Tour buses do not allow people to disembark as they wish, but stop for wildlife, scenery and restroom breaks. It features trip ideas from our specialists alongside hand-picked stays and experiences, and introduces our approach to creating meaningful travel experiences. princess cruise alaska cruises vacation travel holland caribbean deals royal america humpback alaskan whale vacations Children 4 years old and younger or less than 40 pounds must be seated in a car seat. Hotel information for the night prior to the tour. Wildlife viewing will be offered in Igloo Canyon and Sable Pass, and a snack box will be provided. alaska cruise discover tour alaskan customized packages fully land experience very denali biz Soon, we spot a group of Dall sheep grazing in a meadow high on the hill. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. Denali National Park is a rich ecosystem, one that remains largely undisturbed, a remarkable feat in todays age of over-development. The tour bus program began in 1972 as a way to lessen traffic and minimize visitor impact. Up to 24 long tours and 39 short tours will be offered daily. We stayed in a lodge not far from the park on Alaska Highway 3. The tour depart from Denali Cabins and follow the Denali Highway (not the Park Road) for 65 miles with narration provided by guides. Now, more than ever, I am thankful to have seen such great views of Denali the day before, during the drive from Anchorage. Children between 4 and 8 years old (up to 65 pounds) must be in a booster seat. Visitor Centre: The Denali Visitor Centre is located near the park entrance and is only open in the summer season (roughly mid-May to mid-September). The parks only road is closed for much of winter. canoeing territories canoe thomsen departure The most popular Denali bus tour takes you through the pristine wilderness of Denali National Park. If you would like estimated pricing, please contact us at 1-866-317-3325 or fill out the form below. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, Under the Midnight Sun, with the latest updates about new multi-day tours and day trips from Alaska Tours. We work with agents and advisors to provide the best Alaska experience for your clients. The trip includes stops for wildlife viewing and photography and will operate June 4-Sept. 16. Here is our experience on a Denali National Park bus tour, followed by some interesting facts about the park and tips for visiting. The free Riley Creek Shuttle will loop around the entrance area continuously. Youll get the chance to see some of the magnificent creatures that live here. My only complaint was that the small, school bus type windows were not the best for scenery viewing. The rest of the year, the Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) acts as the parks main visitor centre. We saw so much wildlife and luckily the animals were not as far away from the bus as I was expecting. 600 Barrow Street, Suite 200 Get info about the valleys hidden treasures! The landscape is not the jagged, snow-capped mountains I was expecting. Deep down I know that we are not going to be able to see Denali, North Americas highest peak. INSPIRATION & EXPERT ADVICE FOR INDEPENDENT TRAVELLERS. The rivers that normally course through the valley are not much more than a bed of silt. The thick clouds and fog I was hoping would clear by afternoon, are still hanging around. 2022 Lonely Planet. That endeavor is aided by the presence of dropdown video screens on the bus your driver will take footage of the local wildlife and project said content onto the screens. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Parents are responsible for providing the appropriate car/booster seat. For information on positions and how to apply, please visit our travel careers website. Pursuit is also offering an all-inclusive Denali experience with a helicopter trip to Denali Backcountry Lodge at Kantishna, featuring private cabins, seasonal cuisine and outdoor recreation opportunities. More information about the Denali buses and tours can be found. Beyond that, you must use the park bus system.

Due to a landslide near Pretty Rocks, the Denali Park Road into the national park will not be fully open in 2022, prompting changes to how visitors can access the park. Please consider booking your accommodations through the included link. Get events, specials and more delivered to your inbox. The bands of yellow, brown, tan, white, orange and even purple, are a reminder that Im standing on volcanic debris spewed 50-60 million years ago. by booking accommodations through the site we use and love! Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our Alaska specialists. This delightful tour will give you a comprehensive overview of this magnificent wilderness, and wildlife sightings of grizzly bears, wolves, caribou and other animals will be a highlight. A grizzly no less! Thank you! In 1917, the United States Congress passed a bill to establish Mount McKinley National Park.

