Hello to you all,
My family (myself, DH and 2 kids- ages 9 and 12) is putting together a trip to Alaska arriving May 27th and departing June 1st. We toured the Kenai Penn. last summer and loved it. This year we would like to tour the Denali area.
*Will this be a good time to tour the park? (we are concerned about snow or ice)
*Would you recommend an RV for this area and time of year? We would have loved having an RV on the pennisula... just concerned with the road conditions and weather
I would appreciate any information you can pass along....

We went to Alaska in May, and it was a great time to go. I don't know if Memorial Day weekend will be crowded since we went before that.
Be aware, you can only drive a little ways to Denali and then you must take a bus. No vehicles are allowed.
Most rental agencies will not let you drive even the bottom end before the manditory busses.

According to the DNP web site, the shuttle busses run to Toklat May 20 - May 31, and run to Fish Creek beginning June 1. Good luck with your planning!

Actually, Denali Park can be quite nice end of May, you just can not get past mile 53. As mentioned, only 16 miles is a public road. You need the Toklat shuttle- booked in advance for the rest of the distance in. Be sure to make a stop in Talkeetna. You may also like a detour for glacier trekking too perhaps?? www.micaguides.com Hiking at Eagle River is also excellent.


As for a RV, an excellent choice for family travel. But if looking to go next month, look for availablity NOW, and go with at least a 24 footer. I rented from Great Alaskan Holiday, good company to deal with and price was inclusive. Purchase the extra insurance waiver, otherwise you have a $1000 deductable and bound to get charged for something. Be sure to compare accurately- since some charge dumping fees, linen rentals etc.

Thank you for your responses. Are the roads typically clear this time of year? What about places to spend the night in the RV. When we were on the Kenai Peninsula last year we saw lots of RV's parked off the side of the road and beside streams etc. (not in RV parks). Is this type of parking legal? We are just trying to weigh out the costs of renting the RV vs. Hotels, dining out and renting a mini van...

I am going to buy a copy of Discovering Denail. Thanks for the recommendation.

Actually it is not less "crowded" in Denali Park, if you are referring to the buses?? These run full, since there are so few running at the time. You can pull off on the side of the road, IF there are no signs prohibiting it. I like staying in campgrounds for the security.

Thanks for your input. It looks like the campgrounds are near Denali and other areas we are interested in visiting. Hopefully we will not have a hard time getting a place to park without reservations (over Memorial Day Weekend). Though last year we drove to Homer over Memorial Day weekend and had a very hard time getting a room.

Any ideas what the weather is usually like the end of May beginning of June in Denali area?

Frankly, I would not go without reservations. You are going to run into the same problem you did last year. Weather is very nice end of May, but be well prepared as you know for a wide range.

It snowed yesterday for a while by me in the Mat-Su Valley, south of Denali. I've got a park ranger staying with me, doing horseback riding training in our area. He said there's quite a bit of snow left in Denali but it will go quickly over the next few weeks, as usual. Good for visitors: that area got about 1/3 of the snow that they did last year, so melt off will take less time. It's been a cold and wet spring; we're still just freezing at night and daytime highs in the 40s/barely 50. Three weeks should make a big difference, but it may still be cooler than normal.