The park is an outdoor paradise, and offers activities for visitors of all ages and experience levels.

• Bus tour. Since the park road is closed to private vehicle traffic, bus tours are the easiest way to see the park interior. Note that the National Park Service does not run any of the buses into the park. Instead, look for shuttle buses and tours such as the "Tundra Wilderness Tour" and "Denali Natural History Tour" operated by Doyon/Aramark Joint Ventures and "Denali Backcountry Adventure" operated by Denali Lodges and Alaska Denali Tours. Tours are more expensive are better for groups interested in learning as much about the culture and history of the area as possible. Shuttles are a better option for budget travelers, people wishing to day-hike or backpack, and groups interested in seeing as much of the park as possible (as shuttles all travel as far, or in many cases farther, than the tours). See the Shuttle bus section for more information.
• Hiking. There are a handful of trails within the park, but the majority of visitors will eventually find themselves picking out their own path. When hiking off trail it is best if groups spread out and avoid hiking single-file in order to minimize damage to the vegetation from being repeatedly trod upon.
• Backpacking. It is not only possible but likely that a backpacker can travel for days without seeing another human. Permits are required for all overnight stays and can be acquired at the Backcountry Information Center, adjacent to the Wilderness Access Center (mile 0.6). Strict limits are placed on how many people may camp in any park unit at a given time, so permits for popular areas, and units cannot be reserved in advance, so it is good to keep in mind several possible areas to explore. See the National Park Service web site [4] for a description of all backcountry units in the park.
• Photography. Just about every famous nature photographer will at some point make a visit to Denali for its tremendous landscapes and abundance of wildlife. Amateurs will appreciate the opportunity as well.
• Mountaineering. Denali itself is one of the most challenging climbs in the world, but climbers from all over are drawn to it, as well as to the other peaks of the Alaska Range. Fortunately, Denali has one route, the West Buttress, which is accessible by fit, moderately experienced climbers. A select few guide services are permitted to lead expeditions up Denali and Foraker. Mountain Trip is one of the authorized concession holders and has been guiding climbers in the Alaska Range since 1973. Climbers on Denali and Mt. Foraker must register with the park service and pay a $200 fee. Registration for private climbers must be done at least sixty days prior to climbing. Contact the Talkeetna Ranger Station (Tel: 907-733-2231, [5]) for additional information.
• Whitewater rafting. Whitewater rafting is available on the near-freezing waters of the Nenana River, which parallels the Parks Highway. Two different two hour trips are available for $70 each, or they can be combined into a four hour trip for $95. Contact Nenana Raft Adventures [6] Denali Raft Adventures [7] or the Denali Outdoor Center [8] for information.

The park is enormous, and the vast majority of it is accessible only on foot or (in winter) by dog sled. The first fifteen miles of the park road are open to vehicle travel, and park buses are available to take visitors farther. At a minimum, visitors should try to catch a bus to at least Eilson Visitor Center for the incredible views of the mountain (when it's out). Slightly more adventurous visitors should plan to spend a few nights camping at the Wonder Lake campground. For the serious outdoorsmen, several days backpacking in the backcountry is far and away the best way to enjoy the Denali experience.

• Denali Visitor Center (Mile 1.5). A new visitor center, located near the railroad depot, opened in May 2005. The visitor center provides a movie and is the starting point for many interpretative, ranger-led trail walks. For shuttle bus tickets and campground reservations, visit the Wilderness Access Center (Mile 0.6).

• Savage River (Mile 14). Nearly everyone who drives to Denali will stop at Savage River because traffic beyond this point is not permitted for private vehicles. There are several trails on both sides of the river that leave from the parking lot, and the more adventurous can attempt to seek out Dall sheep on the top of Mount Margaret, which rises across the river, across from the parking lot.

• Polychrome Pass (Mile 46). Named after the area's multi-colored bluffs, Polychrome Overlook offers spectacular views of the Alaska Range. The Polychrome Shuttle departs only once per day – typically in the early evening (5 – 6pm) providing opportunities for photography in the great evening light, and a great shorter trip into the park if you have limited time and prefer the latest available departure.

• Eielson Visitor Center (Mile 66). Eielson is most easily reached by shuttle bus and provides one of the most dramatic views of the mountain, if you are lucky enough to visit on a day when it isn't shrouded in clouds. There are several short trails around the visitor center, and displays inside of the visitor center provide info on the natural history of the area.

