We are going to Denali next August and are thinking about staying at the lodge inside the park (Denali backcoutnry lodge). Did any one know any thing aobut it? Other than from its own website, I could not find any information about it. I assume staying in the park will give me a better chance to see wild lives and McKinley. Are there any good hiking trails around there? Are there good stream to go fishing there? Is it dangerous to hike alone (we are a family of 4 with two children of ages 8 and 12)? Thanks!!

There are four lodges near Kantishna near the park boundary and Backcountry is the one 'at the end of the road'. We only stopped by there once (briefly) picking up someone getting a ride to the airstrip but it looks like a good place.

However I would prefer to stay at either Camp Denali or North Face Lodge for two reasons ... first, these are close to the expanded park borders so they got special permission to run more day trips back inside the park (the other two lodges -- Backcountry and Kantishna Roadhouse -- can only go to Wonder Lake or take you in/out on transit days). So you get to ride back in to some of the best areas of the park with their naturalists and basically have these for yourselves. Each day they have 4 - 6 vans heading out with photographers or hikers or bird watchers or whatever so there is a nice range of activities.

Second, there are good views of the top of Mt. McKinley from Camp Denali (and a bit lesser views from NFL, which is a few hundred feet lower). You can see the mountain views from the lodge at their site ... http://www.campdenali.com/ ... both Roadhouse and Backcountry lodges are further down the river canyon and have no views at all of the mountain from the lodges.

I assume staying in the park will give me a better chance to see wild lives and McKinley.

Yes, but even better odds from Camp Denali or North Face ... here are some pics we took at Denali, about half while at one of these two lodges ... http://www.hiltonphotography.net/alaska/denali/

Are there any good hiking trails around there?

There are good hiking areas around Wonder Lake and I think better hikes in the high tundra around, say, Highway Pass (near Eielson) but you need to be bear-aware since there are many grizzly bears. Backcountry Lodge is a bit lower in a heavily timbered area and I'd prefer having them bus me to Wonder Lake or taking the shuttle to the more open areas where the views are better and you can see the bears at a distance.

Are there good stream to go fishing there?

There's a good stream for grayling behind Camp Denali, I forget the name (probably Moose Creek) but Backcountry can fix you up with this ... at CD or NFL they provide fly rods and will ferry you there, they also have a bird banding station on the creek where you can watch the banders. There is no trout or salmon fishing since most of the rivers are choked with glacial silt.

Is it dangerous to hike alone (we are a family of 4 with two children of ages 8 and 12)?

Will be OK in open areas if you are making noise, more risky in thick brush or timber, where you might stumble on a moose or grizzly. There are a couple hundred bears in Denali and people are hiking and camping with them all summer and no one has ever been killed yet inside the park (though every 2-3 years someone stumbles on a bear in brush and gets mauled), and there has yet to be an attack on a group of four or more people (mostly attacks on singles or pairs), so you should be OK on your own. You can take the shuttle bus from the entrance to hiking areas and go it alone without staying at one of these lodges.

One final tip, the later in August the better for colors and more active animals. The pics on our site were all taken between the last week in August and the middle of September.

Bill

Certainly Bill's information is more complete than mine, as we only have stayed at the Denali Backcountry Lodge, so have no basis for comparison. We were there for three nights and given a pretty wide range of hikes and activities each day. We had a wonderful time. We loved the "rustic" sort of cabins with modern conveniences, the family style meals were good and delightful, and the evening "social hour" was a lot of fun. The entire staff couldn't have been nicer.

Our trip in was very successful for wildlife, and we were amazed at the "family" of grizzlies that literally played for 15 minutes or so within 12 feet of our stopped bus. But our early morning trip out was amazing -- we were surrounded by a pack of wolves at one time, saw a lynx at close range, many grizzlies, and just about everything else one can hope to see.

We found the Backcountry Lodge to be a wonderful experience. Incidentally we combined it with a three night stay at their "sister" Kenai Backcountry Lodge the following week, which was equally delightful.

Bill and NeoPatrick, Thank you both so much for the helpful information. Bill, your photos are amazing. They are absolutely beautiful!

NeoPatrick,
what time of year did you visit the park? You were lucky to have so many great encounters with the wildlife.
Donna

We were there in July. I suspect the reason we saw so much on our way out, was that the bus started at something like 6 AM, and was clearly the first bus of the day through the road in the park.

Our trip in was very successful for wildlife ... But our early morning trip out was amazing

As NeoPatrick indicates the best game viewing is inside the park and these four lodges are all just outside the park's west boundary.

