cheerful

There is a requirement for reservation for the shuttle bus. This forces us to plan everything way ahead of time. We will spend 3 days there in late July (20+). Can some please recommend some stops and trails?

Thanks!

traveler24

Check www.nps.gov/dena/index
they click on hiking and it will show you trails and distance. You can only drive 14 miles into the park. Shuttles go the rest of the way and determine where you stop along the way. I did hear people talk of getting off bus , hiking and the bus picking them up on way back but I don't know the details .There are many different shuttle distances--1/2 day ,all day
As you know you can not drive past 14 miles into the park. I did see lots of people drive that far ,park their cars and hike off into the distance.
You will love the whole area..it is breathtaking...

Connie

Why do you need reservations? In mid July, 2002, we walked up to the counter, bought our tickets for the next shuttle bus and it was half full.

I didn't see many people get off. Those that did were eating all the buses' dust. You need to find trails that get you off the road.

cheerful

Connie, what time during the day did you do that? I was expecting some shuttles to be fairly empty, esp. the midday ones. But I did heard that the early morning ones are crowded.

Kay2

We visited Denali some 10 years ago. I got a book on hiking in Denali (don't remember the name) that told where the best hiking was (high, dry ground with few bears). At that time they did not have trails except near the extrance, the visitors centers, and other developments. In all other areas they intentionally did not establish trails to spread people and their impact out along the terrain.

We rode the NPS bus into the park. We just told the driver where we wanted to be dropped and followed our compass, hiking away from the road across the tundra. We walked for a couple of miles, but still could see the road as we chose a high route. We sat on a hill with a moose watching us from a stand of trees below, found antlers, and were surrounded by beauty. Then we hiked back to the road and flagged down a bus to take us back out.

Despite our careful choice of locations, we did hit water on our way back to the road. Our choices were to backtrack and try to find the same route we used going in (few landmarks, just our map and compass) or wade through mid calf water. We had brought boots for just such a situation, so we changed and pushed on as it was getting late and we didn't want to depend on the last bus of the night. It was one of the hardest hike I have ever taken despite its relatively short length. Even when we got out of the water we were walking on spongy tundra--each step would sink at least 6 inches.

So, we had a great time. We were glad we had sufficient gear, food, and emergency supplies even though we were just on a day hike. It was the most we have ever felt on our own in a national park.

Connie

Yes, it was mid-day. I've always heard to take the first bus for best wildlife viewing but our schedule didn't accomodate that. We saw lots of wildlife--several grizzlies and tons of other wildlife. Also so McKinley ALL DAY.

We felt very lucky.

I never saw any marked trails either but just figured I didn't know where to look. We just saw people walking out in the open. I love to hike but it didn't look very interesting to me. I guess I am used to hiking in forests and on mountains.

bigtyke

We spent only a couple of hours in Denali, but did manage to take a very nice hike from the entrance. It goes about 1-2 miles to a small lake. Saw two moose in the lake. Lots of mosquitos on the trail.