View Mat-Su Valley's Visitor Read More. Here are a few more pictures of Denali National Park to convince you to visit! Instead, it is far more colourful and diverse. Interested in a career in travel? And keep an eye out for a view of Denali The Great One. While wildlife populations can fluctuate, Denali is currently home for more than 1,900 moose, 1,700 caribou, 2,500 Dall sheep, 300-350 grizzly bears and 100 wolves. You will also see rolling tundra, taiga forests and breathtaking scenery on this unforgettable adventure. 2022 Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau. Denali National Park is one of Alaskas most special places. A young moose even decides to cross the road right in front of our bus! Thank you for your interest in touring Alaska! Stepping off the bus, the dreary day is instantly brightened by the colourful rock layers of Polychrome Pass. Sitting at the back of an old, refurbished school-type bus, we stare out the windows as we slowly make our way along the single dusty, dirt road of Denali National Park. At the historic Savage Cabin, there will be a half hour interpretive walk and talk. A hearty lunch will be served at Alpine Creek Lodge. We are Rhonda and Mike, a Canadian couple who make it a priority to travel every chance we get! Still, I cant believe Im watching a bear roam around, carefree, in its natural habitat. Leaving Polychrome Pass, I am thankful that this wilderness area is being protected, not only for the enjoyment of future generations, but also for the wildlife that call it home. The 5 to 5 1/2-hour tour will turn around at Mile 43. The tour includes a snack meal. Flightseeing in Ketchikan- Misty Fjords National Monument, All Aboard the McKinley Explorer- A Ride on the Scenic Alaska Railroad, Cruising to Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, Alaska, Discovering the Beauty and Intrigue of Drnstein. Please confirm directly with service providers. The duration of the tour may vary, depending on road and weather conditions, particularly in the shoulder seasons of May and September. As part of the tour, there will be a 20-minute interpretive walk and talk at the historic East Fork Cabin. Yes, its a bear! No. An experienced driver and naturalist guide will provide an overview of this national parks many landscapes and its wildlife. Home City-Based Day Tours Denali Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour. As I stare across the glacier carved valley towards the Alaska Range, I see the effects of the years dry weather. This narrated bus tour is a seven- to eight-hour trip that heads to the Toklat River (at Mile 53) and focuses on wildlife viewing. Best Time to Visit Denali National Park: Summer is the main visiting season (late May- early September). (Snack included). The Tundra Wilderness Tour will operate a modified tour. The park entrance is along Alaska Highway 3 (also called the George Parks Highway). The bus will stop frequently to allow you to view the wildlife from the vehicle as well as having rest stops en route. As our tour continues further into the park, my excitement from seeing a grizzly slowly is replaced by disappointment. Denali is home to more than 160 species of birds, 37 species of mammals and hundreds of species of plants. Tour length is 3 to 8 hours, depending on road conditions and weather. I also found it frustrating to try and take pictures without any control of the viewing angle I got. Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest. The Denali History Tour is 4 1/2 to 5 hours long and will turn around at Mile 17. To protect the wildlife and vast wilderness, vehicle access is limited on the parks only road. All rights reserved. Location: Denali National Park is about 386 kilometers north of Anchorage and 193 kilometers south of Fairbanks. The National Parks Service has announced that up to 25 transit buses a day will be on the road during peak season (June 16-August 17). I try my best to get some photos, but even with my long lens zoomed all the way to 400mm, the bear is not much more than a speck. Information was updated January 2022, but can change without notice. ALL children must purchase and occupy a seat. The Denali Backcountry Adventure is a new tour offered by Alaska Collection by Pursuit, who owns and operates lodges and attractions across Alaska. Yes Please! For your convenience, here is a list of hotels near Denali National Park. It costs you nothing extra and helps support this website. The road will be open for visitor transportation as far as Mile 43 of the 92-mile road.

