The Alaska Public Lands Information Center logo.

 Where can I get information on Denali National Park and Preserve?

Information is located online at their website: http://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm

Information can be requested from the Anchorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center by mail, over the phone, fax, email, or in person.

Mail:

Anchorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center

605 West 4th Ave, Suite 105

Anchorage, AK 99501

Phone:

Nationwide 907-644-3661

Toll free in US 1-866-869-6887

Fax:

907-271-2744

Email:

chris_smith@nps.gov

In Person:

Anchorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center

Wilderness cabin

What types of lodging does Denali National Park and Preserve have?

There are places to stay outside of the Park in the nearest communities of Healy, located about 11 miles north of the park entrance and Cantwell, located about 30 miles south of the park entrance. There are many hotels, motels, and B & B's, etc, that exist in these communities and along the highway between them.

Inside the park lodging is limited to a handful of privately owned remote wilderness lodges in the Kantisha area, at the end of the Park Road. 

You may also camp in the park, either in an established campground or, with a permit, in the backcounrty.

Bird Creek trail head

What types of hiking are in Denali National Park and Preserve?

There are two ways to enjoy Denali by foot, hiking on the trails or hiking off trails in the wilderness.

Lily the sled dog

Can I take my pet with me into Denali National Park and Preserve?

Pets are welcome in Denali, but to protect other visitors , wildlife and your pets themselves, please remember these regulations:

• Pets must be leashed (6' or shorter leash) at all times
• You may not leave a tethered pet unattended
• Pets may be walked on the Park Road, in parking lots, or on campground roads
• Pets are not permitted on park trails, nor off trail in the wilderness
• Pets are not permitted on any of the various buses in Denali

Human foot print in the mud

What are the other modes of transportation inside Denali National Park and Preserve other than the various shuttle buses?

Walking, hiking, bicycling and dog mushing (in the winter) are options too.

What about driving your own car in on the Park Road?

The first 15 miles is drivable to private vehicles. There is a shoulder season at the end of summer when the shuttle buses no longer run and most facilities are closed and private vehicles are usually allowed to drive to mile 30 of the Park Road depending on weather.

Denali.

What is the Road Lottery?

Each September the park hosts a four-day event called the "Road Lottery." During these four days, winners of a lottery drawing are given a chance to purchase a single, day-long permit, allowing them to drive as much of the Denali Park Road as weather allows. In years with early snow, the Park Road might open no farther than Savage River (mile 15); in milder years, lottery winners are able to enjoy a trip out to Wonder Lake (mile 85).

The dates of the Road Lottery vary each year, the four -day event always begins the second Friday after Labor Day.

Applicants must apply for the lottery between June 1-30, to partake in the September Road Lottery. You may not apply before June 1.

For more information go to http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/road-lottery.htm or call the park headquarters at 907-683-2294.

Camping in Alaska

How can I get campground reservations for Denali National Park and Preserve?

There are a total of six campgrounds that are available to rent, these campgrounds vary in size and distance from the developed area at the entrance to the park. There is a limited number of sites that are available to recreational vehicles up to 40' in length. Reservations can be made as early as December 1, 2009. 

Reservations can be made:

Online: 

At http://reservedenali.com/

Mailed or faxed to:

Denali National Park Reservations, 2445 West Dunlap Ave. Suite 210, Phoenix, AZ 85021 

or 

602-331-5258 

(Note: reservations must be mailed or faxed with a 2010 Campground Reservation Form available at http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=197048)

Phone:

1-800-622-7275 (Domestic) 

or 

907-272-7275 (International)

Red salmon in river

Can I fish in Denali National Park and Preserve?

Yes, but most streams and lakes have high glacier silt content resulting in poor fish habitat. 

Note that no state license or permit is required in the former Mount McKinley National Park, known as the "old park". An Alaska state fishing license is required in the 1980 park additions and preserves, and state regulations and limits apply. 

The limits in the "old park" catch limit per person per day is 10 fish, the catch shall not exceed 10 lbs of any one fish. The catch limit for lake trout per person per day is 2 fish, including those hooked and released. Possession of more than one day's limit of catch by one person at any one time is prohibited.

Prohibitions:

• Fishing in any manner other than by hook and line with rod or line being closely attended.
• Possessing or using bait live or dead, minnows or other bait, fish, amphibians, non-preserved fish eggs or fish roe.
• Chumming or placing preserved or fresh eggs, fish roe, food, fish parts, chemicals, or other foreign substances in the water for purpose of feeding or attracting fish so that they may be taken.
• Commercial fishing.
• Fishing by use of drugs, poisons, explosives or electricity.
• Digging for bait.
• Failing to return immediately to the water from which it was taken, a fish that a person chooses not to keep. Fish so released shall not be included in the catch or possession limit provided that at the time of catching, the person did not possess the legal limit of fish.
• Fishing from motor road bridges.

Buses in Denali National Park and Preserve on the Park Road

We do not have time to drive the whole park road back to Kantishna, will we still be able to see Mount Mckinley?

Yes, on a clear day you can see Mount McKinley from downtown Anchorage.

Onlooking tourists from inside a shuttle bus tour

What are the wildlife safety tips I need to know?

Denali is home to sheep, caribou, wolves, foxes, bears, moose, eagles, ptarmigan, and other wildlife that you are very likely to encounter in the backcountry.

To avoid the bears make sure to: 

• Make noise while hiking to alert bears of your presence.
• Use bear Resistant Food Containers and store them 100 yards from cooking areas and tent sites.
• Be alert for bears and alter your activity to avoid them.
• Never run from a bear.
• Pepper spray can be carried as an added precaution. However, it is useful only as a last resort in the event of an emergency, and should not be viewed as substitute for proper backcountry behavior.
• When you visit the Backcountry Desk, you will be provided with more detailed information about hiking in bear country
• Also go to http://www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/upload/bear encounters english.pdf for a downloadable pdf on bear encounters.
  

Other tips for all wildlife:

• Do not feed or allow wildlife to obtain human foods.
• Maintain a minimum of 300 yards distance from bears.
• Do not approach or follow wildlife. Maintain a minimum of 25 yards distance from all other animals, dens, and nests.
• If your presence alters an animal's behavior, you are too close.

Mountaineering on Denali.

I want to climb Mount McKinley, who or where do I go to get information?

For basic information go to http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/mountaineering.htm and for more detailed information contact the Talkeetna Ranger Station at phone number 907-773-2231.