Distance to Hatcher Pass from Denali

How long does it take to drive from Denali to Hatcher Pass if you cannot drive on the Denali Hwy? I think it is 4hrs. if you take that road, but we can%26#39;t take the rental car on the Denali Hwy. We will have to come back to Wasilla and then up to Hatcher Pass.

Thanks

Distance to Hatcher Pass from Denali

Hi there! I think you are a bit confused . . . the Denali Hwy goes from Cantwell to Paxson . . . you can%26#39;t get to Hatcher pass via the Denali Hwy. The Parks Hwy goes from Denali Park to the Hatcher pass area - there is one road that goes from the Willow area, which is primarily dirt, and then you can also get there via Wasilla. It%26#39;s about 4 hrs. Hope that helps you some! :)

Distance to Hatcher Pass from Denali

Yes, Coalminer, I was confused. I meant the Hatcher Pass Road, although they won%26#39;t let us take the car on the Denali Hwy. , either.

I am going to be driving from Denali to Hatcher Pass and want to make plans for overnight. I just wanted to be kind of sure as to how long it takes coming all the way back to Wasilla.

Thanks so much for your reply.

By the way, are you familiar with either the Carlo Creek Cabins or the Denali Mountain Morning Hostel?

Hi again - I am familiar with both, but haven%26#39;t been inside either . . . they are located just south of the Park entrance . . . which is a good location. There is a great little restaurant right near there called the McKinley Creekside Cafe - great food/great prices. I do remember a poster on the forum that stayed at Carlo creek cabins and was very happy with their stay. You might search the forum and see what their comments were. I know of several in Healy area as well. Looking for anything specifically? :)

Besu

The Highway that you take to Denali from Anchorage is called the Parks Highway......

They really should change the name of the Denali Highway, because it is NOT the highway you take to Denali......it is an unimproved gravel road (for the most part) that connects Paxson to Cantwell......It does not go to Hatcher Pass........

Look at the map and you will see that you will not be breaking any of the rental car rules to travel from Denali Natl Park to Hatcher Pass.......

PS.....Don%26#39;t tell anyone, but we did the Denali Highway in a small rental car once years ago......it was a beautiful, all day, bumpy trip with wild and wooly scenery and very few services along the route......car came through it okay, but you could not drive more than about 20 mph........I have heard the road is in worse shape now, so you probably would not want to risk it with a rental car.......

O.k., I%26#39;ve got it straight, now. I do realize that the Parks Hwy. is the road from Anchorage to Denali National Park but, for some reason, I was thinking that people take the Hatcher Pass Road from Willow to Hatcher Pass as a shortcut when coming from Denali. When the gentleman at Hatcher Pass Lodge told me that it would take about 3 1/2 - 4 hours to get there from Denali, I thought he might be talking about using the ';shortcut'; from Willow to Hatcher Pass.

So, it is my understanding that, if I leave DNP at 9:00 a.m., I should be at the Independence mine around 4 hrs. later barring any unforseen difficulties (or not getting to do the McKinley flightsee on the way up).

The main reason for wanting to know this was to decide whether or not I should stay the night in Hatcher Pass or come back to Willow or even Anchorage. Our flight leaves late the next night.