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Denali National Park & Preserve

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Attraction | "Denali National Park entrance area attractions"

Moose! Photo - Denali National Park & Preserve, Denali, Alaska

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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 in...Read More

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. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 7, 2012

Denali National Park & Preserve
Alaska Route 3/George Parks Highway
Denali, Alaska
(907) 733-2231

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Denali National Park Sled Dog Kennel

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Attraction | "Denali National Park Sled Dog Demonstration"

Dogs are quite friendly Photo - Denali National Park Sled Dog Kennel, Denali, Alaska

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The Denali National Park sled dogs and their kennels are unique to the National Park System. The dogs and kennels are not there just for demonstration, but during the winter, they are actual working dogs. During the summer, the dogs give sled demonstrations as part of staying fit. There are sled dog demonstrations every day during the summer at 10 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM. The free shuttle to the sled dog kennels leaves the Visitor Center 40 minutes before the demonstration time, so a 10 AM demonstration has 9:20 AM buses. The demonstrations are free and no reservation is needed.The shuttle bus is one of the standard green school bus types run by the park and the ride over takes about 10 minute...Read More

The Denali National Park sled dogs and their kennels are unique to the National Park System. The dogs and kennels are not there just for demonstration, but during the winter, they are actual working dogs. During the summer, the dogs give sled demonstrations as part of staying fit. There are sled dog demonstrations every day during the summer at 10 AM, 2 PM and 4 PM. The free shuttle to the sled dog kennels leaves the Visitor Center 40 minutes before the demonstration time, so a 10 AM demonstration has 9:20 AM buses. The demonstrations are free and no reservation is needed.

The shuttle bus is one of the standard green school bus types run by the park and the ride over takes about 10 minutes. When the bus arrives at the sled dog kennels, a ranger boards the bus first to explain the rules and exactly where to go. Some of the rules include not feeding the dogs, as they are on a strict diet, and rules and reasons some dogs are behind enclosures. The friendliest dogs are kept on long chains near their dog houses, and visitors can walk right up to their dog houses and play with them. There are dogs that aren’t as interested in playing that are also kept on long chains near their houses, the only difference being a rope barrier keeping visitors away from the dog houses, but one can call the name of the dog to have them come up to the barrier to be played with. There are also dogs kept behind chain link fences, segregated from the other sled dogs, mainly because they have other issues, such as being in heat and some are just puppies.

After the explanation, we exited the buses and proceeded to the kennel areas. It was very apparent what the ranger was talking about, as there is a large fenced off area, and several rows of dog houses where people could walk up to the dogs and their houses, with about half of them fenced off with rope. Most of the dogs seemed quite friendly, but lazy. They seemed content to let the visitors pet them; some didn’t budge and just sat there, while a few other dogs slowly wandered up to the visitors out of curiosity. There were three puppies grouped together in the fenced off area. They weren’t tiny little cute puppies, but actually rather large by now, yet maintained their innocent playfulness when roughhousing with each other. There is also a sled on display by the kennels, as well as a small cabin containing historical photos and sled dog related displays.

As it got close to 10 AM, the same ranger that gave us the kennel rules on the bus, called out that the demonstration was going to start. There are five sections of raised stands where people can stand and still have good visibility, and a seating area in front for those needing seats. The ranger began with a brief historical perspective of dog sledding’s long tradition in Alaska, and their use at Denali National Park. There are vast areas of Denali National Park that have no road access and sled dogs are used in the winter for moving equipment and conducting patrols. The dogs, all Alaskan Huskies, are basically athletes with very strict diets and workout routines. In the summer, they are much leaner than winter, where they will need the extra fat. The dogs are not kept inside in the winter, but in the same houses as the summer, since they have thick enough fur coats to endure the winter weather. The ranger explained that the dogs aren’t exploited nor is it cruel to make them pull sleds, but rather the dogs absolutely love to pull the sled and keep running.

