Denali National Park Vacations, Denali National Park Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Denali National Park Vacation Guide

Denali park is known primarily as a mecca for hikers, but most people who go will spend almost their entire single, twelve-hour day there riding in a school bus and viewing wildlife through the windows. Other people go there to work and hike; they usually live in "Glitter Gulch" or Healy and make beds, wait tables, wash buses, play guitar by a bonfire on the river bed, etc.

There are two different kinds of buses that go into the park: the camper bus drops people off and picks them up along the road, and the tour buses are just that. Tourists can generally expect to see brown bears, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, pika, ground squirrel, and at least one more unusual animal like a lynx, a wolf, a wolverine, or a gyrfalcon.

Arctic warblers, northern wheatears, ptarmigan, surfbirds, and other birds are relatively easy finds for birders who pay close attention.

Campers have to reserve slots in numbered sections of the park. Be aware that if you want a popular section like Polychrome Pass you will probably need to reserve it in advance. Beware of the rivers in the spring, especially in the evening. Come prepared! A twelve mile hike in Denali is more like twenty-five miles of regular trail, and all it takes is a fall down a mountain side or into a river to ruin your vacation.

From Denali you can see a great clear view (on a clear day) of the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley

But have fun! The place truly is magical.