Welcome to a Wilderness Park
Denali has just one road, and private vehicles can only drive a short portion of it in summer. Most sightseeing in Denali is done by bus (either a narrated tour bus or a non-narrated transit bus).
Denali’s weather can be temperamental and seeing the mountain isn’t guaranteed. Summertime visitors only have about a 30 – 40 percent chance of seeing the mountain. It’s possible to spot the 20,310-foot peak from many places around southcentral Alaska.
There is only one road in Denali. Private vehicles can drive a small part of it, but most of the road is open only to bus traffic.
Located far from any airport or large city, Denali is a wilderness park. Reaching the park can take several hours (or even most of a day), so we recommend that you plan a minimum itinerary of 2 nights in the area, which gives you one full day and part of two others.
Savage River – As mentioned in my guide to hiking trails, you can see Denali from the Savage River Alpine Trail outlook (Mile 15). … Located at Mile 62 of the Park Road, Eielson is 33 miles from the mountain and offers informative displays about Denali National Park and the namesake mountain.
The town of Willow is another 50 miles south of Talkeetna but still provides impressive views of Denali.
You can’t see Mt. McKinley from the entrance to Denali National Park since the road lies in a valley lined with mountains that obstruct views of the gigantic mountain. Private cars and RVs are only allowed on the first 15 miles of the Park road.
The north face of Denali can be seen from many spots in Alaska’s Interior city, about 150 miles from the mountain.
Fatality rates and odds ratios for country of origin were calculated. From 1903 through the end of the 2006 climbing season, 96 individuals died on Denali. The fatality rate is declining and is 3.08/1,000 summit attempts.
Princess Cruises offers the option of visiting Denali National Park as an add-on to its seven-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise. The Denali option, known as the Denali Explorer Alaska Cruise tour, includes a train trip to Denali and up to four nights in the park before returning to either Anchorage or Fairbanks.
Anchorage to Denali costs around $171 in Adventure class or $314 in Goldstar class. In the private high-level dome cars it costs around $189 for Wilderness Express or $218 for McKinley Explorer.
The highest recorded temperature in the national park is 91 degrees. Overall, in the north and south part of Denali, the average temperatures fluctuate between 50 and 60. The average high temperature for the area is 66.
Once you get outside of Anchorage, it’s definitely possible to see the Milky Way. What is this? The Milky Way is most visible in the summer months through the northern hemisphere – but that’s the time of year where Alaska experiences the Midnight Sun!
You won’t see Denali from the park entrance, like you did farther south. To view the mountain while in Denali National Park, you’ll take a bus down the Park Road. Your first view of the mountain is at Mile 9.
The trail offers view of mt. Denali on clear days, by the end of our hike the mountain got covered with clouds. We also hiked the savage river loop which was an easy hike under an hour.
President Barack Obama
In a nod to Alaska’s native population, former President Barack Obama announced in 2015 that he was officially renaming the country’s tallest mountain from Mt. McKinley to Denali, its name in the indigenous Athabascan language.Oct 25, 2017
Estimated Time | Travel Guide / Schedule | |
---|---|---|
Car | 5 hours | Denali Driving Guide |
Bus | 5 hours | Bus Schedule |
Train | 8 hours | Train Schedule |
Air | 1.5 hrs | Kantishna Air Taxi |
Fairbanks International Airport
The closest airport to Denali is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) located 125 miles northeast of the national park. The largest and busiest airport in Alaska is Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, about 245 miles south of Denali.Aug 19, 2015
Mount McKinley can be hiked as a solo ascent or as part of a multi-peak day hike along with Mendenhall Peak (LPC) and/or Iron Mountain #2 (HPS). Most of the trails and roads are mountain bike friendly and don’t be surprised to see running clubs using Mendenhall Ridge Road as a marathon training route.
Yes, on a very clear day, you can see Denali, which is Koyukon Athabascan for “The Great One”, all the way from Anchorage.
The Denali Highway is paved for three miles on the west end and 21 miles on the east end. More than 100 miles are graded gravel with a recommend- ed speed limit of 30 mph. Some car rental agencies do not allow driving on gravel roads.
Denali has a large selection of HOTELS, LODGES and CABIN options both within and just outside the park entrance. If you want to stay inside the park your options are Kantishna Roadhouse, Camp Denali, and Northface Lodge. All these lodges are great for direct access to Denali National Park sights and places of interest.
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