The ranger finished the speech and ran over to the dogs to hook up five of them to the sled we saw earlier. Once the sled dogs in the kennels realized that some of them were going for a run, all of the dogs went berserk. There was much barking and howling, as well as jumping up and down and straining at the chains for a chance to be selected for the sled team. Once hooked up, the dogs bolted and pulled the sled around a quarter mile loop, stopping at the stage area in front of the stands. The dogs actually went quite fast, I’d say around 15-20 mph. The five dogs on the team were secured to the ground and the ranger explained that the dogs will still keep running without a sled driver, also known as a musher. We learned that the most intelligent dog is usually the leader, and will find the safest footpath for the rest of the dogs. The dogs in the middle of the team have to know enough to help the sled swing wide during turns, and the rear dogs are the muscle of the team.

The ranger took a few questions about the dogs and ended the official demonstration, with the opportunity afterwards to take photos of the dogs and the sled. From that point on, we headed back to the bus and rode it back to the Visitors Center.

NOTE: There are other sled dog demonstrations outside the park, these are usually held by professional sled dog racers and are paid visits. The Denali National Park sled dog kennels and demonstration are completely free and do not require a park entrance fee, although they do take donations to buy dog food. This activity was well worth it, as I love dogs, and it’s a fun and educational thing to do that’s good for all ages.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 3, 2012

Denali National Park Sled Dog Kennel

Denali, Alaska

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Horseshoe Lake Trail

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Horseshoe Lake Trail Photo - Horseshoe Lake Trail, Denali, Alaska

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Horseshoe Lake TrailThe Horseshoe Lake Trail is one of the trails at the entrance area of Denali National Park. The Trail is reachable via the Taiga Trail from the Visitors Center or from the bus stop at the railroad crossing parking lot. We chose to start from the railroad parking lot. Horseshoe Lake used to connect to the adjacent Nenana River until sediment and dirt eventually blocked the connection to the river. The trail is starts off relatively flat and eventually goes down about 250 feet to the level of Horseshoe Lake. Most of the upper portion of the trail is made up of compacted gravel or hard packed dirt. There were some National Park Service trail workers prese...Read More

Horseshoe Lake Trail

The Horseshoe Lake Trail is one of the trails at the entrance area of Denali National Park. The Trail is reachable via the Taiga Trail from the Visitors Center or from the bus stop at the railroad crossing parking lot. We chose to start from the railroad parking lot.

Horseshoe Lake used to connect to the adjacent Nenana River until sediment and dirt eventually blocked the connection to the river. The trail is starts off relatively flat and eventually goes down about 250 feet to the level of Horseshoe Lake. Most of the upper portion of the trail is made up of compacted gravel or hard packed dirt. There were some National Park Service trail workers present conducting maintenance on the trail. From what we could tell, they were shoring up the slopes of the trail by laying down large pressure treated lumber logs in a ladder formation. Then the workers would fill in the spaces between the "rungs" of the ladder with gravel. The "ladder" helps to hold the trail material in place. The workers were all very friendly as we passed them on the way down the trail.

The trail is surrounded by tall spruce and birch trees, but every now and then, you can peek through the trees and catch a view of Mt. Healy or the lodges just outside Denali National Park. Sometimes you can see downwards and see Horseshoe Lake. We continued downwards on the trail, crossing over a few short bridges over creeks. We eventually made our way down to the level of Horseshoe Lake, where the nicely compacted gravel trail became compacted dirt, with a few roots showing through. As we approached the lake, there was a sign advising us about beavers in the area. Beavers are nocturnal, so we didn’t see any of them. However, we did see plenty of evidence of beavers, from beaver dams, to a few logs floating in the lake, totally stripped of bark, with teeth marks on the end, to the occasional downed tree across the trail. As the trail ran next to Horseshoe Lake, parts of it were soggy and had a few puddles. We soon found out the cause of this as we saw that the level of the lake was higher than the trail, due to beaver dams holding back the water. After looking around the area a little bit and taking photos of the scenery, we got tired of the mosquitoes buzzing around and headed back.

The return leg of the Horseshoe Lake Trail is a more of a workout as we had to go up grades of around 20% to gain back the 250 feet or so of altitude back to the level of the park entrance area. The climb back up isn’t continuous, as there are sections of flat, level trail to allow you to rest a little. We did work up a sweat hiking back uphill.

