Denali

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Denali National Park & Preserve

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J. Stephen
J. Stephen
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
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9
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Editor Pick

Denali National Park & Preserve

  • July 11, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Denali National Park & Preserve

Denali National Park is a leisurely five hour drive from Anchorage, although you can probably make it in around four if you want to. We enjoyed taking our time and enjoying the views, in spite of the rainy and overcast skies.

As you get to within an hour or so of the entrance to Denali NP you will come up on a couple of scenic overlooks that allow you your first view of Mt. McKinley. For us, however, the weather wasn't cooperative so we didn't get to see it during our travel to or in the park.

One of the nice benefits to the rain were the rainbows that we saw almost every day. At one point we even saw a double rainbow but by the time we found a safe place to pull off and set up for the picture, the shot was gone. DRATS!

If you are thinking about a trip to Denali do not cut yourself short on time. You will surely want to spend at least two nights in the area. We opted for three so that we could have two full days in the park. I would suggest you avoid the tourist area that is right outside of the park (about 5 minutes north). The prices are high and the area was rather crowded. We found a small lodge another ten minutes up the road, which was comfortable, clean and priced right. There are also a number of bed & breakfasts in the area as well as camping areas if you are traveling via RV.

Taking photos in Denali NP felt like being a photojournalist for National Geographic or something. We were lucky on our first day on the Wonder Shuttle to have several opportunities to take some beautiful photographs. While I'm including a few here in this review, please check out my journal specifically on Denali National Park. There you will find over 20 photos taken during our three day weekend in Denali.

From journal Alaska - The Last American Frontier!

Editor Pick

Denali National Park & Preserve

  • July 10, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by MilwVon from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Denali National Park & Preserve

Denali National Park has a lot to offer anyone who enjoys the outdoors and wildlife. Whether you are primarily into the landscape and mountain scenery, flowers and the flora of Alaska, or the animals and birds, you will find plenty in this vast land of over 6 million acres. (Yes...6 MILLION ACRES!!)

This is a park that requires that all visitors pay a $10 per person admission fee, good for up to 7 days. If you buy a shuttle ticket or a tour in the park, you will have this $10 added to the price of your ticket. As an annual pass holder in the US National Park system, you can obtain a refund of the $10 fee.

We encourage all national park visitors to consider buying an annual pass. For $50, you and your family can enjoy all US National Parks for free. This is a great deal and provides much-needed financial support to these national treasures.

As you drive into the park via the bus system, you will be comfortable and perhaps bored for the first 14 miles, to the Savage River bridge. It is at that point that personal motor vehicles can go no farther. More importantly, perhaps, that is the end of the paved road. Beyond that, the road becomes gravel. And not much farther beyond the point where the road becomes rough, you will soon realize it is just a one-lane road with limited turn-outs for the buses to avoid a head-on collision.

Not to worry, in spite of not having guardrails along the sheer cliff edge of the road, the drivers are competent and able to assure your safety during your journey. If you are a bit squiggy about heights, you may want to avoid the left-hand side of the bus on the way OUT and the other side on the way back. One lady on our bus couldn't look for the entire time we were heading up to and returning from the Polychrome Mountain Pass. Admittedly, it was a straight drop to the valley below.

I have provided journal pages for the major wildlife observed during our 2 days. Please be sure to take a look, especially since I'm pretty proud of the fantastic photos I was able to get during our trips through the park.

From journal Denali National Park--God's Country!

The Alaska Railroad

  • July 25, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by J. Stephen from Cincinnati, Ohio
The Alaska Railroad

A very popular way to visit Denali National Park is to take the train. The Alaska Railway has daily summer passenger service to the park from Anchorage, Fairbanks and other cities. Cruise ship passengers often catch the train in Seward, on Alaska's southern coast, and ride it all the way to Denali. Rail service is limited in winter.

I took an amazing four-hour trip on the Alaska Railroad from Talkeetna, along the Susitana River, with views into both Denali State Park and Denali National Park. This is a particularly interesting trip because it is the only "whistle stop" train still operating in America. We traveled through a remote roadless part of Alaska where this railroad is the only connection to the outside world for many homesteaders. Also, many outdoorsmen use the train to access remote areas for fishing, camping, and hiking. To catch the train anywhere along the route, people simply stand alongside the tracks and wave for the train to stop.

From journal Stalked by a Grizzly in Denali National Park

Glaciers of Denali

  • July 25, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by J. Stephen from Cincinnati, Ohio
Glaciers of Denali

Numerous glaciers, rivers of ice, slowly creak down the slopes of Mount McKinley and surrounding peaks. Some seem to be literally frozen in time, while others have been known to flow at a rate of 10 inches per minute. Twenty of the McKinley glaciers are longer than 5 miles, and six of them are 25 miles or longer. These are:

Kahiltna Glacier - 43 miles
Muldrow Glacier - 40 miles
Ruth Glacier - 35 miles
Yuenta-Laeuna Glacier - 32 miles
Eldridge Glacier - 30 miles
Tokositna Glacier - 25 miles

Kahiltna and Muldrow Glaciers are used as pathways by climbers trecking their way up the mountain using sleds and skis. Tourists can hire a private airplane to take them for a glacier landing, using a ski-equipped light plane. I chose rather to view the glaciers from above in a flightseeing trip over and around Mount McKinley.

From journal Stalked by a Grizzly in Denali National Park

The Alaska Range

  • July 25, 2005
  • Rated 2 of 5 by J. Stephen from Cincinnati, Ohio
The Alaska Range

In addition to Mount McKinley, there are several other very impressive peaks in Denali National Park. In this photo, taken from the banks of the Susitna River near Talkeetna, you can see Mount McKinley on the right - 20,320feet; Mount Hunter, 14,573 feet is in the center, and Mount Foraker, 17,400 feet, is on the left. Other notable peaks in the Alaska Ranger include:

Mount Hayes - 13,852 feet
Mount Silverthorne - 13,220 feet
Mount Deborah - 12,339 feet
Mount Huntington - 12,240 feet

The Alaska Range arches about 600 miles altogether, dividing Alaska's coastal regions from the tundra prairies of the interior. This range of icy peaks and extensive glaciers has some of the worst weather in the world, since it forms a barrier between the relatively warm and damp Pacific air and the frozen interior.

The mountains are beautiful to behold from a distance, but only experienced and well-equipped mountaineers, preferably with a local guide, should venture onto these potentially deadly slopes.

From journal Stalked by a Grizzly in Denali National Park

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