RVing to Alaska & Yukon Ep. 8 - Denali National Park! Flightseeing, Sled Dogs, Camping, Bus Tour

On this Episode we visit Denali National Park!
We arrived at Denali Ntl Pk August 21 and checked in at the Riley Creek Mercantile - which houses the office for all the campgrounds and a small store. This is also where you will find the laundry, showers and RV dump station.
We’d made reservations at Riley Creek for a 5-night stay. Keep in mind your reservation doesn’t guarantee a particular site, just access to one that is available the day you arrive.
Once we got set up we drove the section of the Park Road that is accessible by car - which is basically the first 15 miles - as far as the Savage River Trail Head.
We were driving really slowly along the Park Road, just in awe of the views and fall colours on the Tundra when the clouds lifted and a massive snow covered mountain appeared. It was Denali….in all its splendour. And keep in mind that from the spot where we were stopped the mountain is more than 60 miles away.
All this occurred within the first couple of hours of arriving - we felt so fortunate as only 30% of park visitors get to see Denali.
We then stopped at the visitor Center and then the bus terminal where we made a reservation for a 5-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour for the next day.
The tour buses feature a trained naturalist who both drives and narrates during the trip. Do note that in 2022 and for the next couple of years at least, the buses only run to mile 43 where the Park Rd is closed due to a massive landslide.
We’d heard some people say taking the tour bus…which are the brown buses, wasn’t worth the expense and you could see just as much wildlife riding the green transit buses for less money, but we found our driver to be very knowledgeable and entertaining and we thoroughly enjoyed his narration.
In the first few miles we encountered a huge bull moose. Then at the Savage River Trailhead a Ranger popped aboard to welcome us….and then a few more minutes up the road a Caribou stopped our bus. Throughout the tour the wildlife was incredible and on top of wildlife the scenery and fall colors were truly beautiful.
When it comes to the wilderness tour, we do recommend making reservations a few days ahead of time - even it late August the buses were full.
Denali is the only national park where Rangers use sled dogs and in the summer, visitors can visit the kennel and see a dog sled demonstration. When the demo is over you can visit the dog and the puppies. And a pro tip here, many Denali visitors arrive at the park via train or bus and take a transit bus to the kennel, once those buses leave after the demo we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
Seeing Denali from the park road had been amazing but you can get close I took a flight seeing tour with Denali Air. At one point I had to stop shooting and just take it in. And just a quick note, Denali Air will pick you up from the campground with their free shuttle - just make that arrangement when you book.
Back in the park there are nearly limitless hiking opportunities - you can take a transit bus and ask them to drop you off almost anywhere on the park road and simply hike from there and flag down another bus when you’re ready to return, or there are a few marked trails in the Riley Creek area. There’s the McKinley Station trail from the campground that ends at the visitor centre, another that will take you into the small town just north of the park entrance and the very pretty Horseshoe Lake Trail that winds past beaver dams and the Nenana River.
Just outside the park entrance Denali has a commercial section where cruise lines have built hotels and there’s quite a few shops, galleries and restaurants. A few miles further north is the town of Healy and home of the 49th State Brewing Company - We had a really nice lunch here but the highlight was touring the bus used in the making of the movie - Into the Wild, the Chris McCandless story.
And a final note on camping. There are no sites with electricity or water in Denali. We were equipped with 380 watts of solar and we had a small inverter generator. Note that the use of generators is limited to 8-10am and 4-8pm. If you need a full service site or rig is too large there are a couple of private campgrounds just a few minutes from the park entrance.
As far as sites go, we had booked a ‘B’ site, good for 25ft RVs (our trailer is 22’) and ours was great but not all the B sites would have worked well for a truck and trailer. We spoke with the campground host and he told us that they usually try to keep 1 or 2 larger sites in reserve should someone arrive and find there isn’t a suitable site for their rig.
The ranger who greeted our tour bus and said 'Denali changes people' was on to something. It is a magical place and if you enjoy the wilderness and are anything like us…you won’t want to leave.
#alaska #denali #visitalaska #nps #denaliair #wildernesstour #visitdenali #denalitour #intothewild #49thstate #driving #alaskahighway

[@ShawnPatterson402]

superb again. It is great as well to be set up with decent battery power and some solar..... We love spending nights off grid. continued safe travels...

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Thanks so much Shawn. And completely agree, our solar and lithium batts have made dry camping so much more stress free.

[@smithsark77]

Loved the wildlife shots and footage

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Thanks very much, we loved Denali and that was in a big part because of the amazing wildlife.

[@scottstrobbe9920]

Wow! You really made up for that rainy weather with the conditions at the Park. What a day for an airplane ride! Another great video. Thank you!

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Thanks very much Scott, and you are very right. Just a few hours after we arrived at Denali the weather broke and we had 5 really good days with just a few sprinkles in that time. We really did mean it when we said we did not want to leave. It is an incredible place.

[@MaisleyVanGo]

Another wonderful video! Spectacular views.We are hoping to take the Denali Air flight ourselves but husband is concerned about getting into the plane because he can not go up stairs that are too high. We called them to ask how high each step would be and they said there is a stool to get onto the airstair. Would you remember how the stairs were getting in and if anyone was having difficulty?

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Hi Maisley, thanks very much. I went back and looked at a photo that showed the steps down on the plane - it looks like the bottom step is about 14” from the ground so a stool would be a good idea and as you mentioned they can provide. This may seem like a silly suggestion but it might be worth seeing if you can find a similar aircraft at an airfield near you and have a look for yourself (I think they were Piper Navajos but I am not 100% certain - Im sure Denali Air would tell you). Or maybe DAir could send you a quick video of what its like to board? Hoping this helps…

[@MaisleyVanGo]

@@TrueNorthCamping That is an excellent idea! We live very close to a small airfield and it never dawned on either of us to go there to check out any similar. Thank you! I believe they are pipers. One of the reasons we are choosing Denali Air over the others is that hubs is very paranoid about any single engine plane and were thrilled that Denali Air had twin. Can't wait to see the rest of your videos. We are really enjoying them.

[@TC2002ST]

Great video, I was wondering what camera you used for the still shots

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Thanks Ted, some stills are from our cell phones but most were taken on a Sony a6000.

[@TC2002ST]

@@TrueNorthCamping Thanks for the info!!

[@martinhyde9663]

I note there are vehicle length restrictions on a number of the campgrounds in Denali. Am I correct in assuming that a 40 foot maximum length refers to a single unit (i.e. a 5th wheel or Class A) and not to the combined length of a travel trailer and pickup?

[@TrueNorthCamping]

According to the NPS website you are correct: “Recreational Vehicle (RV), Car/Truck/Trailer Information - The maximum length of an individual RV or camper-trailer is 40'. The combined length of a vehicle and trailer combination may exceed 40', but each individual vehicle component (e.g., the truck or trailer) may not exceed 40' on its own. “

[@martinhyde9663]

@@TrueNorthCamping Thanks! I figured that was the case as you were there with a setup similar to ours (an Escape 21 and a F150)

[@borntothepurple]

02;33 Is it for real?

[@TrueNorthCamping]

Yes! That was shot from the Denali Park Road.