3 days in Denali National Park — An unforgettable and most beautiful experience in Interior Alaska

This article was originally published on our website 3daytravel.com. It is a website for travel planning and we share our experiences in a structured but personalized way. You would see all articles are divided into four sections — introduction, vibe, itinerary (for 3 days), food and souvenirs.

The third largest national park in the US, Denali spans 6 million square miles of wilderness and mountains. The centerpiece — a formidable snow-capped mountain range around the 20k-ft mount McKinley is studded by glaciers on all sides.

The black and white sash is accentuated by the Tundra and taiga forests form a rich, flowing, skirt. Most of the park is closed (and buried in snow) all winter. But any other season is a great time to experience the wilderness, the majestic mountains & passes, and spot wildlife. There are three ways to enjoy the park: day-trips on the shuttle, camping & hiking, and one of the back-country cabins.

Staying right outside the park and taking the park shuttle all the way to wonder-lake and back (a 13-hour round trip) is an easy and effective way to see the park and spot wildlife. However, your view is restricted by a small bus window. On the other hand, back-country cabins are expensive and well-planned. But the most involved experience and the hardest to plan is camping and hiking. We will cover that here

Vibe

There are 6 designated campgrounds and almost unlimited options for backcountry camping. Every designated location gives you hiking access to a different area of the Park. But you always have the option to take the shuttle-bus to another location and day-hike there. The reservation system is unnecessarily complex. But don’t get bogged down by it. Give the nice people in reservations a call and they will sort it out for you. And remember — a park driver will never leave you on the road because ‘you have the wrong sort of pass’. Relax!

Denali is not as much about itineraries as it is about locations. You have to choose. In many ways, this makes every day’s schedule identical to the next and yet, each day brings a unique experience of sights, sounds and smells. Here is what your typical day would look like:

• Wake up early to see some of the most spectacular sunrises at a stone’s throw. No matter what campground you are in, you can always walk to a lovely sunrise
• Cook a heavy breakfast from your provisions. When it comes to food, always keep in mind that
• There is no food anywhere inside the park; provision well and carry extra supplies.
• Food smells attract animals (especially bears, who have the best sense of smell among mammals); always try to cook away from your tent and keep all food items stashed in a food locker in a designated campground or a bear resistant container, if you are in the backcountry
• Pick an area you want to explore. Aside from your campground, Sanctuary river, Polychrome pass, Tolkat river and Eeilson visitor center are great places to explore and day-hike. You should ask the rangers or fellow campers if they know interesting places. Since Denali is a trail-less park, there are almost unlimited choices. The only advice here is: try and spend less than 2 hours of your day inside of a bus. This allows you to explore part of the park to your heart’s content and still make it to the last bus of the day to head back to your campground. Remember to carry food and plenty of water
• Plan to be back in your campsite before dark (or set up camp, if you are a back country camper). You would have worked up a substantial appetite from a day of hard work. Cook, clean and put away before settling in for a night of well-deserved sleep.

Beyond this, there is little else in direction that anybody can provide. Just pick a general direction, and go forth!

Wild-life (Summer and Fall): Below is the list of animals that you will see in the park and we saw them all during our visit; it is for this we recommend you stay at the park for atleast 3 days and bring a good camera lens so that you can get likes on your wild-life photography posts; for most of these, you do not have to hike (unless you are looking for a closer look) and you will be able to see them from the park bus

• Grizzly bears (300–350): Live in the park on the north side of the Alaska Range and can be seen on open tundra, along the gravel bars of streams and rivers
• Dall sheep (~1,600): Seen on Mile 15 to 17, Savage Rock, above Savage Alpine Trail, Igloo Canyon, Polychrome and Tolkat); mostly white specks on the cliff of the mountains unless you are hiking up or very lucky
• Caribou (~2,600): Seen on open tundra and ridgetops, where they find lichens and escape the bugs
• Moose (~2,100): Seen near the park entrance, standing in kettle ponds, eating vegetation
• Wolves (~62): Highly social and usually live in packs, 2017 summer and fall the pack was near Igloo Creek; seen in areas of better visibility, like open tundra and gravel bars
• Red Fox: Mostly seen along the road
• Other animals and birds include hare, squirrels, porcupine, bald eagle, arctic turn, and how can I miss mosquitoes