The hike took us about 45 minutes of brisk hiking. Although the Horseshoe Lake Trail is heavily traveled, as we probably passed around 60-70 hikers, most wore bells or talked out loud to warn away any large animals, just in case. As for the mosquitoes, liberally apply mosquito repellent, as Horseshoe Lake is essentially a large body of standing water. The Horseshoe Lake Trail is worth hiking, as the exercise is good, and the lake itself is quite scenic, with plenty of interesting beaver evidence. If you’re curious about beaver dams, or simply want to see one live and up close, this trail is worth hiking. I’m not obsessively curious about beavers at all, but this was worth seeing. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 2, 2012

Horseshoe Lake Trail
Denali National Park Road at Alaska RR crossing
Denali, Alaska

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Mount Healy Overlook Trail

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Attraction | "Mt. Healy Overlook Trail - It's Worth The Hike!"

Hi Ho, Hi Ho... Photo - Mount Healy Overlook Trail, Denali, Alaska

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The Mt. Healy Overlook Trail is one of the many hiking trails around the entrance to Denali National Park. The Mt. Healy Overlook Trail is billed as the most strenuous, with a rise of 1700 feet and total distance of 4.5 miles round trip. It’s proximity to the Visitors Center makes it quite popular. Depending on your physical stamina, the hike should take anywhere from 2-4 hours.Mt. Healy itself is the closest named mountain to the entrance of Denali National Park. It only goes up to around 6000 feet, and consists of multiple peaks and ridges. They say that on a clear day, Mt. McKinley is visible at the end of the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t clear the day we we...Read More

The Mt. Healy Overlook Trail is one of the many hiking trails around the entrance to Denali National Park. The Mt. Healy Overlook Trail is billed as the most strenuous, with a rise of 1700 feet and total distance of 4.5 miles round trip. It’s proximity to the Visitors Center makes it quite popular. Depending on your physical stamina, the hike should take anywhere from 2-4 hours.

Mt. Healy itself is the closest named mountain to the entrance of Denali National Park. It only goes up to around 6000 feet, and consists of multiple peaks and ridges. They say that on a clear day, Mt. McKinley is visible at the end of the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t clear the day we went.

We started off from the Visitors Center and took the relatively flat Taiga Trail a short distance until we came to the junction for the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail. The Mt. Healy Overlook Trail starts out relatively shallow, with a slight incline, lazily meandering through the woods. Sometimes the trail was hard packed dirt, other times it was well maintained gravel. There is a set of benches after about a mile into the Healy Trail. From this point onwards, the incline got a little greater, and the terrain varied from hard packed dirt to large boulders, but the trail is still well maintained, with very obvious pathways. As we went on, there were more and more boulders to step up as we increased altitude. Sometimes it did require a third point of contact to assist in climbing.

As we kept going, we encountered a few groups of hikers going down the trail. Most would say encouraging things, such as "almost there," or say the top is only 30 minutes away. Pretty much all of them said it’s worth the climb. While ascending, the trees eventually thinned out to just wildflowers and brush, and a while later, the vegetation thinned out more to just grasses and bare rocks as we kept climbing.

While going up, we could look off to the side and see the Denali Train Depot, and Visitors Center, as well as other various buildings, even some of the lodges just outside the entrance to the park. We could clearly see the George Parks Highway, some parts of the National Park Road, Nenana River, and even the dog kennels. We assumed they were the kennels from the distant barking that seemed to be coming from that direction. When we did go above the taller vegetation, we were able to see our eventual destination, a flat peak directly up ahead. The trail now consisted of bare rocks and formed a bunch of switchbacks as it’s much too strenuous and dangerous to do a direct climb upwards. The trail was washed out by rain in a few small places, but the gaps were maybe only 3-4 feet and easily crossed. Even here, the trail is still clearly marked, although you could also see where some more adventurous hikers took shortcuts.

Once we reached the flat peak, we were finally at the top of the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail, as evidenced by a metal post with a small sign declaring that fact. We were all sweaty messes, and took some time to cool off at the top, as there’s a nice breeze. From here, looking north, you can see a system peaks and ridges between them, some lower, but most higher than our current elevation. We saw a few hikers on those unofficial trails, but due to lack of time, we chose to take a few photos and go back down again. The other trails off the peaks looked fairly easy, as they are mostly on the ridge tops and there are grasses and other vegetation to secure the ground under you.

