Description: If you want to spend any time in Denali National Park, most of the time you will visit the entrance area, whether it’s the Visitors Center, or the Wilderness Access Center (WAC.)Most people will end up seeing the Visitors Center. Those awaiting buses into the park will need to go to the Wilderness Access Center. In addition, the Alaska Railroad station is actually in the park, just across the road from the Vistors Center.
The Visitors Center and the surrounding area is the hub of activity at Denali National Park. It’s open during the summer from 8 AM to 6 PM. All of the shuttle buses from the nearby lodges will take you to the Visitors Center. The Visitors Center has public restrooms, an information desk, all sorts of displays about Denali National Park, and a theatre where they play a film about the park. The information desk inside the Visitors Center has rangers who will answer whatever questions about DNP; this is also where you sign up for the ranger guided Discovery hikes. Registration for the Discovery hikes opens 2 days prior and usually fills up quick, as each hike only has 11 spots. The rangers also have "junior ranger" programs for the kids, with little badges. The displays are quite good; some of them are stuffed animals of DNP. There is also a very interesting 3D map of DNP where you can get a better understanding of our location in the park. Apparently we are about 90 miles away from Mt. McKinley, while Talkeetna is closer at 60 miles, and that’s where most of the Mt. McKinley climbing activities originate. We watched the free 18 minute film about DNP and the different seasons and animals and plants in the park which have to adapt to the seasons. The shuttle bus to the sled dog kennels boards just outside the Visitors Center.
A short walk from the Vistors Center is the Morino Grill, a fast service restaurant (and the only restaurant) inside DNP, where you can buy snacks for a hike or sit down for a meal. There is also a coffee shop inside the building. Also next to the Morino Grill is a bookstore where you can buy books and other memorabilia for the folks back home.
There are a number of trails easily accessible from the Visitors Center. Most of the trails starting from the Visitors Center are quite easy, and could be considered a nice stroll in the woods. These trails are made with compacted gravel and are less than a mile. Some of these trails are handicap accessible. The trails intersect with other trails which lead further away, so do pay attention to the signs. There isn’t much large wildlife on the easier trails, but we did see quite a few squirrels, mosquitoes, and the occasional pile of moose "evidence." On these trails, you need mosquito spray and probably still a good idea to bring a bell or something to warn any large animals, or just talk loudly.
The Wilderness Access Center sits between the entrance from the highway and the Visitors Center. The main purpose of the Wilderness Access Center is to board buses that will go into the park. The WAC is a regular stop for the shuttle buses from the lodges as well. You can purchase bus tickets, as well as pay the park entrance fee in the WAC. The WAC has a coffee shop that also sells snacks and packaged sandwiches which you can pack for a hike. There are also tall water bottle filling stations as well.
While private buses aren’t allowed on National Park Road, DNP has two types of buses which go in to the park. The green buses are shuttle buses which take you to specific places, such as a Discovery Hike location, or simply go up and down the road, and the various stops along the way. The tan buses are actual narrated tour buses and more expensive than the green buses. Both types of buses will stop for wildlife viewing. On our Discovery Hike shuttle, we saw bears and Dall Sheep off to the side, and even moose and a herd of Dall Sheep blocking the road. A bus ride from the WAC to the end of the 92 mile road at Kantishna and back will take around 11 hours. The reason it takes so long is due to the stops for wildlife viewing, some bathroom stops, and the fact that buses going uphill generally stop and let opposing buses go past. At times, the National Park Road looks like an episode of "worlds deadliest roads" with the narrow gravel roads that hug the sides of the mountains.
If you take the train into Denali, you’ll arrive at the Alaska Railroad depot, where there will be throngs of buses form the various lodges awaiting you. Some buses are very apparent, such as the ones with the Princess logo on the side, others are contract buses to handle the overflow of all the guests arriving at once by train. The rail depot is very straightforward, one platform for both directions, a bunch of covered waiting areas, as well as a building housing the ticket counter and a coffee shop/gift store. There are only two trains that stop here each day, one northbound from Anchorage and the other southbound from Fairbanks. Take the bus to your lodge, most, if not all, of the shuttle buses are free. I was foolhardy enough to look at the map before we arrived and decided we could walk the three miles to our lodge, but my friends talked me out of it.
The Denali National Park entrance area has something for everyone, from the easy trails off the Visitors Center, or from the WAC taking a bus to an off-trail hike, or seeing the dog sled demonstration. It's fun and highly educational. Your Denali adventure will begin there. I say begin because there is much more to do and see inside the park, but the entrance area has pretty much all you need to start off.
Close