Denali State Park, Alaska

Intro: Denali State Park is really, really big — at 325,240 acres, it’s half the size of Rhode Island!

The park was established in 1970, and expanded in 1976. On the western side it shares a boundary with the similarly named, but much more developed, Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly Mt. McKinley National Park.

Famous for: Denali is the original name for Mt. McKinley. At 20,320 feet, Mt. McKinley is North America’s highest peak. It literally and figuratively towers over South central Alaska from its base in Denali National Park.

Admission: Denali is such a huge park that there are a variety of day, season and annual pass options. See the Alaska State Park Fees page for information about the specific activity you have planned.

Individual Fees:

* Nightly camping: $10 to $20 per night
* Daily parking: $1 to $5 per vehicle
* Boat launches: $10 to $15 per day
* Sanitary dump station: $5
* Firewood: $5 to $8 per bundle where available
* Guided tours of historic sites: $2 to $10

Families with young kids will like: seeing so many wild animals, even from your car.

Families with teenagers will like: Getting out and getting active in the great outdoors. There’s something for everyone, from hunting and fishing, to photography, animal watching, hiking, cycling, dog sledding, boating, canoeing, rafting & kayaking,…if you can do it in a flannel shirt and a pair of hiking boots, you can do it in Denali.

Other travelers will like: “Flight seeing” — a popular way to see the icy expanses of Alaska is from the windows of a small plane or helicopter. See bears from a safe distance!

Easy site seeing: This is pretty rugged country, but it’s easiest to do a drive up George Parks Highway, the major road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks, that divides the park.

Best hotel in the park: Has yet to be built, but a visitor center is in the works for the southern part of park.

Best campground in the park: The park operates three campgrounds, four viewpoints and five trailheads. The park also offers three public use cabins available for rent on Byers Lake. But if you’ve gone all the way to Alaska, you should really go all the way and do some backcountry camping, which is allowed any anywhere along the ridge trail. Just remember to camp away from the trail, avoid spots where others have camped, and bring a stove, because campfires are not permitted on Kesugi Ridge.

Worst lodging experience: Just be careful of bears! Use bear proof containers for your food, and read up on Safety Tips!

Best months to visit for weather: June through early September, but you can catch some pretty cold, wet weather at higher elevations. Be prepared, this isn’t a trip to the beach!

Best months to visit to avoid crowds: The nice thing about a park the size of Denali is that crowds aren’t really a factor. That said, the peak months of June through September will also be the most visited times. For a true adventure, check out the park in the winter!

Nearest major cities: 130 miles north of Anchorage by car, about 100 air miles north of Anchorage, Alaska.

More info can be found at the Denali State Park page

Related posts:
Denali National Park & Preserve
Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska National and State Parks
Lake Clark National Park

Photo courtesy of: Denali State Park

UpTake on totem pole in Ketchikan, Alaska

On March 30th, 1867 the United States purchased 663,268 square miles from Russia at the bargain basement price of $7.2 million dollars or roughly $0.02 per acre! This land after much administrative changes officially became the 49th state in the union on January 3rd, 1959.

Alas-KA! (a la Palin), is an Aleut word meaning the ‘object towards which the action of the sea is directed’ or simply the ‘great land.’ It is just that…well, if you are into fresh clean air, breath taking panoramas of snow covered mountains, wildlife everywhere and halibut that are larger than you and mighty tasty too. You betcha, Alaska is grrreat!

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On our recent trip to Alaska (the 49^th state, celebrating their 50^th anniversary of statehood in 2009) we spent some glorious time in Denali National Park. We saw caribou, grizzly bears, ptarmigan, snow hares, mountains, glaciers, cruise ship tourists, but not a lot of families. That is too bad, since Denali Park is completely family friendly! Here are my recommendations for a family trip to this great national park up north:

Check out the Denali Visitor Center

The friendly rangers will help you plan your trip in Denali, whether you choose to camp, hike or take a short park tour. Good to know for families – the Visitor Center has Junior Ranger Backpacks, available for checkout. They include binoculars, pens, paper and activity books. If you are only in the park for a short time, the rangers also have Junior Ranger Activity Books – help your child complete the activities and become a certified Junior Ranger!

Stop by and explore the Murie Science and Learning Center

Serving as the winter visitor center for the park, during the summer the Murie Science and Learning Center is a great educational destination for families. My kids enjoyed exploring animal skulls and touching fur. The Center also offers week-long Family Field Seminars, specifically designed for families with children under 9.

Take a shuttle bus ride into the park

For our daylong trip in Denali, we hopped aboard one of the green shuttles to visit the inner park. After picking up our tickets at the Wilderness Access Center (WAC) we boarded a bus for a 6-hour tour into Toklat, about 50 miles into the park. Shuttle and tour busses are the only way to see the park, as cars are not allowed past mile 17. Frankly, I would rather leave the driving to someone else! The bonus for families – children under 14 ride free with their parents. Word of advice; be sure to pack plenty of snacks and water for the trip, as there are no concessions past the Visitor Center.

Join a ranger-led program

One of the easiest ways to learn more about Denali is through ranger-led programs. Many programs are offered daily, including hikes and nature programs; check with the Visitors Center for details. Our family enjoyed all our interactions with the park rangers, who were a wealth of knowledge and very willing to take the time to answer our questions. We even learned that mosquitoes in the park are vital to the eco system, pollinating the blueberry bushes, which are important to the health of the local grizzly bears.

And finally, leave some time to get out of your car and explore the park on foot. The park is outstanding and the beauty needs to be explored from the ground. For more ideas, check out Alpenglow Visitor Guide, a publication highlighting current events at the park.