Denali National Park and Preserve

The Great One

Denali National Park and Preserve is located in the Alaskan Interior and contains Denali, meaning “The Great One” in the Alaskan Native language Den'ina. Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, is the tallest mountain in North America The park and preserve together cover approximately 9,492 square miles, over 6 million acres. [the pic of denali with the reddish landscape]

Bus Trips in Denali

Since the park is so incredibly vast, the majority of visitors access it on large tour buses run out of the Wilderness Access Center. The buses leave at multiple times throughout the day and travels along the 91 mile road that runs through the park. Only the first 15 miles of the road are paved and open to the public. The high cost of maintaining the road and the desire to keep Denali "wild" are the main reasons that it stays gravel and closed to the public.

Two of the most popular bus day trips are to the new Eielson Visitors Center, located 4 hours into the park at Mile 66 and Wonder Lake, located 6 hours into the park at Mile 86. Keep in mind that these distances and times are one way, so the bus trips truly are an all day affair! On account of the road conditions and frequent stops, it takes a bit longer to travel the road than one would expect. The buses stop frequently for wildlife viewings and several times for restroom breaks along the way.

The bus trips are a great way for the whole family to enjoy a day at the park and for a newcomer to get their first taste of the Denali Park wilderness. There are other options for exploring the park, for the more experienced or adventurous explorer. When my friend and I visited the park last fall we decided to adventure out on a Discovery Hike lead by a park ranger. The locations of the Discovery Hikes vary by day and the schedule for a the week of your visit can be found at the Denali Visitor’s Center.

Our particular hike was in the Stony Hill area of the Park. Stony Hill rises above Big and Little Stony Creeks, providing an impressive view of Denali. It is located between miles 53-66 on the Park Road. We rode the bus for three and a half hours until we were dropped off on the side of the road to meet our ranger. One of the greatest parts about the hike was being able to absorb knowledge from one of the rangers. Along with some great exercise, we came away away with some great knowledge about the parks wildlife and terrain.