Denali National Park
Another shuttle bus approaching one of many beautiful vistas.
Making our Alaska itinerary, we prioritized a visit to this park with hopes of experiencing great scenery and wildlife, which it easily delivered. As we started planning, the first few minutes of internet searching yielded some quick insights. First- the park is huge, and most of it is inaccessible to all but those backpacking with a permit for the backcountry. This is something my friends have done and enjoyed, but my friend Molly’s memory of zipping open her tent in the morning to 7 grizzlies in her line of sight was not something I was eager to experience myself. Second- when the park was founded in 1917, there were, of course, considerably fewer visitors, so in the summer, all but the first 15 miles of the park’s 92 mile road is closed to cars. Instead, visitors must book seats on the hop on-hop off transit buses or one of of the narrated tour busses.
Approaching Eielson Visitor Center
The visitor’s center is worth a stop
Our Bus Tour to the Eielson Visitor Center
We opted to book seats on the cheaper transit busses, which is largely a misnomer, as very few people ended up using the hop-on/hop-off feature and most remained on the same bus all the way to our destination (though there were frequent stops for photo opportunities, bathrooms, and wildlife sightings). We also benefited from our driver’s narration, which was supposedly a feature only guaranteed on the tour busses. After doing considerable research, we chose Eielson Visitor Center as our destination, meaning an 8 hour day, at minimum on and off the bus (rather than the two options that are further away, Wonder Lake or Kantishna). Our bus trip was $43 per person, and we had no regrets about our choice, though on a perfectly clear day, we might have tried to upgrade to the Wonder Lake transit bus.
The Eielson Visitor Center was a great spot to walk around, watch an interesting video about those who attempt to climb Denali, and have lunch, all while overlooking Mt. Denali itself. We also enjoyed watching some caribou poke around the river valley below.
Looking over Polychrome Pass
It was a long day, but the beauty of the park easily made all that time on the bus worth it. We especially loved Polychrome Pass and the last few miles before the Eielson Visitor Center, watching the mountain grew closer and most imposing. The grizzlies, caribou, wolves, moose, and dall sheep were awesome to see, and weirdly, I had to remind myself that this wasn’t some giant zoo situation.
Crossing the Toklat River
Stopping at Polychrome Pass
Horseshoe Trail and the sled dog demonstration
Unless you’re spending time in the backcountry, most of the hiking trails is located around the visitor center. We went on Horseshoe Trail, hoping to see moose, and though it was easy and pretty, it was also so close to the hotels as to be disappointing. Next time, we’ll take the Three Lakes or Savage Alpine trails. We did, however, enjoy the visitor center itself and we loved seeing the sled dogs demonstration, which is a must-do.
A boardwalk near Horseshoe Lake
At the Sled Dog Center
On our hike around Horseshoe Lake
Where we stayed
McKinley Creekside Cabins were affordable and wonderful, with little patios and chairs along the eponymous creek, and we were thankful to be staying there rather than the expensive, generic hotels crowded around the park’s entrance. Don’t miss their strawberry rhubarb coffee cake, and note that you can get wine and coffee to “to go” to enjoy on your patio.
Inside 49th State Brewing Company in Healy
The Lobby (and restaurant) for our hotel
49th State Brewing Company
49th State Brewing Company in Healy (a bit north of the park entrance) is a worthy stop. There, we drank good IPAs, ate burgers, and saw the bus replica used in the film version of Into the Wild.
We had a reservation at 229 Parks on the night of our anniversary, but a power outage that night meant an unexpected closure, so we’ll keep this well-regarded restaurant on our list for next time.