I have been to several National Parks: Bryce Canyon, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smokey Mountains, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen, Redwood National, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. Each one absolutely gorgeous in its own way. But Denali is the most beautiful by far because of its unspoiled beauty. To drive through a National Park with hundreds of other people enjoying its beauty is one thing, fun, exciting and can be disrupted by voices all around unless you hike deep into the backcountry. Going through a National Park and not seeing another soul, only the vast unspoiled tundra and wildlife, the strange stillness and peacefulness is another. It’s what a National Park should be like. No asphalt, no Hotels, no Restaurants, no traffic jams, no campsites alongside the roads. Just complete unspoiled beauty.
Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Mount McKinley (Denali), the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet. The park and preserve together is nearly 6 million acres and over 9,492 miles. The word "Denali" means "the great one" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself. The mountain was named after President William McKinley of Ohio in 1897 by local prospector William A. Dickey, although McKinley had no connection with the region.
The park was originally established to protect its large mammals, not because of majestic Mount McKinley. Predator-prey relationships exist in balance here as they may have existed elsewhere before human intrusions. Denali National Park and Preserve remains a subarctic wilderness of wildlife and glaciated mountains.
We arrived early at the park to catch our excursion, a narrative bus trip to the end of the road in Denali, the Kantishna Experience.
You are only allowed to drive a private vehicle 15 miles into the park. Any further you must take a shuttle bus, tour bus, or an excursion bus. Ray and I wanted to see this entire park and learn as much as we could and the only way to do this was with the Kantishna Experience. It travels the length of the 92 mile road deep into the park. Our departure time was set for 7:30 am.
We jumped on the bus, grabbed our seats and we’re on our way. We have a relatively small group of about 18 people. Much better than a packed bus of 45 people! We were able to stretch out and enjoy the sights.
Immediately we were awed with wildlife. Our first sighting was a Wolverine. A fast moving Wolverine. I saw it, my camera didn’t. The guide was thrilled he saw one. He said seeing a Wolverine is rare in the park and in the 17 years he’s been doing this job, he’s only seen 4. A few minutes later we were stopped by this guy:
A Moose in the road. He certainly was in no hurry. He looked back at us a couple of times as if to say “Don’t rush me, I’ll move over when I’m ready”. So, we slowly followed him until he was ready to move over. Alongside the road a few miles later we saw some Caribou walking along the Teklanika River.
The size of the Denali Caribou Herd has fluctuated greatly over the last 80 years. It once numbered over 20,000 caribou during the 1920's and 1930's. The herd declined as much as 30% between 1990 and 1991, likely due to weather induced stresses and increased vulnerability to predation. Currently, there are approximately 1,760 caribou in Denali. As we travel along, we come up to the Polychrome Pass, a steep mountainous drive on a dirt road dug into the mountain. Pretty scary when you’re trapped on a bus, but gorgeous views! It overlooks one of the largest tundra’s of Denali and the Polychrome Glaciers.
We came to an area where we could pull over and take a short hike up to get better views above the road. It was just breathtaking to see all this untouched land in every single direction you looked. And even more beautiful with the fall shades in yellow, orange and brown.
In Denali, if you want to camp, you need to obtain a permit and must be camped 1 mile away from the road. I like that – you see no one!After 15 minutes there, we head down the Polychrome Pass and I spot a couple Grizzles down in the Tundra. I yelled “Stop”, as we were instructed to anytime we see any wildlife, and the driver comes to a screeching halt.
They are foraging for blueberries, their favorite fruit right before hibernation.
Once we’re off Polychrome Pass, we get a glimpse of Denali. It’s amazing to see how huge this mountain is against the 8,000+ peaks sitting below it.
Our next stop was at Tolkat River. All it had there was some restrooms and a small bookstore. Otherwise, it’s mostly for viewing the area and river.
We made a few more stops to capture Denali before it disappeared behind the clouds. It’s such a beautiful mountain!
Finally, we reached our destination, Kantishna. Nearly everyone has heard of the Bonanza Strike near Dawson City, and the rush to make a fortune. And, maybe not. However, most people are unaware of the booms and busts that occurred within the current boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve in a place now known simply as Kantishna. The Kantishna Experience is a journey to “the end of the road”. The 12 hour round- trip into the heart of the park includes a stop at the historic cabin of Fannie Quigley, an infamous Kantishna resident who settled in the area during its Gold Rush heyday in the early 1900’s and remained there until her death in 1944. It was interesting to see this cabin. Everything was left just as it was when she passed.
Then this little cutie ran across the road and into a tree. It’s a Spruce Grouse.
We spent about 30 minutes here, walking around and checking out the cabin. On our way back, we saw some Dall sheep on the side of the mountains.
Around the next corner we spotted a Golden Eagle. Big guy! After we all stuck out our cameras out the window, he decides to take off.
And just before we headed out of the park, another Moose decides he’s gonna stall us.
He and his buddy munch on some blueberries.
We ended our trip today at 6:30. Headed to Denali (town) and had some dinner. Got back to our B&B and had this view off our balcony.
Hit the sack for some sleep! It’s been a long day! Tomorrow we’ll drive to Fairbanks, Alaska.
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