Campsites (does not include backcountry campsites)

• Riley Creek (Mile 0): RV and tent campground at the park entrance, mercantile has showers, toilets, laundry, store and dump station
• Savage River (Mile 32): 32 RV and tent sites, water and flush toilets available
• Sanctuary River (Mile 23): 7 tent sites (was available 2017 summer as Igloo Creek was closed because of Wolf den)
• Teklanika River (Mile 29): 53 RV and tent sites; 3 day minimum stay required, water, toilets, fire pits, and big food storage lockers available; you can take your cars or RV till Mile 29 but can only drive it back after your trip is done
• Igloo Creek (Mile 34): 7 tent sites; no water
• Wonder Lake (Mile 85): 29 tent sites; water, flush toilets, big food storage lockers available

Campsite and Bus bookings: You can always call and book or if you prefer online, please go to: http://www.reservedenali.com/camping-dining/camping-experience/

Bus Bookings: You can book a camper bus till your campsite and then can take any green bus getting further into the park each day depending on the availability. You can jump off a green transit bus, explore, then wave down another green bus heading your direction.

If you are taking a tour bus, then you will need a different booking and you will receive a narrated experience (we do not recommend this if you are staying inside the park for multiple days). If, for some reason, you are only in the park for one day and do not like the idea of camping and also do not want to spend $500 — $1000+ per night at a private lodge inside the park (~Mile 90), then tour buses are a good idea. Below are the options: Denali Natural History (Mile 30), Tolkat Shoulder Season (Mile 52), Tundra Wilderness Tour (Mile 63) and Kantishna Experience (Mile 92); Our recommendation would be Tundra or Kantishna but again dependent on how much time you have and money you want to spend. Again, we recommend camping or staying at the park for multiple days to get complete rejuvenation and absorb what the park has to offer

Lodging: Inside the park, the options are around Mile 92 (92 miles inside the park) and none of these lodges are owned by National Park Service. They are very expensive average of $500 per night per person when booked well in advance as these are open only in summer till mid of September. The options include:

• Camp Denali & North Face Lodge — North Face Lodge and 18 cabins in Camp Denali ($625+ per person per night — min of 3 nights)
• Kantishna Roadhouse — Cabins duplex or fourplex style ($540+ per person per night)
• Denali Backcountry Lodge — main lodge and 42 cabins ($550+ per person per night)
• Skyline — Accommodates up to 10 guests ($340+ per person per night)

Itineraries

[Day 1]

• Reach Wilderness Access Center of Denali National Park
• Check-in for your campsite and bus (assuming you are not doing backcountry, in which case you will have to go to backcountry permit office and check-in with them on your requirements and availability)
• Our recommendation is Wonder Lake (Mile 85) if you are okay with camping for 3 nights (with no access to any phone service and outside food) and good part is there is ultimate solitude as there are only 28 other campsites apart from yours and you get up to see Denali every day from your campsite — it does require advance reservation much long in advance (6 months for your desired dates). Most days Denali is hidden under the clouds so we recommend staying here for more than a day so that you get to see Denali at its glory at least once. It is the best campground if you are not into backcountry camping. This area has mosquitos during summer and start of fall so bug repellent and mosquito head nets are recommended.
• Since most people plan not so far in advance, the chances are you may get one or two days in Wonder Lake at max, so the next recommended options are Teklanika, Igloo Creek and Sanctuary River
• Book discovery hike for one full-day: Discovery hikes are all day ranger-led hikes that will reach you how to explore the park; limited to a max of 11 hikers, the Discovery hike bus leaves the Wilderness Access Center at 8 am sharp (you can also reach the starting mile marker if you are at your campsite); the hikes are moderate to strenuous and you learn how to cross small streams, and gain basic orienteering and map skills
• Hike one or two of 13 trails in the entrance area and be part of other Park activities
• Our recommendation is Horseshoe lake hike [3 mile, 2.5 hours, easy to moderate]: From Taiga Trail, join Horseshoe lake trail at railroad tracks. It is a mirror lake and has beautiful views on all side; you also walk by the river during the hike.
• McKinley Station walk [1.6 mile, 2 hours, easy] is another one if you have time
• If the day is clear, you can also drive to Savage River [Mile 13] and enjoy day hikes to another 4 trails, Mountain Vista Trailhead for a possible first glimpse of Denali
• Visit the historic Park Kennels for a Sled Dog Demonstration
• Take a camper bus and drive to your campsite
• Set up tent, cook food, and enjoy the sun-set followed by ranger program at 7:30 pm at your campsite