The difference is that Camp Denali and North Face Lodge guests are allowed back in to the park each day while guests at Kantishna Roadhouse and Backcountry Lodge are not. They only go thru the park interior on their transit days.

Just glancing at the 16 photos on the web page I linked to I see that the five grizzly bear and wolf pics were all taken on early AM trips back into the park from CD or NFL (the wolf all the way to East Fork of the Toklat, a *long* way into the park). The caribou, moose and two scenic shots of Denali were all taken when I rode one of their busses back to Eielsen or Highway Pass and got off with a mountain bike, then spent all afternoon slowly biking back to the lodges (25 - 33 miles back), stopping to photograph on the way back where ever I liked. You can't do this from the other lodges, sorry.

Then there's the priceless views of the mountain from your cabin window ...

Bill

How little I know, Bill. You mean all those places we hiked, including Wonder Lake are NOT inside the park? What do I know -- I just assumed they were.

You mean all those places we hiked, including Wonder Lake are NOT inside the park?

No need to get snippy Patrick As I said in my first post "Backcountry and Kantishna Roadhouse can only go to Wonder Lake" which of course is inside the Park but located near the border at mile 85 or so and that's as far as they can go on day trips.

It's also more crowded because of the campground, day trippers on the shuttle and people from the lodge you stayed at plus Kantishna Roadhouse. And the buggiest place in Denali, I think. Camp Denali and NFL guests can come here too (they even have canoes stashed away at the north end for guests), but the big advantage of staying at one of those lodges/camps is that you can also go back deep into the park ... I think some of the images on my web page were shot on day trips back into the park as deep as mile 45, something you can't do from the other lodges.

Anything you can do at Backcountry or Kantishna (except drink, Kantishna has a bar while CD and NFL are BYOB) you can do at North Face or Camp Denali, but there are things you can do from CD and NFL that you can't do from the others, like accessing the park interior on day trips. Unless there's a big price break for staying at Backcountry or Roadhouse I don't see the attraction.

Bill

I would recommend to stay in Camp Denali lodge. The lodge has the best view on Mt. McKinley. The lodge maintaines their own hiking trail network ourside the core national park area (extended national park, which gives the lodge owner some more rights to use the area).

The lodge has also a VAN and they bring their guest to intresting places within the park during guided activities.

Wildlife viewing can take everywhere within the park. I would not say, that you see more wildlife close to the Lodges (we saw one moose close to the wonder lake).

I just checked prices and, while none of these exclusive places are cheap, a couple can stay at Backcountry Lodge for about $114 less per night than at Camp Denali or North Face. Also, at Backcountry you can stay one or two nights (or of course longer) while at CD and NFL all trips are 3 or 4 night packages (with some longer exceptions).

So for a shorter trip Backcountry makes a lot of sense, and $114 per night less is nice. I also see they offer a discount after Sept 1, which is curious because at CD and NFL that's the prime time when photo tour groups book well in advance and the lodges are always full.

Still, for longer trips I'd advise NFL or CD for the reasons mentioned in earlier posts. We usually go for a week (or 10 or 11 days), combining several sessions and like going back deep into the park to photograph so for us these are the best options, but I can certainly see how Backcountry would be a good fit for others. We stayed at a cabin owned by the Backcountry people south of the entrance to Denali in 2006 and it was very nice.

One final thought for those deciding between Camp Denali and NFL ... Camp is a grouping of cabins and these are a bit rustic, with no running water, kerosene lamps and an outhouse for each cabin. When you have to 'go' in the middle of the night and it's cold and wet it won't seem quite so charming NFL is a modern lodge with indoor plumbing and electricity in every room ...

Bill

Stayed at the Denali Backcountry Lodge 7 years ago and enjoyed it. Would have chosen Camp Denali or Northface Lodge, but they operate on fixed arrival/departure schedules with a 3 night minimum. This didn't fit our schedule so we opted for Denali Backcountry Lodge.

Now planning a trip for next August to Alaska and have opted for Northface Lodge....and made sure it fits our schedule. Based on information gathered from various guides and websites (including this one as well as TripAdvisor), it seems pretty clear that Camp Denali/Northface Lodge is the preferred place to be inside the park. Everything I've read suggests the accommodations, food, and activities are all a cut above those offered by either Backcountry Lodge or Kantishna Roadhouse. This comes with a bit of a higher price ($65-70/night per person more than BCL or KR), but it seems worth it.