Denali NP around May 12-15

Hi folks

I and some friends have a conference in Anchorage from May 4-6 so we%26#39;re sticking around afterwards for a bit. At the latest we could possibly do Denali from May 12-15, which from what I%26#39;ve read is still too early for shuttles and most campsites :-(

We will have our own wheels, but I gather we can only access the first 15 miles of road. So, does anyone have any advice for us, given the predicament?

We%26#39;re not averse to backcountry hiking, but none of us will have snow shoes nor any experience with river crossings, which I gather will be particularly tricky from the snowmelt. So, while I don%26#39;t want to exclude that option, I also don%26#39;t want to take it lightly.

It looks like Riley Creek campground is the only one that will be open - is it worthwhile camping there and doing day hikes from various spots along the route that we can travel? Is there any way we might be allowed to drive ourselves further into the park? I read somewhere that occasionally they permit private vehicles to go on, but couldn%26#39;t find any further details.

Our major interests are simply to see the countryside and hopefully some good game and birds. So, maybe some good hiking... Is there somewhere we might rent bicycles?

Phew - a lot of questions I know! Sorry ;-) I was really very excited about getting to Denali but now I%26#39;m trying to figure out whether we might be better served trying elsewhere. Please convince me!!

Thanks!! :-)

Stu

Denali NP around May 12-15

Well, you can even explore Denali in the winter, but the real question is the facilities . . . you will be hitting just when businesses in the Park area are starting to open up, so it will just depend on certain things in the area. You can always camp at Riley but there are plenty of places to stay in the Healy area - B%26amp;B%26#39;s, cabins, etc., if you aren%26#39;t quite up to camping that early. The trails in the entrance area should be thawed, but that just depends on snow levels. The road should be open to mile 15 - and it is closed after that to any private vehicles. Once in a great while, they will open the road to Teklanika before shuttle run, but that is very weather dependent - no guarantees. The first 15 miles is good though - if the mountain is out, you can see that and the road ends at Savage Rock, which has a nice trail and is a good spot to see sheep as well. As well, you can stop in the Visitor center and the Murie Science and Learning Center.

You can rent bicycles at the DOC, if they are open. Denali Outdoor Center.

If things aren%26#39;t open, you%26#39;ll have to head to Healy for gas and food.

Hope this helps a bit. If you decide this won%26#39;t be quite right, head to Seward and Homer. :)

Denali NP around May 12-15

I know someone will correct me if I%26#39;m wrong but I believe the shuttle start date for this year is May 16th. But before that time you are actually able to drive your private vehicle into Tek at Milepost 29, not just to Savage River.

The NPS opens the road after the snow melt so people can experience driving it. I%26#39;ve done it every year multiple times for the last 5 years and have seen a tremendous amount of wildlife. Everything from bears and wolves to a lynx last year. Of course you will also see the typical snowshoe hare and ptarmigan. :)

I%26#39;ve stayed at Riley Creek several times and though I prefer Savage it will be a great stopping point for day hikes. It will just be starting to green up in the area but take advantage of the early season and enjoy it!

Thank you both!

I must admit, sad as I am at the limitations, the fact that we%26#39;re just ahead of the hordes gives me a giddy feeling. I%26#39;ve never been a fan of tourist traps, and Florida has emphatically driven that feeling home over the years, but it%26#39;s also utterly pointless to bypass a place as magnificent as Denali just because there will be lots of people there enjoying it to. But, the fact that we might have the place, relatively, to ourselves is a wonderful thought!

I assume I would need to contact the Park closer to the time to find out whether the road is open to Tek, right? As for the 16 May shuttle date, I think that%26#39;s what I read as well somewhere. So close, yet so far...

Any particularly good birding spots I should put on the itinerary? We%26#39;re heading down to Homer or Seward as well and I%26#39;m hoping to catch a bit of the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Fest, but I%26#39;m rather clueless on Denali%26#39;s birding treasures.

%26#39;Any particularly good birding spots I should put on the itinerary?%26#39;

If you like hiking and birds, you might want to stop by Bird Ridge on the way down to Seward for a nice three or so hour hike. It%26#39;s on the south side of the mountains, so that area greens up a bit faster and it gives you some great views. You can look up where it%26#39;s at on the internet (around 25 miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Hwy). Here%26#39;s a small set of pictures I took up there last Spring right about the same time you%26#39;ll be here:

flickr.com/photos/鈥?/a>

Thanks! Beautiful pictures! We%26#39;ll definitely keep that hike in mind since we may well end up in Seward.

A couple of follow-up questions on Denali. I gather from what I%26#39;ve read that we could camp pretty much anywhere we please, as long as we%26#39;re out of sight of the road. Am I reading this correctly? And if so, can one just park their car on the side of road, hike off, camp the night then hike back to the car the next day, or is there some central area the car must be parked. In which case, considering the bus services aren%26#39;t yet running, is the only option then to walk/hitch to the section of the road that you%26#39;d like to hike out from?

Given the cold I foresee us cozying up in Denali Mountain Morning Hostel rather than camping, but I personally would like to spend one night out there camped in the middle of nowhere. I%26#39;m envisaging a mild hike out from the road, far enough to escape but not so far that it will entail river crossings or a major navigational endeavor. I assume this constitutes backcountry camping, with all the considerations and park requirements that entails, but it%26#39;s certainly intended to be a rather mild version of it.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for nice areas off those first 15 miles of road to consider? What about if they open it up all the way to Tek? And what to do with the car...

Thanks again helpful nice people!

Nope - you can%26#39;t camp just anywhere in Denali Park. You can either camp in the camp grounds, or you have to get a back country permit to camp in certain areas. You would have to leave your car in a parking area. Here is the info you need:

nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/backcountry.htm

I%26#39;m afraid you can%26#39;t just wander into Denali and overnight wherever you want to. The Rangers will assign you a unit. They have to know where to look in case you don%26#39;t make it back (like those 2 idiot girls last summer, who got lost and disappeared for days).

This will get you started until someone comes along who can give you more info:

http://www.denali.national-park.com/hike.htm

%26gt;%26gt;(like those 2 idiot girls last summer, who got lost and disappeared for days).

Glad you said it, not me! The biggest thing I learned from those ';idiots'; was to beef up my own day pack when day hiking in Denali.

John

Ah! Thanks for the clarification. I%26#39;m familiar with both those links but I%26#39;ve been reading so much I get my options confused sometimes.

So realistically, it looks like we%26#39;d have to camp in blocks 1-4 or 24-26 if the road is only open to Savage River Loop. Or perhaps 16 if we access it from the Parks Highway. Anybody have any experience with or opinion on any of these blocks? I know it%26#39;s first come first serve but it would be nice to know what to try for.

I am comfortable navigating (many years of hiking the Drakensburg Mountains in South Africa and bush of Botswana), and we%26#39;ll probably have a GPS as well just to be on the safe side, but I%26#39;m not naive enough to want to go gleefully galavanting into the Alaskan wilderness with no local experience. Most of our Denali time will probably be spent exploring the established trails and taking short walks off the road, but given the opportunity I find it hard to resist a night out under the stars.

Savage loop would be good, but just to let you know you won%26#39;t see many stars . . . mostly daylight that time of year! :)