Alaska / Destinations / 🌟🌟 / North America / Travel Guides / United States of America

Inspiravel Guide to Alaska – Denali

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This series covers Denali and Seward. If you have information on other areas of Alaska, feel free to comment!

Denali National Park 🌟🌟

Why you should come here

  • Come here to marvel at the vastness of the Alaska landscape and the magnificent National Park.
  • Come here to spot the incredible wildlife.
  • Come here to get up close and personal with one of the most unspoilt beauties of nature.

When to come

Summer from mid-May to mid-September is the best time to come. During the Winter season, it can be difficult to get around and many places are closed.

What to bring

  • Binoculars. The animals may not always be close to the bus and may be hard to spot without binoculars.
  • Layers of clothing. The weather can be unpredictable. It can be cold and rainy out and become warm and sunny inside. It can also get quite hot if you are hiking/walking a lot but once you get to an exposed area it can get quite chilly.
  • Food and water. There are no food and only a few water stations inside the park. So bring adequate food. If you are planning to camp out/go hiking, try not to eat out in the wild or leave food trails as they can attract animals.

What to prepare for

  • Long bus ride. If you get motion sickness easily, make sure you are prepared for the bus ride. Plan for adequate rest time if you need to get off the bus.
  • Animal Encounters. If you encounter any animal in the wild, make sure you know what to do. If you are unsure, check with a ranger at the park before embarking on your hike.

How to get here

  • Drive

It’s a long drive up, about 4 hours, so make sure you are well prepared. You can make stops along the way which people on trains and buses will miss, which is one of the perks of driving on top of the flexibility. I did not drive so no comments on this route.

  • Rail

The Denali Star train runs from Anchorage to Fairbanks with stops in Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali Park. I did not take this as it was too costly so no comments on this route.

  • Bus

The 2 main buses that connect from Anchorage to Denali are the Park Connection Motorcoach and the Alaska/Yukon Trails. I highlight the differences below:

Park Connection Motorcoach Alaska/Yukon Trails
Route Anchorage – Denali Anchorage – Denali
Cost $80 (AM) or $90 (PM) $75
Pick-up time 7:00 AM or 3:00 PM 8:00 AM
Drop-off time 12:15 PM or 8:30 PM 12:45 PM
Total Duration (Hours) 5.25 4.75
Pick-up point Egan Center Multiple pick-up points
Drop-off point 5 Main Denali Accommocations Multiple & flexible drop-off points
Also goes to Fairbanks, Seward, Talkeenta, Whittier Fairbanks, Talkeenta
Type of bus Coach Mini-van of sorts (seats about 10 pax comfortably)

I took the Yukon Trails bus up and it was comfortable. Several rest-stops were made along the way. There are no overheads to put your bags but luggage can be stored in a trailer attached to the van. From my experience, the bus ride up is scenic only at certain portions but not most of the way. I was not that impressed.

Coming down from Denali, I took the Park Connection and it was comfortable. However, you are right next to the person beside you if the bus is full which is less comfortable than the Yukon Trails bus in my opinion. There are overheads to put your bags and luggage can be stored in a luggage compartment.

If you’re coming from another area, you can check them out here: Park Connection Motorcoach and Alaska/Yukon Trails.

How to get around

If you are most people, the best way to get here is via the green shuttle bus. There are other variants of shuttle available, if you have specific needs e.g. requiring a guide, meals etc, but they generally cost more. In my opinion, the green shuttle is the best and most friendly way of getting around the part.

Which stop to stop at

  • Toklat River

First rest stop. Get down to grab photos of the surrounding and take some photos with the Moose and Caribou antlers. Make sure you hold them in the right direction! Try to book a bus further than Toklat if you have the time to spare, the best views are beyond Toklat.

  • Eielson Centre 🌟🌟

Must go! If you only stop at one stop, stop here. Good chance of spotting wildlife along the route. Beautiful views all along the way, especially around Polychrome area. Great hiking area for novice and beginners. There are water refill stations here.

  • Wonder Lake 🌟

Beautiful lake. The portion from Eielson to Wonder Lake sees a somewhat different landscape, but less wildlife is generally spotted in the later part of the journey. Trying to spot Mt McKinley is either a hit or miss. Bus ride gets a bit too long for people with short attention span.

Other things to do

Here is a list of other activities that you can do but I did not get the chance to try them so can’t comment on them.

What to eat

  • Inside the park:
    • Your own cooking. It could either turn out to be the most delicious lunch or most miserable lunch on board.
    • Food sold at WAC. It keeps you full but don’t expect much for taste.
    • Pre-ordered lunch from Salmon Bake. It’s a huge box of lunch, not much for taste. It comes with water, a fruit and snacks which were great.
    • Leftovers from dinner. We had leftover pizza once and it was great!
  • Outside the park:
    • Lynx Creek Pizza. Great pizza and good portions if you are not a huge eater. Located right beside Denali Princess Lodge.
    • Thai and Chinese Trailer. Good variety of food. Cross the road from Denali Princess Lodge, turn left and keep walking down until you see it.
    • Denali Doghouse. Great reindeer dogs and buffalo brats. Located across the road from Denali Princess Lodge.

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