So, are you ready to see the real Alaska? Tired of driving on paved roads? Then, I have a trip for you!

When traveling to or from Denali National Park by car, most people travel the Parks Highway, a well-maintained, paved highway. However, another option is the Denali Highway, which begins (or ends, depending on your point of view) in Cantwell and ends in Paxson. Many independent travelers use the Denali Highway as a "loop" to go round trip from Fairbanks to Denali National Park.

This is a beautiful drive, and I highly recommend it. However, there are a few things to know before you go. First, the Denali Highway is only about 120 miles, but only about 30 of these miles are on a paved road. The rest is over some fairly rough gravel. Expect this trip to take you between 5 to 6 hours when traveling continuously, or a little longer if you decide to stop. The countryside itself is dotted with dozens of small lakes, many of which are stocked with fish by the Alaska Fish and Game.

Something else to consider is that unless you plan to camp, there are not many lodging options available along the route. One decent lodging option that is available is the Tangle River Inn. The Tangle River Inn offers a variety of accommodations, including various sizes of cabins and rooms in their lodge. We stayed in one of their cabins and found it to be extremely clean and pretty comfortable. We paid $119 a night. It's definitely not the Ritz—the walls of our cabin were made out of pressed plywood, and our bathroom curtains out of a bath towel. Nevertheless, we found the proprietors to be great people, and we appreciated the fact that the Inn also offers several amenities including ice and gas, a tire repair service (for the bumpy roads presumably), canoe rental, and a decent restaurant/bar.