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| Denali National Park Hiking, Photography and Camping. |
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Tent in Wonder Lake Campground. Mt. McKinley in background. |
Advance reservations are accepted for all the campground spaces in Riley Creek (park entrance), Savage (mile 13), Sanctuary (Mile 23), Teklanika (mile 29), and Wonder Lake (mile 85) campgrounds. If you arrive without reservations, go to the Wilderness Access Center to obtain a campground permit if space is available.
Wonder Lake and Sanctuary are tent-only campgrounds.
Riley Creek Campground is open all year but flush toilet facilities and water are only available during the summer season. Other campgrounds, except Wonder Lake, are open during the summer season from late May through early September. Wonder Lake Campground opens in June.
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Park shuttle bus on Stony Pass. Mt McKinley in background. |
Beginning the last weekend of May (Memorial Day Weekend) through early September, you must use the shuttle bus system to reach most of these hikes. You can get off the bus to hike and catch a later bus to continue into the park or to return.
Shuttle buses run the length of the park road departing from the Park Entrance Visitor Center at half-hour intervals beginning at 6:00 AM. The last returning bus arrives at the Park Entrance Visitor Center about 11:00 PM. The round trip to Eielson Visitor Center takes about eight (8) hours; Wonder Lake takes about 11 hours. Your ticket is for a guaranteed roundtrip seat on the same bus. However you may get off to hike and return on a later bus on a space available basis.
After hiking, return to the road and stop a green bus. Buses always leave Eielson with some vacant seats to allow picking up hikers along the way. Two or three seats were often available when I stopped a bus. Over a span of two summers I had to wait for the second bus only three times because the first bus had no seats.
A separate camper bus system provides transportation to campgrounds and to carry backpackers to drop-off points.
Shuttle bus and campground reservations
office
Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture
241 West Ship Creek Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501
Internet: www.reservedenali.com
Reservations by mail, FAX, or Internet were accepted beginning in December
for the next summer. Fax: (907)-264-4684. Phone Reservations lines
opened in late February for the next summer: 1-800-622-7275. Callers
from Anchorage or a foreign country must call 1-907-272-7275.
Hours of operation are 7:00 AM-5:00 PM, Alaska Standard Time.
I expect a similar schedule for reservations each season, but call to
confirm the schedule for the summer when you plan to visit. Reservations
are handled by a private business so, if these numbers do not work in
the future, contact the Denali National Park Headquarters (1-907-683-2294)
or via the Internet at http://www.nps.gov/dena
to obtain the current numbers. This website also provides information
about the best system and campgrounds.
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