Trip Report: Denali National Park, Alaska
When: 8/17/2018
Location: Denali National Park, Alaska
Conditions: Rainey, medium temps, clouds here and there throughout our trip.
Duration: 3 days
Full Report:
We will never forget our trip to Denali National Park that we took last August. We had been waiting for the price of tickets to drop online for Anchorage and they finally did. We flew into Anchorage and stayed in an Air BnB and then made our way up to the park. Getting to Denali was a bit of a drive but there was plenty to stop off and see on the way. Once in the valley, we knew we were getting close even though the clouds were covering the mountain. This is quite typical actually, and from what we heard only a fraction of people who visit Denali actually get to see the mountain.
You can only drive your own vehicle into the park about 15 miles. There is a campground there where we stayed and after that, you must take a bus the rest of the way. There is only one road through the park and I think this is such an awesome aspect to this National Park because that means so much of it is untouched wilderness. When setting out on the bus we brought our camping gear with hopes to stay 2 nights at Wonder Lake. The closest campground to Denali. While on the bus we were lucky enough to see lots of grizzly bears, moose, elk, caribou, and lots of other beautiful wildlife. Once at Wonder Lake we found a beautiful campsite overlooking the valley. We found different hiking trails and explored the area. We continued to see caribou on our hike but luckily not a single bear. One tip we were given was to stay very loud while hiking to make sure you don't sneak up on any wildlife and carry bear spray of course.
The highlight of our trip was waking up the second morning at sunrise and seeing that the clouds had parted leaving us a jaw-dropping view of Denali!! What an amazing sight it was! We sat in awe for quite a while and just took in the beautiful scenery. We felt so lucky to see the mountain because we know not everyone does. After that, we got a chance to go hang out by the lake and enjoy the calm water. I would highly recommend Denali National Park to anyone living in the Pacific Northwest. It's not the far away and will leave you with memories that last a lifetime.
Full Report:
We will never forget our trip to Denali National Park that we took last August. We had been waiting for the price of tickets to drop online for Anchorage and they finally did. We flew into Anchorage and stayed in an Air BnB and then made our way up to the park. Getting to Denali was a bit of a drive but there was plenty to stop off and see on the way. Once in the valley, we knew we were getting close even though the clouds were covering the mountain. This is quite typical actually, and from what we heard only a fraction of people who visit Denali actually get to see the mountain.
You can only drive your own vehicle into the park about 15 miles. There is a campground there where we stayed and after that, you must take a bus the rest of the way. There is only one road through the park and I think this is such an awesome aspect to this National Park because that means so much of it is untouched wilderness. When setting out on the bus we brought our camping gear with hopes to stay 2 nights at Wonder Lake. The closest campground to Denali. While on the bus we were lucky enough to see lots of grizzly bears, moose, elk, caribou, and lots of other beautiful wildlife. Once at Wonder Lake we found a beautiful campsite overlooking the valley. We found different hiking trails and explored the area. We continued to see caribou on our hike but luckily not a single bear. One tip we were given was to stay very loud while hiking to make sure you don't sneak up on any wildlife and carry bear spray of course.
The highlight of our trip was waking up the second morning at sunrise and seeing that the clouds had parted leaving us a jaw-dropping view of Denali!! What an amazing sight it was! We sat in awe for quite a while and just took in the beautiful scenery. We felt so lucky to see the mountain because we know not everyone does. After that, we got a chance to go hang out by the lake and enjoy the calm water. I would highly recommend Denali National Park to anyone living in the Pacific Northwest. It's not the far away and will leave you with memories that last a lifetime.