[Day 2]

• Take a bus early in the morning to go into the park for hiking and experience the park at your own
• Bus will stops for wild-life
• If you are coming from Mile 34 or before, Stop at Polychrome pass; you can get down the bus and start hiking in the area for the beautiful views of the polychrome mountains, hike to Geo mountain, along braided rivers or to kettle ponds; you can hike for as long as you want assuming you have enough water and food
• Depending if there is more time during the day, you can take the bus and go to Tolkat River (Mile 52): You can hike along the river, Divide mountain and also visit the bookstore and buy a book (in case you didn’t get one)
• If trail-less hiking is not what you like, then we recommend going to Eielson Visitor Center (Mile 66): This will be the first time you will be seeing Denali at its full glory, provided day is clear; two hikes that we recommend from visitor center are:
• Gorge Creek Trail [1.5 miles, 2 hours, moderate to strenuous]: Access to the current Gorge Creek Trail is via a signed spur departing the Tundra Loop Trail southwest of the visitor center. It is an informal trail from the west end of the Thorofare Bluffs down to the Thorofare River Bar. The trail offers spectacular views of Denali, as well as access to a popular natural overlook that attracts many park visitors who travel to the visitor center via bus.
• Alpine Hike [2 miles, 2 and a half hours, strenuous]: High-alpine tundra, tremendous views of Denali on clear days, and chances to see large mammals such as grizzly bears and caribou
• We highly recommend spending the night of Day 2 in one of the interior campsites (Igloo Creek, Wonder Lake or back-country). This will save you the at least 10 hours of precious daylight that you can explore the park with (instead of traveling back out and then in on a bus). If you intend to do back-country camping, you have to plan in advance and get a permit. Some people leave their big tents/RVs at Teklanika for 3–4 days and do one-night of backcountry camping with a lighter backpack. This also gives you a safety net to fall back to if the weather goes south.

[Day 3]

• If you are staying at Wonder Lake or visiting for a couple of hours, we recommend go up the hill from Wonder Lake campground and see beautiful views of Denali, hike down to kettle ponds, and pick tastiest blueberries that you are ever going to have; best sunrise and sunset views are also recommended from this hill
• Other easy hike includes McKinley Bar Trail [5 mile roundtrip hike]: Located 1/4 mile before Wonder Lake Campground. This easy trail meanders through a spruce forest and past many small ponds before reaching the McKinley Bar on the McKinley river. The mile-wide gravel bar was crossed by some of the pioneering climbers to start their ascent of Denali. On a clear day, Denali dominates the view, but even when “The Great One” is shrouded by clouds there may be good views of other mountains in the Alaska range.
• Go to Wonder Lake, Reflection pond or any kettle ponds for the famous Denali photo
• Wonder Lake — you can go via a shorter route just a few steps next to the campground host RV or also via main park road to see how big the lake is and Denali ahead of it

Food

There is no food inside the park after you get on to the camper bus. So you have to carry your own supplies. Recommended items include:

1. Dried backpacking food like these are a life-saver
2. Take some soup, coffee or something non-messy, yet hot to prepare for cold nights

Places just outside the park entrance have some cool places, albeit closed in winter. There is one restaurant inside the park close to Denali Visitor Center and Alaska Railroad depot. The Riley Creek Mercantile at the entrance of the park sells sandwiches and a variety of pre-packaged food.

Souvenirs

• Hand-crafted Ulus: Alaska ulu knife has been used for centuries by Native people of the Arctic. Ulus were first shaped from slate and used to skin, fillet, sew and eat. The ullu is still a most popular cutting tool.
• Collect cool colored rocks by the river at Polychrome pass (true to its name)
• You can buy gifts inside the park too, at four locations:
• In the Murie Science and Learning Center (at the park entrance)
• At the main Alaska Geographic Bookstore, adjacent to the Denali Visitor Center
• In the Toklat River Rest Stop (at mile 53 of the park road), and
• At the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station

Originally published at www.3daytravel.com on September 16, 2017