Denali, a.k.a Mt. McKinley, north america highest mountain peak, is so high that apparently dwarfs others around it. Its view is especially stunning from a close look. Eielson Visitor Center is one of your top choice.
Travel Tips
- Denali Visitor Center is 100 yard away from Alaska Railroad Depot.
- park offers free shuttles in park entrance area up to Savage River. Book shuttle tickets ahead if planning to go beyond.
- check the schedule of ranger-led sled dog demonstrations.
- be aware of child restraint rule for kids under 7 on park shuttle.
- consider at least one night private-own lodging inside the park
- consider Denali flight-seeing or glacier landing
Train upper deck
We took Denali Star train from Anchorage and stayed two nights outside of the park. Next day we took transit shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center and round-trip commute cost us almost a day. Unfortunately we were not in a good luck that it was rainy during our shuttle ride and rain even poured hard when we reached Eielson. The rain was so heavy that we could not see anything, nor did we hike any trail. We only saw couple wildlife along the way. Since commute time is really long, I seriously recommend to stay inside the park. You will have better chance to enjoy Denali view and have more flexible time for hikes.
Denali
Transit Shuttle
There is Sled Dog Demonstration program at Sled Dog Kennels. We attended the program in the morning before leaving Denali.
Sled Dog Demonstration
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