Alaska’s Denali National Park

With over 360,000 visitors a year, Denali National Park and Preserve is one of Alaska’s top attractions. Don’t let that number scare you off, though: Thanks to careful park controls and management, your family can still have an exciting, personal wilderness experience at Denali.

Getting to the park

Getting there is the start of your adventure. Driving takes about four hours from Anchorage and two hours from Fairbanks. If you drive, you’ll have the option of foregoing “Glitter Gulch,” the strip of lodging and restaurants at the park entrance. Instead, stay either south of the park or north near the town of Healy. Camping by tent or motor home is another popular option, with RV rentals available in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Be sure to call ahead for reservations at one of the park’s campgrounds. 

Riding the family-friendly, scenery-rich Alaska Railroad takes about twice as long as driving, but it’s relaxing and great fun. Whether you ride the rails or drive, hopefully you’ll catch a glimpse of Mount McKinley, or Denali, along the Anchorage-Denali route. The first time you round a corner and all 20,320 feet of mountain fills your frame of vision, a soul-tingling sense of awe grabs you and holds on tight. However, the mountain is so tall that it makes its own weather, so don’t be surprised if it’s covered in clouds.

• A trail leads through Denali National Park.
• unhindered by talent

Planning your Denali trip

Fortunately, the mountain is not all there is to see. The park’s six-million acres of wilderness is teeming with wildlife. Dall sheep perched on rocky mountaintops, wolf pups romping in the grass, bear cubs wrestling in the road, fox slinking across the tundra, swans gliding across a glassy lake, caribou lounging in a patch of snow—these sights and more are among the wonders my family has seen at Denali.

Limited road access keeps the “wild” in this wilderness. During the regular summer season, you can drive only the first 15 miles into the park on the 91-mile Denali Park Road. From there, you’ll have to leave your car and (unless you want to walk or ride a bicycle) board a shuttle bus, an interpretive bus tour or a camper bus. The drivers act as tour guides, making sure you get a good look at critters along the way.

• Dall sheep in Denali National Park.
• scubadive67

Since a five-hour ride is the shortest option, getting on a bus will take a good chunk of your day. If you have little ones that won’t tolerate sitting for five hours, you can skip the bus and fill the day with activities close to the park entrance. The Denali Visitor Center offers great interpretive displays and a powerful film, Heartbeats of Denali.

Three times daily, you can catch a free shuttle to Denali’s working kennels for a fascinating 30-minute demonstration of how sled dogs help rangers patrol the park. Or try a guided nature walk with a park ranger, 45 minutes to two hours in length.