• Wonder Lake (Mile 86). Forever immortalized by the photos of Ansel Adams, Wonder Lake is a beautiful lake at the base of the mountain. Reflection Pond, along the park road on the east side of the lake, is a favorite of photographers when the mountain is out. An established trail to the heavily braided McKinley River is also worthwhile for a glimpse of the McKinley River.

• Sled Dog Demonstrations. The park service keeps sled dogs for use in the winter, and during the summer offers daily demonstrations for visitors. Demonstrations are at 10:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 4:00 PM and last for thirty minutes. There is no parking at the demonstration site; you must take a shuttle from the Denali Visitor Center. Arrive at the visitor center 40 minutes prior to demonstration start time. Shuttle and program are all free, assuming you have already purchased some kind of entrance pass.

By air

The closest major airports to Denali are Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) and Fairbanks International Airport (FAI).

By car

Denali National Park is accessible by car from the George Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3), which runs between Fairbanks and Anchorage. The highway is open all year, although the main road through the park may close at any time due to weather conditions. The "Alaska Mile Post" is an excellent guide to driving the highways in Alaska.

By train

During the summer the Alaska Railroad provides daily service to the park. Trains depart from both Anchorage and Fairbanks at 8:15 AM, arriving at noon from Fairbanks and at 3:45 from Anchorage. Trains departing from the park arrive at 8:15 PM in both Anchorage and Fairbanks. Fares vary throughout the season, with rates between $43 and $54 for a one-way ticket from Fairbanks to Denali, and between $103 and $129 from Anchorage to Denali. Rail tickets can be booked through Alaska Railroad [2].

By bus

Consult with a travel agent in either Fairbanks or Anchorage about traveling to the park by bus. Several tour operators provide service during the summer.

By car

The main road through the park is open to automobile traffic only as far as Savage River (mile 14). Travel beyond this point is allowed only on the park shuttle buses, on foot, or on a bicycle.

For those visiting Denali in mid-September the park service opens the road completely for four days after the shuttle buses stop running. Only 400 vehicles per day are admitted, and each vehicle requires a special permit. To potentially obtain one of these permits contact the park and inquire about the Denali Road Lottery. The park service will ask you to mail your address, preference of dates, and a fee during the month of July. In mid-August you will be contacted if you have been selected. If snow has not yet closed the road, once the four-day lottery is complete the road will be opened to private vehicles for travel as far as Teklanika Campground (mile 29) until weather closes it for the season. It is also important to note that the road may close during the road lottery if inclement weather shows up - much to the chagrin of all those people who won a permit only to have it cancelled.

By shuttle bus

Shuttle buses are allowed past Savage River (mile 15) on the park road, as far as Kantishna (the end of the road). Passengers may disembark from the buses at any point west of mile 20, and then re-board any bus on a space-available basis. Anyone disembarking should be aware of the bus schedule, and plan for at least a one hour wait for a bus with seats available to arrive.

A very common question people have about the buses is, "So what's the difference between a shuttle bus and a tour bus." Simply put, most of the people on tour buses are on packaged trips with the local hotels, and they get a dedicated naturalist on their bus that is required to give commentary throughout the tour. Buying tickets for tours can be more difficult because the vast majority of the tickets are reserved when people book their packaged vacations. However, they are not necessarily "better" than a shuttle bus. Two important facts to note are that all the buses drive the same road (duh, there's only one road inside the park!), and that all the buses have similar destinations. By similar destinations I mean that there's a tour bus to Eilson Visitor Center and there is also a shuttle bus to Eilson Visitor Center. So, if you ask, "Which bus is better for seeing wildlife?" The answer is that they are about the same since they are on the same road going to the same place. Your experience on the shuttle bus happens to vary quite a bit depending on the driver you get. Some of the shuttle bus drivers will talk just as much as a tour bus driver, however, they are not required to. Some of the shuttle bus drivers won't say much of anything unless somebody asks them a question. It's important to note that a pretty large majority of the bus drivers will give some form of commentary as they drive, because they want to share their love of the park just as much as all the other employees. Oftentimes, a deciding factor for people on whether to take a shuttle or a tour to Eilson is, "Do I want to pay about $30 for a shuttle bus or about $95 for a tour bus?" You be the judge.

Shuttle bus reservations can be made either by following the instructions at the National Park Service web site [3] or in person at the reservation desk in the visitor center. Be aware that buses may fill several days in advance, especially during the height of the summer visitor season.