Call or email us your tour questions or to customize your Alaskan vacation. We did the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which was an 8-hour journey along the Denali Park Road. The National Parks Service has also announced some changes to popular visitor experiences within the park, due to the road closure. Creating a vibrant visitor industry through authentic experiences that positively impact the communities where we live. As we watch the landscape transition from forested taiga to treeless tundra, we are constantly on the lookout for wildlife. As thrilled as I am to be seeing all this wildlife, my fingers are crossed well spot a bear. Fees and Operating Hours: A park pass is required to visit Denali National Park and entrance fees are charged year round. Join our mailing list to receive the latest updates and travel inspiration, All prices are in USD unless otherwise stated, CST#2117258-40 | Fla. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. It was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980 and expanded to be larger than the state of New Hampshire. See Your Travel Professionalor call Knightly Tours: | 1 (800) 426-2123 Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. We describe our travel style as "laid back luxe" and enjoy a mix of outdoor adventures and historic sites. The buses stop for wildlife viewing and restroom stops, but are not narrated, like tour buses. Click here to accept. There is only one road into Denali National Park. You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you. Call one of our experts or arrange a video appointment for ideas and advice. A snack will be provided. Soon, far off on the distance, I see a patch of brown moving across the slope of a hill. Denali is the only national park patrolled in winter by dog sled. Your entire vacation is designed around your requirements, Select your preferred style of accommodations, Create the perfect trip with the help of our specialists, All our specialists have traveled extensively or lived in their specialist regions, The same specialist will handle your trip from start to finish, Make the difference between a good trip and an outstanding one, Hand picked by us or our local partners as the best available, Offering more than just dates and names, they strive to offer real insight into their country. Support Travel? I want emails from Lonely Planet with travel and product information, promotions, advertisements, third-party offers, and surveys. sales@knightlytours.com, Explore the pristine wilderness with an experienced naturalist who will share insights about the land and its wildlife. ST39468, 2022 Audley Travel | Audley Travel US, Inc. (Delaware 5398866), You can find all your favorites in the menu. The Tundra Wilderness Tour travels over the Park Road for 43 miles before returning. This is a three to eight hour narrated tour that takes you between 50 to 90 kilometers (30 to 60 miles) along the wilderness road into Denali National Park. Shuttle buses allow you to disembark/re-board anywhere along the road. As animal lovers, we opted for Denalis Tundra Wilderness Tour, an excursion that would showcase the parks natural wonders. Make sure you book your accommodations many months in advance. We do not have next year's pricing and itinerary finalized for this tour yet. Read More, Come Experience Alaska with us! This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Along the way, stops will be made at scenic overlooks so you can view and photograph scenery and wildlife potentially including bears and moose. Of course, wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed, but in our experience the tour was a success in that aspect. Purchases made through links earn us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Content and Images All Alaska Tours Inc. | Website Design and Development by, Subscribe to the Under the Midnight Sun Newsletter, Transfers from designated hotels only in the park entrance area, Narrated bus tour into Denali National Park. The nearest year-round community is Healy, 19 kilometers away. reopening preparations We may not see the High One, but another intriguing landscape is just up ahead- the Polychrome Pass. It feels so deserted, so isolated and I hope the animals are still able to find enough water to thrive. The bus drivers are certified naturalists and provide in-depth information about the park. Denali really is a living masterpiece.

The two big lodges there are owned by the cruise companies and are often full as part of their Land & Sea Alaska Cruise packages. Visitors must rely on the Denali shuttle bus to get around or take a narrated Denali bus tour to discover the park. Current information about park fees and operating hours can be found on the National Park Service website. During the rest of the year, access to the park is limited and dependent on weather conditions. Seller of Travel Ref. The 92-mile park road was constructed between 1923-1938. Vehicle Access: Private vehicles may only travel along the first 24 kilometers of Denali Park Road to Savage River. I was at the mercy of where the bus driver stopped (or didnt stop)! I can unsubscribe any time using the unsubscribe link at the end of all emails. Home to an impressive amount of large mammals and a beautiful landscape of high alpine tundra, the parks shining star is North Americas tallest peak- Denali. Were not normally fans of bus tours, but we did get value out of the Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour. Denali National Park Buses: There are two types of bus service in Denali- shuttle and tour. Six million of acres of wild land surround us. Not long later, we encounter a herd of caribou casually roaming the tundra. If you are in the initial planning stages, please feel free to continue to peruse our website for ideas. There will be a 30-minute theater viewing of "Across Time and Tundra" and a 20-minute cultural talk at Primrose. Covering all seven continents, The world your way shows you how you can see the world with us. They also offer a narrated program and include a snack or boxed lunch. Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

Additionally, the free Savage River Shuttle will depart the park entrance every 15 minutes. In 1986 Mount Augustine erupted near Anchorage. To find out more, read our Privacy Policy Close & Accept This site uses cookies. Denali National Park Bus Tours: There are three different options for bus tours of Denali National Park- a Natural History Tour, the Tundra Wilderness Tour, and the Kantishna Experience Tour. We were given a boxed lunch and water to drink throughout the day.

Sure enough, as our driver pulls up to the viewpoint, all we see is a wall of white cloud. Accommodations: There are some campgrounds in Denali, but most people stay in lodging outside the park. Initially, Im surprised by what I see.