From the top of the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail, it was too cloudy to see Mt. McKinley, but the view was still breath taking. Immediately around us, we could see most of the surrounding areas of Denali National Park’s entrance, the lodges, Nenana River, and the other various structures. Off in the distance, you can see the closer elements of the Alaska Range. We gladly began our descent, but we still had to be careful about what we stepped on, and worked up a sweat going down as well.

As far as wildlife, there were plenty of rabbits scurrying away, probably a few squirrels, and we saw a golden eagle flying around. While we didn’t encounter any of the larger wildlife, we did notice that most hikers we encountered were wearing bells or talking to each other loudly, as to make ample noise to alert animals of their presence. I brought a whistle, and we talked loudly during our hike, most of our banter consisted of complaints about climbing. I think we took about 2.5 hours total for the hike. Out of that, we took only 50 minutes to go back down.

I highly recommend the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail. It’s well maintained, conveniently close to the Visitors Center, and well travelled by other hikers, if you’re concerned about wildlife safety. Even though it’s a strenuous hike, I think it can still be done by those that aren’t all that physically fit, just take your time. The trail virtually suggests which steps on certain rocks to step on. The view is spectacular at the top and on the way there as well. The sense of accomplishment is also quite rewarding. It’s worth it! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on July 30, 2012

Mount Healy Overlook Trail
Via the Tiaga Trail
Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

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Denali National Park & Preserve

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Attraction | "King of the mountain! - A Discovery Hike in Denali."

Like the sign says Photo - Denali National Park & Preserve, Denali, Alaska

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Denali National Park (DNP) has free ranger guided off-trail hikes, called Discovery Hikes or Disco Hikes. DNP is the only National Park with off-trail ranger guided hikes. There are 2 Disco Hikes each day, and you must sign up in person starting 2 days before the hike in person. The signup sheets are at the Visitor Center and limited to 11 hikers each, so be sure to sign up quickly. They vary from moderately hard to strenuous. The location of the hikes are pretty much at random, but generally start off at the side of the Denali Park Road where the shuttle bus drops you off. On Monday, we went to the Visitor Center to sign up for either of the Wednesday Disco Hikes, but they were both full....Read More

Denali National Park (DNP) has free ranger guided off-trail hikes, called Discovery Hikes or Disco Hikes. DNP is the only National Park with off-trail ranger guided hikes. There are 2 Disco Hikes each day, and you must sign up in person starting 2 days before the hike in person. The signup sheets are at the Visitor Center and limited to 11 hikers each, so be sure to sign up quickly. They vary from moderately hard to strenuous. The location of the hikes are pretty much at random, but generally start off at the side of the Denali Park Road where the shuttle bus drops you off.

On Monday, we went to the Visitor Center to sign up for either of the Wednesday Disco Hikes, but they were both full. We returned Tuesday to sign up for a Thursday Disco Hike. We noticed that the Disco Hike marked "moderate" was already full, but there were plenty of spaces left on the one marked "strenuous" that climbed up to Mt. Polychrome and had a total length of around 4 miles. We signed up for the strenuous Disco Hike and the rangers said the shuttle bus leaves from the Wilderness Access Center at 8:30AM and prepare for a 5 hour hike with a 5 to 6 hour round trip bus ride. While the Disco Hikes are free, there is a $10 park entrance fee (unless you have one of those annual passes that allow entry to most all National Parks) and a $34 charge for a Discovery Shuttle Bus (return trip is included.)

On the day of the hike, we showed up at the Wilderness Access Center (WAC,) where you can buy the bus pass and pay the park entry fee. The WAC also has water bottle refilling stations, a coffee/sandwich shop where you can buy food and snacks, including trail mix for morning hikes. The Disco Hike bus is one of the green shuttle buses, and only took on the two daily Disco Hikers as passengers. One of the rangers boarded the Disco Hike bus with us and gave an overview of her hike. She said our ranger would meet us at our drop-off point. On the bus ride in, we did see some wildlife, including a Dall sheep up close, and later on, a grizzly bear and her two cubs in the distance.

