Despite its remote location, over 400,000 visitors make the trek to Denali National Park and Preserve every year. And that’s because it’s one of the most spectacularly beautiful tracts of land in North America – over 6 million acres centered around “Denali” (the mountain also known as Mount McKinley).
If you want to get right to the mountains of the park, you’re going to have to do it by air. But the main park road does provide road access into the center of the park. The Denali Visitor Center is located at the northeastern edge of the park where the park road intersects the George Parks Highway (Route 3). It’s about 120 miles south-southwest of Fairbanks. The highway runs 92 miles from the visitor center to the Wonder Lake area and the village of Kantishna. Private vehicles are only allowed on the first 15 miles of the park road, after which you’ll need to sign on for a bus ride. And it can be a long bus ride – travel all the way to Wonder Lake can take 6 hours. (No vehicles are allowed beyond the 3 mile point in winter.)
Expeditions to Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker start at the Talkeetna Ranger Station, 100 miles south of the main park entrance. As you travel south from the park entrance on Route 3 you’ll get great views of McKinley from the southeast side of the mountain range.
The Alaska Railroad connects Anchorage to Fairbanks, with a stop at the Denali entrance. Traveling by car from Anchorage to the park entrance is about 240 very scenic miles.
In recent years there’s been an increase in the popularity of “cruise tours” that combine land tours of the area around Denali with cruises along the Alaskan coast. These “vacations of a lifetime” are offered by several of the large cruise companies, with trip lengths ranging from 9 night Alaska cruise tours out of Anchorage or Vancouver to voyages taking 19 nights. The most popular of these cruise tours are the 12 or 13 night versions that start in Anchorage, Fairbanks or Vancouver.
TheRealPlaces.com has a guide to hotels near Denali National Park – but keep in mind that “near” is a relative term when you’re talking about a place as remote as Denali. We can also help you find places to stay near many more US national parks.