2008 Shuttle Bus Prices (including reservation fee):

• Riley Creek Shuttle. Travels between the Railroad/Visitor complex and Riley Creek mercantile, leaving approximately every 30 minutes. No charge.

• Sled Dog Demonstration Shuttle. Provides transportation from the Railroad/Visitor Complex to the demonstration site. Boarding begins 40 minutes prior to each 10 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm demonstration, on a space-available basis. There are no late departures for this service. The bus will bring you back about fifteen minutes before the next hour (i.e., 10:45, 2:45, etc). No charge for either the bus or the demonstration - simply show up at the bus loading area located near the visitor center.

• Savage River Shuttle (Mile 14). 2 hour round-trip, leaving hourly during the summer. No charge. Savage River is a pretty area which delineates the point at which nearly all private vehicle traffic must stop. From a bridge over the river, one can see upstream towards the river's source along a "u-shaped," glacier-carved valley and downstream along a small canyon, cut into the mountains by the river's passage. Because of this, and a number of exposed rock formations, it is one of the most geologically interesting areas to explore. There is also an established trail leading downstream into the canyon, where after half a mile it crosses the Savage via a small foot bridge, and returns to the Park Road. Total distance: 1 mile; gradient: ~ 0%; difficulty: easy (though it can be extremely windy in the canyon).

• Polychrome Pass (Mile 46). 5 hour round-trip, $22.75 per person. Named after the area's multi-colored bluffs, Polychrome Overlook offers spectacular views of the Alaska Range. The Polychrome Shuttle departs only once per day – typically in the early evening (5 – 6pm) providing opportunities for photography in the great evening light, and a great shorter trip into the park if you have limited time and prefer the latest available departure.

• Toklat (Mile 53). 6 hour round-trip, $22.75 per person. Toklat River is a very pretty, glacially-carved valley, and is home to a temporary ranger station (until Eielson Visitor Center reopens in 2008). You will have had many opportunities to view Mt. McKinley en route, but there is no chance of viewing the mountain from Toklat River, unless you scale some of the smaller mountains around the river.

• Eielson Visitor Center (Mile 66). 8 hour round trip, $29.25 per personEielson is most easily reached by shuttle bus and provides one of the most dramatic views of the mountain, if you are lucky enough to visit on a day when it isn't shrouded in clouds. There are several short trails around the visitor center, and displays inside of the visitor center provide info on the natural history of the area.

• Wonder Lake (Mile 86). 11 hour round-trip, $40.00 per person. Wonder Lake and its approaches offer an entirely new environment to passengers - wetlands. This can make hiking a bit of a pain, but offers some unique scenic views, as well as a dramatic increase in the quantity and quality of bird sightings. Wonder Lake itself is very beautiful, and close to it is "Reflection Pond," where most of the wide-spread images of Denali and its reflection have been photographed. This is also as close as the Park Road gets to Mt. McKinley - within about twenty miles - and on a clear day is a singularly impressive place to be.

• Kantishna (Mile 91). 13 hour round-trip, $43.75 per person. An old mining town, Kantishna predates the park by nearly fifteen years. The original Mt. McKinley National Park, created in 1917, did not even include Kantishna within its boundaries. Since the 1980 expansion (and renaming) of the park, however, Kantishna has been inside the park. There are many private inholdings in the Kantishna area, so day-hikers and backpackers should be on the look-out for private property signs.

• Camper Buses (Mile 86). $29.25 per person. Camper buses will only take passengers with reservations to any campground or with a permit to camp in the backcountry. If you stay in a campground you can use the Camper Bus as much as you want, but you will have a seat reserved only for the first trip to the campground. Because their function is to transport campers into the park, they take shorter breaks at the rest rooms and spend significantly less time pausing for wildlife or scenic viewing. This is the cheapest to travel by bus into the park and the drivers are generally very friendly.

Youth prices (half the regular price) are for individuals age 15 to 17. There is no charge on any of the shuttle buses for children age 14 and under.

• Important Tips

• For shuttle bus trips into the park, be sure to bring all the food, water, and extra clothing you might need. These are very long trips, and there are no services inside the park other than simple restrooms that have no running water. Temperatures can also vary a lot, so extra layers are always a good idea.

• Smoking and alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the buses.

