The drive from Anchorage to Denali is not as picturesque. We stopped at a roadside park and I think? we saw Mt. McKinley (aka Mt. Denali). We spent three nights at the Denali River Cabins. They are 6 miles south of the park entrance, on the Nenana River. Good accommodations at the “lodge”. The cabins were tiny.

We took a bus tour into Denali. Car travel is retricted to the first 15 miles. To see the majority of the park, you have to take a bus. Tickets should be ordered in advance. We took a wilderness tour trip that took us to mile 53. It started at 2 PM and took about 7 hours. A box lunch was provided. The bus tour guide was very informative. There is a morning tour; and tours which go further into the park. Also, you can “wing it”and just ride a shuttle bus. Shuttle busses jsut stop every so often and you can get off anywhere you want. You can ride any shuttle bus IF it has room for you.

In Denali we hiked the Horseshoe Lake and Savage River trails. Both trails are 1-2 miles long. The Savage River trail is level, and highly recommended. There was a bear attack on the trail the week before we arriived so check with the ranger station first.

The park rangers patrol the park on dog sleds in the winter. It was fun to see the dogs, and the park rangers were very informative. The dog sled demonstration is free and leaves by bus from one of the park buildings. We spent two nights In Fairbanks. We saw the Alaskan pipeline and went to Pioneer Park. We also saw a minor league baseball game.