Alaska

Tucked away in the heart of the rugged Alaskan wilderness, Denali National Park showcases the state's untamed beauty. Home to North America's tallest peak, Denali, the park offers visitors a breathtaking panorama of towering mountains, sprawling tundra, and abundant wildlife. Adventurers can explore the vast wilderness through a network of hiking trails, catching glimpses of grizzlies, moose, and caribou along the way. The pristine landscapes and crisp mountain air create an ideal backdrop for outdoor enthusiasts, while the chance to witness the Northern Lights adds a touch of magic to the already enchanting experience. Whether you're seeking thrilling outdoor activities or simply yearning for a serene escape, Denali National Park promises an unforgettable Alaskan adventure.

4 Day Itinerary

This is a good itinerary to make a trip to Alaska over a holiday weekend, specifically Labor Day Weekend. It’s best when you can take advantage of a non-stop flight to Anchorage, and start your adventure there. This trip focuses on spending time in and around Denali National Park.

DAY 1: Flight to Anchorage

Alaska is a huge state, so you’ll definitely want to have a rental car reserved upon arrival in Anchorage. Ideally, get something with 4x4, as even on main highways we ran into sections that were just dirt. The drive into town is quick, around 10 minutes, but even in that time you’ll start to see how amazing the landscape of Alaska is with massive peaks rising in the distance.

Most likely, you’ll be arriving later in the day since its takes so long to get up to Anchorage from the lower 48. We elected to spend time exploring the city before getting up early the next morning to start the drive to Denali.

We stayed at the Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage. It’s in a great location to walk to many of the shopping and restaurants, and also to the Knowles Coastal Trail, which borders the water. Spend time walking along the coastal trail, and the shops, then find a brewery to spend the rest of the evening at before turning in for the night.

 

DAY 2: Drive to Denali

On your first full day, wake and take the short walk to the Snow City Cafe for breakfast before hitting the road. This is a local spot which also has some tourists who want to eat something outside of their hotel.

The drive to Denali National Park takes 4 hours (240 miles) from downtown Anchorage. It’s a drive, but Alaska is so spread out that this is nothing unusual. Luckily the scenery the entire drive is incredible and gives you a good feel for the beauty of the state. There are two viewpoints that you need to make sure you stop at on the way. The first is at the 2:30 hour mark (136 miles) from Anchorage, called Denali Viewpoint South. It’s the first good opportunity to try and see Mt. Denali and hopefully the weather is clear. The second is Denali Viewpoint North, which is at the 2:50 hour mark (163 miles) from Anchorage.

Once you arrive at the entrance to Denali Park, you’ll come up on a decent amount of development which has been established for guests who want to access the park. We stayed at the Denali Bluffs Hotel, which was a great spot. It is set on the side of the mountain across the river from the entrance to Denali, and gives you views into the park. There are multiple room types, and they even have an on-site restaurant.

We chose to find a place for lunch at one of the spots just a mile up the road since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. At lunch we talked to our waitress who recommended a short trail just a few more miles up the highway, that would be simple to do in the afternoon. The trail was called Bison Gulch and the trailhead/parking area was just off the highway. It was a great view from the top, but the hike up was very steep and the lunch we had wasn’t exactly light. If you want a quick trail to get in the hiking mood, this is a good one to try to stretch your legs after the drive.

That night, we ate dinner at the restaurant at the hotel and watched the stars come out over the park.

 
 

DAY 3: Denali National Park

If you’re staying at the Denali Bluffs hotel, there will be a place to get some light breakfast and snacks for the day. Alternatively, there’s a cafe, The Cache Cafe, just up the road where you can grab coffee and pastries. We wanted to do a lot of hiking today, so we kept breakfast light.

The first trail we had slated to do for the day was the Mt. Healy Overlook. It’s one of the first trailheads you come upon as you drive into the park and is across from the visitors center. There will be a car park with a plenty of spots to access this trail. The trail is a 4.9 mile, out and back trail with 1,700 feet of elevation gain. The view at the top is great and well worth the trek. This took us a couple hours to complete and we took our time with eating some packed sandwiches at the top taking in the view.

After we returned to the car park, we went down to the Horseshoe Lake Trail. It can also be accessed from the same parking area, so you don’t have to go back in the car. This is a flat, 2.1 mile hike around the small lake and is a nice change after the leg burning Mt. Healy Overlook hike.

After we had finished our hiking, we got in the car and drove further into the park. There is only one road in and out, and you go up from the river and highway to a mountain valley. You’re surrounded on both sides of the road by tundra and pine trees. Keep your eyes open looking for all the wildlife in Denali. It didn’t take us long to spot multiple moose, and we even heard there was a bear sighting just before we arrived at one of the viewpoints.

You can only drive about 13 miles into the park in a personal vehicle, before you are stopped. The rest of Park Road can only be accessed through one of the Denali Busses and a guided tour. We didn’t elect to do one of these, but have heard they are a great way to see deeper into the park.

We stopped at a few viewpoints along the way, and got held up in a traffic jam caused by a large bull moose. By the time we returned to the hotel, we took a quick couple hour break and then ate dinner at one of the restaurants down the road.

 
 

DAY 4: Denali National Park and Fairbanks

On our second day in the park, we woke up and went to grab coffee at The Cache Cafe again. Today, we drove again into the park and as far as we could up the road before the personal vehicles became prohibited from going any further. At this point, there is a stream that flows through a steep canyon off the road, and there is a good trail that goes along the stream. This is the Savage Canyon Trail.

The trail goes about a mile down the stream to a wooden footbridge. At this point, you can turn around, or keep going on a less maintained trail. We went about another mile and a half, making it a 5 mile trail in total.

As we made our way back out of the park, we stopped at all the trails and viewpoints off the side of the Park Road (linked above and to the right). The clouds around Denali even parted and we got our first glimpse of the mountain. You know when you see it, as it doesn’t seem real with how much higher it stands from the surrounding peaks.

After going back to the hotel and taking a quick nap / regrouping, we decided to make the drive to Fairbanks that afternoon. The forecast looked clear, and there was a chance the northern lights would be out as we were visiting over the first weekend of September. September is usually the first month the Northern Lights start to really show, so we wanted to try our look at seeing them. Fairbanks is 2 hours to the north (120 miles), up the same highway you drove in from Anchorage. If you’re there in September, the trees are staring to change and have amazingly vibrant colors. As you leave Denali, the landscape starts to turn and you feel you are really entering the gates of the Arctic region (the Arctic Circle is about 140 miles north of Fairbanks).

On the way up, we researched restaurants and found a good place for dinner called The Pump House. It’s a nicer restaurant on the banks of the Chena River with large grounds and serves mainly fish and steak. It’s a great spot to eat a big meal before you spend the night looking for the Northern Lights.

We drove a few miles outside of town to a country road that was away from as much light pollution as possible and a clear view of the sky. We parked on the side of the road and waited, but unfortunately were not lucky tonight. However, the moon rose through the pine trees and the stars were out in full force so the night wasn’t a total loss.

 
 

DAY 5: Return to Anchorage

Most flights back to the lower 48 are red eyes, so they leave late in the evening. Our flight left at 11:30pm, so we had essentially another full day. Before starting the drive back to Anchorage, we spent the morning driving back through Denali and admiring the mountain one more time since the weather was clear.

We arrived in Anchorage in the middle of the afternoon and spent the day walking around in the shops again, and having a few beers in the breweries we didn’t get to try on our first evening. After a leisurely day, we returned our rental car and checked in for our flight home.