airstrips from Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Talkeetna.
When to Go
In summer, there are up to 21 hours of daylight. Buses carry visitors into the park late May to mid-September. June is usually less crowded than July and August. In late August or early September, the tundra turns rich tones of red, orange, and yellow. In winter, visitors can take the road 3 miles to park headquarters and cross-country ski, snowshoe, or dogsled from there.
May and early June are the best times to climb Mount McKinley; after June, avalanches and crevasses threaten. Most mountaineers fly from Talkeetna and land at 7,200 feet on the Kahiltna Glacier to begin a climb that will take 15 to 30 days.
How to Visit
The more time the better, but plan on at least 2 days. The park is undergoing significant changes to handle the increased visitors; check ahead for road and trail changes.
Any private vehicle can travel the park road for 15 miles to Savage River Check Station; after that only those with camping permits for Teklanika Campground may continue. For everyone else, shuttle buses and tour buses operate on the road by day and into evening, late May to mid-September; schedules vary.
The 85-mile shuttle bus trip along the park road to Wonder Lake takes 11 hours round-trip but stops at destinations along the way. Visitors can take other buses as far as Kantishna, the end of the road, a 13-hour trip. Take a jacket, binoculars, and lunch (available near the Denali Visitor Center or outside the park; no food along the way). In the park, consider getting off the bus for a hike; buses will stop almost anywhere. To get on another bus, just wave one down. In busy times, you may have to wait a while for one with space.
Park campgrounds and buses fill quickly, so plan for the possibility of staying a night or two in a hotel or private campground if you must wait for a campsite or bus ticket.
Mount McKinley is often covered with clouds; you may be more likely to get a clear view of it early or late in the long day.
