denali shuttle bus
 

My friend talked with the host of a denali area B&B who tried to talk us into taking the Wilderness Tour instead of the shuttle bus. The host said that we could not take food on the bus because the bears would be after us if we got off the bus at all to hike around.
I can see not having open food in our backpack when hiking around, but surely it is not prohibited to bring food on these shuttles when they can last 8-10 hours?????? Can you buy food at Eielson Visitor Center at all, or Wonder Lake?
Thanks.

Unless things have changed since
August 25,2004 you can take food with you on the denali park shuttle bus. We took the 6:30 am. shuttle snacked on the way to Eielson and then had lunch at the picnic tables at the Eielson stop. take lots of water to drink. Eielson does not sell food so you have to bring your own. Take the shuttle bus as early as possible. The wildlife viewing is better early in the am. I've done an early and midday and the early shuttle provided alot more wildlife viewing. Enjoy.

We took the 7 AM shuttle to Wonder Lake with the lunch we bought from the hotel we were staying in. Picked it up at 6:30 AM. Ate it all day. No way to purchase any food or water once you are on the bus, but you can refill your water bottle at the rest stops (at least at Eileson.)

Completely untrue- you HAVE to bring in all your own food and drink on the shuttle buses. There is water at Eielson and Wonder Lake - at the campground bathroom.

They ENCOURAGE you to bring food and water.

And despite others' posts, you don't have to leave at the crack of dawn to see lots of wildlife. We left just after noon and saw 8 grizzlies and too many caribou and mouse to count.

You are reporting based on one afternoon trip. On AVERAGE- wildlife sightings are far greater starting in the early am. I have toured Denali Park for over 10 years.