• You are not allowed to carry firearms with you on the buses as they are prohibited inside Denali Park's wilderness areas. If you bring bear spray with you, you must tell the bus driver so that it can be stored in a compartment under the bus in case of an accidental discharge. There have been incidents of accidental discharge and it pretty much results in an entire bus-full of people getting tear gassed. You won't make many friends if you do this.

• There are some sections of the park road with very steep drop offs, no guard rails, and only enough room on the road for one bus to pass at a time. If you are afraid of heights, this is your warning. Some visitors nervously ask, "Heh, how many buses have gone over the edge?" Unfortunately, the answer is that one bus did go over the edge back in the 70's soon after the bus system was started, and there were a large number of fatalities in this accident. The incident happened on a steep drop just past Eilson Visitor Center (Mile 66). This happened at a time when the bus drivers received a very minimal amount of training. The bus drivers today are put through extensive training before being allowed to drive the park road. Still, one accident in about 35 years of operation isn't too bad.

By foot

There are few trails within the park, but visitors are allowed (and often encouraged) to choose their own paths across the tundra. The less-adventurous may choose to simply amble along the park road after Savage River; keep an eye out for buses and wildlife when traveling on the road.

By bike

A mountain bike is a great option for traveling on the park road. Sometimes bikers arrange backcountry permits at the Backcountry Information Center that allow them to spend a few days traveling out to Wonder Lake and back. This can, however, be logistically tricky - you will need to either spend the night in an established campground or be near enough to one that you can stash your bike (and food if you are not carrying a Bear Resistant Food Canister) overnight. The only areas where this is possible are: Wonder Lake; Toklat River (you can't sleep there, but you can use the food lockers at the temporary ranger contact station); Igloo Campground (again, you can't stay there, but you can utilize the food lockers if need be); Teklanika Campground; and Savage Campground.

If planning a trip by bike along the park road be prepared for travel on a dirt road with several major mountain passes and few guard rails.

One fun option is to take a bike out to Wonder Lake on a camper bus. You need to tell the person who you buy the ticket from that you plan to take a bike since only two bikes are allowed per bus. Once you get to Wonder Lake, you bike back out of the park. This trip can be done in approximately 10 hours if you keep a good pace. It is especially enjoyable if you plan this bike trip around the same time as summer solstice. You can take the last bus going out to Wonder Lake so that you can bike the entire trip back with no buses on the road, all while getting to experience an awe-inspiring bike ride in the land of the midnight sun.

By air

The glaciated heart of the Park is best accessed by one of the air taxi services located in Talkeetna, south of the Park. Landing by ski plane on a glacier is a truly memorable experience. Most air taxis offer glacier landing flights which allow visitors to walk around for a short while on the snow alongside the safe zones of the established airstrips. Visitors wanting to venture away from the safety of the airstrips should be well versed in the technical aspects of glacier travel and crevasse rescue or should hire a guide. Camping on the glacier with huge, glaciated peaks towering above gives a great taste of the immensity of the Alaska Range. The National Park allows only a few outfitters to operate within its boundaries and one such guide service , Mountain Trip, has been looking after visitors in the Range since 1973.

Meals, gas, camping supplies, and a ridiculous variety of souvenirs can be purchased just outside of the park entrance on the Parks Highway, in an area called "the Canyon," located about one mile north of the park entrance. Within the park, the Riley Creek Mercantile (mile 0.3) sells basic supplies, including such things as white gas for cook stoves, bug repellent, and other necessities.

There are several bars and restaurants clustered outside of the park entrance in the Canyon, 1 mile north of the park entrance. Within the park the Riley Creek Mercantile (mile 0.3) offers small food items and supplies. The Morino Grill, located 1.5 miles from the park entrance, is open during the summer and offers prepared meals.

• Black Bear Coffee House & Cyber Cafe, Mile 238.5 Parks Hwy, Tel: 907-683-1656, [9]. Located just north of the park entrance, this cyber cafe serves coffee, snacks, small meals (sandwiches, etc.) and also has beer and wine available for purchase. Open from 6:00 AM to 10:30 PM daily.

• Denali Salmon Bake, Mile 238.5 Parks Hwy. [10]. Restaurant by day, locals bar with live music by night. Hands down one of the most "hopping" bars in Denali. Given Alaskas' "best small business of 2007" by Alaska chamber of commerce, this destination is sure not to dissappoint. They also offer lodging. 907-683-2733 Open 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. and providing an always free shuttle to and from the restaurant.