Your Complete 2023 Guide to Denali National Park: Tours, Trails, Food, and More

Denali National Park is a must-see on any trip to Alaska, but unfortunately there’s a lot less available online in terms of guides and recommendations compared to other famous parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone, etc. Researching Denali was difficult, there are blog posts on what tours to do, some on what hikes to do, but not many that cover everything in one guide. We visited Denali in July 2023 and took everything we learned to create a one-stop guide for future visitors such as yourselves. Read on to learn more!

Planning Your Trip to Denali

Know Before You Go: Road Closure

One of the MOST important things you should know if you’re planning on visiting Denali National Park, is that due to landslides, you currently (2023) can’t go past mile 43. The park says that the road will likely remain closed into summer 2026. If Denali National Park is truly at the top of your bucket list and you want the full experience, we recommend waiting until after 2026 to visit. For context, stopping at mile 43 stops you half-way through the park, so you miss out on a lot of sites and wildlife. However, there is still ample of things to do, animals to see, and gorgeous views.

Denali is closed at mile 43 through summer 2026.

Best Time to Visit Denali

The best time to visit Denali National Park is from mid-May to early September. Before/after the snow is not plowable and the main road to get through the park is closed. Mid-May is colder but has less visitors. But honestly, we visited in peak season of July and found ourselves solo many points while hiking. Denali isn’t overrun with tourists (yet). Additionally, May can be easier to spot wildlife up against snow and prices for lodging are likely cheaper. June and July will be warmer and nearly 22 hours of daylight to explore the park. Lastly, September is still warm enough to visit, plus changes of seeing the northern lights!

How to Get to Denali

You can easily get to Denali from places like Anchorage or Fairbanks via train, bus, or car. There are even airplane tours you can take. Check out our blog post Unveiling the Hidden Gems: Anchorage to Denali Road Trip for details on transporation options, pros and cons, and how to turn it into a road trip!

If you’re staying in a hotel or lodge outside of Denali, check with the company, many of them offer shuttles into the park so that you don’t have to have a car while visiting.

Best Places to Stay Near the Park

If you’re a camper, then the best option is obviously to camp inside the park. You can find more information on that here. Otherwise, we recommend finding a hotel, cabin, or lodge just 1 mile north of Park Rd (the main road in Denali). We stayed in McKinley Chalet Resort because we had limited options when booking. The place is great, but offered way too many amenities that we didn’t get to take advantage of (because we were focused on spending time in the park). The little town area by the park also has plenty of food options, which you’ll definitely want to read about below!

How Many Days to Visit Denali National Park

You need a MINIMUM OF 2 DAYS to visit Denali National Park. With the road closure and 22 hours of sun, you could maybe squeeze it into 1 day and 2 nights, but we don’t recommend it. There is so much to do inside the park, from hiking, wilderness bus rides, rafting, etc. And the good hikes take 3-4 hours, which automatically takes up half a day.

Plan for a minimum of 2 nights in Denali. 2 days minimum to visit, could maybe squeeze it into 1.5 with the road closure.

Food Recommendations

We like to hike when we visit National Parks, and the biggest question we have is, what in the world is the food situation? Honest reviews coming up:

Food Inside the Park

Inside the park, there is a grill by the visitors center. They offer burgers, chicken sandwiches, black bean burgers, waffle fries, etc. It’s priced as you would expect ($13-16/meal) and tastes good. When you’re starving after a 4 hour hike, compared to most restaurants inside touristy areas, it’s pretty good. There’s also a Starbucks with a permanently long line.

Food Outside the Park

Moose-AKa’s

This blew our mind – we found this GEM of a place called Moose-AKa’s in that area just 1 mile north of Park Rd. You absolutely HAVE to have dinner there. On our second dinner there (we stayed an extra few hours in the park just to have dinner again), we found out Moose-AKa’s is actually Trip Advisor’s 6th Best Casual Dining Restaurant IN THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES. The restaurant is authentic Serbian and Eastern European food with beautiful decor and incredible service. We didn’t understand why there wasn’t a huge line out the door. The food is delicious. You have to get the authentic sarma, the Serbian moussaka (yes it’s different than in Greece), and the fried bread. The chocolate cake is also amazing and filled with a unique blend of flavors. Don’t forget to get some Turkish coffee!

Prospector’s Pizza

If you find yourself in Denali on a Wednesday or Saturday, unfortunately Moose-AKa’s is closed. There are plenty of other grills, pizzerias, and American restaurants in the area. Our recommendation, is Prospector’s Pizza. The pizza dough is made fresh every day and tastes like it. We recommend the reindeer and elk meat ball pizza, or the Chinook salmon.