A few hours later, the bus reached our drop off point and were met by our Disco Hike Ranger. There were a total of eight hikers on our Disco Hike. The ranger gave us a quick safety briefing, including his gear, which included first aid kits, a radio, as well as books on the flora and fauna of the area. He gave us a quick overview of our anticipated route up to Mt. Polychrome, where we could see Mt. McKinley on a clear day, unfortunately for us, it was a cloudy day. It seems to me that the rangers are avid outdoor enthusiasts who are very educated on the area and the wildlife. Some of us had mosquito spray handy, and we definitely needed it. My two friends and I had applied it before the bus ride, but decided to reapply it as the bus ride was almost 2.5 hours.

We started off away from the Denali Park Road and up a creek bed. Due to the terrain, we had to cross the creek numerous times. Sometimes we hiked in low underbrush, but mostly on river rock. Our ranger was talking with everybody, from socializing a bit, to answering all sorts of questions about Denali, the terrain, and personal questions too. He was pretty good at making all of us feel comfortable.

As we followed the creek bed area up Mt. Polychrome, the view backwards showed a wonderful view of the Alaska Range to the south of us. The view ahead of us was looking taller and taller. We saw a Dall sheep on a ridge to our left looking at us. Eventually we encountered a caribou grazing at a valley between two slopes. The ranger decided to take a route away from the caribou and we ascended up a little steeper.

We eventually started climbing up to a 25 or 30 degree slope of loose river rocks, and noticed the vegetation was thinning out, as well as the mosquitoes. We couldn’t follow the creek anymore as the slope became unclimbable, and in a few places, the creek was a waterfall. We climbed up a steep 45 degree slope made of loose rocks, mostly sharper rocks, instead of the rounded river rocks. One really had to plan each step, and most either used their hands to help climb, or their hiking poles. It was a grueling climb, but we made our way to the top of one of Mt. Polychrome’s peaks and stopped for lunch. It’s a great view from here, and quite worth it, even if it was cloudy. It’s a bit windy up here too, as there is no longer a slope on one side to block the wind. Our ranger pointed out where Mt. McKinley would have been visible, as well also other geographic features, such as the Polychrome Glaciers, which aren’t on Mt. Polychrome, but visible from it.

It was hard to imagine that we had taken about 3 hours to get to this point. We were so engrossed in hiking that time passed quite quickly. After a brief lunch, our ranger said we’d hike along a trail created by Dall sheep, which followed the ridges of the peaks onto the tallest peak of Mt. Polychrome. We had walked on the ridge past a few peaks when we spotted a Dall sheep on a ridge directly in our way. The Dall sheep kept staring at us, sometimes retreating back a few feet. Eventually we closed to within about 50 yards of it, and the Dall sheep stood its ground. The ranger decided to take a route safely below and around the Dall sheep. It was more work, but there was no objection, as everybody understood that we were in the Dall sheep’s environment. Plus we didn’t want to get rammed off the mountain.

Going sideways on the slope is much harder than it appears, as you have to walk on a 45 degree slope and on loose rocks. Again, this was slow and grueling progress, but nobody complained and everybody soldiered on. The entire time, the Dall sheep was staring down the mountain at us idiots. We eventually made it onto a shorter ridge and walked down a shallower slope of loose rock to the valley below.

We descended back to the vegetation, and walked along the creek and eventually back to the road. Our entire hike took about 6 hours, but time passed by so quickly. Our ranger waited for a green shuttle bus and made sure that we were all on board. I think we started off around 3500 feet and went up to around 5500 feet at one of Mt. Polychrome’s peaks. Although our Discovery Hike was quite strenuous, it was fun, educational, and rewarding, all at the same time. Our ranger was excellent, and kept us motivated and going at a comfortable pace. While the hike was at times like light mountain climbing, and quite grueling at times, I’d do it all over again, preferably when there are no clouds.

TIPS: Bring mosquito spray, a sandwich with no veggies to make it soggy, trail mix, and a camelbak type water supply, as it's easier to take a few quick sips when hiking. Gaiters or high boots are suggested. Hiking poles are helpful, but bring gloves if you don't have them (for gripping the rocks.) Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on July 26, 2012

Denali National Park & Preserve
Alaska Route 3/George Parks Highway
Denali, Alaska
(907) 733-2231

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The Great One - Denali National Park

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Denali National Park Sled Dog Kennel

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