Description: We wanted to try an off road adventure, so after some online research, we opted for the Black Diamond ATV Adventures 3 hour ATV tour. They also have a 4 hour ATV adventure which includes lunch. We booked our 3 hour adventure on their website for $109 each person and got a 10% discount for paying immediately with PayPal. There are various start times, we booked the 7:30am one. You can cancel without penalty up to 2 days before your scheduled adventure. The actual site of the ATV adventure is private land in Healy, just 10 minutes north of the Denali Park entrance area. There is no ATV riding inside Denali National Park. There is a free shuttle to and from the Denali Park entrance area lodges, such as our Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.

We were advised to dress warm, with full pants/jeans and long sleeved shirts. We also took along a bottle of water and a granola bar for a snack. On the day of the ATV adventure, the shuttle bus picked us up and made a few stops at the other Denali Park entrance area lodges to pick up passengers. We headed up the George Parks highway for the 10 minute drive to Healy. We turned off Otto Lake road, which led a few minutes to the facility. Black Diamond has a golf course here, as well as a restaurant. A few on our shuttle bus were here to play a round of golf.

We sat in an assembly area of the ATV garage where we signed disclosures and watched an instructional video on how to operate the ATV. The staff also gave us a bit of verbal instructions. For those that were under age or unable to operate an ATV, there are golf-cart type ATVs available. We were fitted for helmets and there are rain slickers available if we wanted. A piece of advice is to make sure you wear some sort of water resistant jacket, even when it’s not raining, as dust will get past porous clothing. Also tuck your pants into your socks to keep the dust out.

We were led out to the 4 wheeler ATVs and given more instruction on their operation and safety and hand signals. The ATVs we used had the throttle on a thumb control on the right handlebar. I had never used one before, but our guide said we have an opportunity to get used to them first. Our group was about 10 riders, with two guides, one on each end of our single file group.

We started off with an easy course, which included a few turns and slopes, as well as acceleration and braking exercises, to get us familiar with the ATV. We eventually did a slalom course and various types of rugged terrain that seemed to be a constructed course. Once we passed that, we went on a few trails that took us to various parts of the property. The guides were quite good, giving us time to catch up, and eventually building up our confidence in our machines and in tacking different types of terrain.

We were lucky that it was a clear, sunny day, as the landscape was beautiful to look at. However, most of our time, we were focused on the trail ahead of us, as it does require some concentration to figure out things such as where the tires are going to go, anticipating bumps and dips and such. This can be dangerous, as one person fell off their ATV as they tried to go up an embankment too fast. However their safety gear kept her from getting hurt at all. We all stopped to check on her and took a quick break for the guides to check on things and remind us how to safely operate the ATVs.

There were a few scenic areas where we were able to stop and rest and take in the scenery, chat with the guides and fellow riders. There is quite interesting scenery on the property. There’s a large flood basin filled with nice, round river rocks and hillsides made of loose sand and gravel above. It’s quite the interesting site, as there are trees growing at the top of these hills, yet hills keep eroding due to rain and wind. Some of the trees are precariously close to falling over. There are other scenic spots we stopped at, such as a hilltop view area where we could scan the valley below for signs of wildlife. We did see something moving about in the far distance, probably a moose or something.

Once we returned to the starting point, we parked our ATVs, turned over our borrowed equipment, and had the dust sprayed off with compressed air. In summary, this was a fun activity, but it’s definitely not for everyone. If you want to do something specifically inside Denali National Park, this is not for you, but if you like to enjoy a fun ride through the scenic Alaskan countryside, this will do nicely. I probably wouldn't do it again, as I've already done it, but I had fun and am glad I did this activity. The guides were very friendly and helpful and knowledgeable, both with the equipment, safety, as well as the scenery.
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