Coffee: The Cache Cafe

Lastly, if you need some coffee before headed out to Denali, we recommend The Cache Cafe. Their Denali Fog is delicious (earl gray, milk, cinnamon) and their berry mocha (with oat milk) tasted like a blueberry crumble. They also open at 7am which is perfect for heading into Denali early!

Top Things to Do in Denali

1. Hiking Denali National Park

Hiking will always be our #1 recommendation inside any National Park. There are 2 main areas to hike: near the visitor’s center or by Savage River. The Savage River area is also the farthest you can go with your own car, unless you have a special permit to go farther down the road.

Here are the top hikes in Denali National park that are currently open, the first two are near the entrance:

• Horseshoe Lake Trail: 1 hour round trip, 2.1 miles, Easy
• Mount Healy Overlook: 4 hours out & back, 7 miles if you do the AllTrails route, Very Difficult (2500 ft steep elevation gain)
• Savage Alpine Trail: 3 hours one-way, 4 miles, Very Difficult (1500 ft steep elevation gain)
• Savage River Loop: 1 hour, 2 miles, Easy

Outside of these trails, you can also wander/hike through the park wilderness. A lot of people will take the bus to mile 43 and hike/explore along the river.

If you prefer to join a ranger for a hike, you can sign up for a guided hike in Denali. More information can be found here.

2. Bus Tour

This is an absolute must when visiting Denali. The only way to get deep into the park is via a paid-bus tour, bike, or walking the road (not recommended because it goes 43 miles and beyond when the road is open). Bus tours are one of the best ways to see wildlife as the bus drivers know where to look for them, and if you’re quiet enough, bears will walk right by a bus without realizing there’s humans aboard.

Bus tours are easy to book, you can get a narrated bus tour that lasts 4.5-5.5 hours. We recommend the Tundra Wilderness tour out of these options, because it goes all the way to mile 43.

Non-narrated bus tours are also an option, and currently lasts 4.5 hours. These are called “transit buses” and cost $33/adult. They take slightly less time, and you can hop on or off on any green transit bus along the route with your ticket. This allows you the flexibility to explore the park at your own leisure. The bus driver won’t “narrate” the drive, but they will answer any of your questions about wildlife and will stop whenever someone sees an animal. We went with this tour because of the cost, time, and flexibility.

Book your bus tours in advance for peak season of July! Seats run out quickly.

3. Dog Sledding Demonstration

This dog sledding demonstration was an absolute gem of an experience in the park. First, it’s free. Second, it’s quick, entertaining, informational, and interactive. The park offers these demonstrations at 10am, 2pm, and 4pm every day. There’s a dedicated area between the visitor’s center and Savage Creek campground where these demonstrations occur. Before and after the demonstration, you can pet the dogs!

4. Take a Tour

One of the most thrilling ways of seeing Denali National Park is to take a plane tour. You can also book guided hikes with rangers, white water rafting, and so much more. Here are our top recommendations if you have time and budget for a tour:

• White water rafting
• Ziplining in Denali
• Denali flightseeing tour: expensive but everyone comes out saying it’s worth it

Denali National Park Itineraries

One Day in Denali

Here are a couple options for how to spend 1 day in Denali. Keep in mind cramming everything in 1 day will be VERY exhausting. Get plenty of sleep, coffee, and especially carbohydrates if you go for the harder hikes!

Option 1:

• Morning: bus tour (4.5-5.5 hours)
• Afternoon: Sled dog demonstration (2pm)
• Late afternoon: Mount Healy Overlook trail (4 hours – very difficult) or Horseshoe Lake Trail (1 hour – easy) if you prefer an easy hike

Option 2:

• Morning: bus tour (4.5-5.5 hours)
• Mid-morning: hike/explore mile 43 or Savage River Loop by hopping off the transit bus
• Afternoon: Sled dog demonstration (4pm)

Two Days in Denali

Here are a couple options for how to spend 2 days in Denali.

Option 1:

• Morning: bus tour (4.5-5.5 hours)
• Afternoon: Mount Healy Overlook trail (4 hours – very difficult)
• Tip: you can also do these in reverse and there will be a lot less people on the trail. We started Mt. Healy at 7am and were the first to hit the trail. It just depends on when you can get a bus ticket and if you prefer hiking earlier or later in the day.
• Dinner: Moose-AKa’s
• Morning 2: Savage Alpine Trail (3 hours – very difficult) or Savage River Loop
• Afternoon 2: dog sledding demonstration (2pm)
• Late Afternoon 2: Horseshoe Lake Trail (1 hour, easy)

Option 2:

• Morning: bus tour (4.5-5.5 hours)
• Afternoon: Mount Healy Overlook trail (4 hours – very difficult)
• Dinner: Moose-AKa’s
• Morning 2: dog sledding demonstration (10am)
• Afternoon 2: rafting, ziplining, or flightseeing tour

Found this post helpful? Subscribe to our blog or follow us on Instagram for our latest travel tips!