Some Say McKinley; We Say DENALI!
After cruising Alaska’s inside passage, David and I were excited to explore our last stop: Denali National Park. (Or, to some old-schoolers still called the mountain: Mt. McKinley). Signed into law in 1917 by Woodrow Wilson, it became the first national park after the creation of the National Park Service in August 1916.
The mountain had been called Denali (“the high one”) for thousands of years. But it was renamed McKinley from 1896 to 2015 (a gold prospector, William Dickey, named it after president-elect William McKinley, whom he greatly admired). The name Denali was restored in 2015 to honor Alaska’s native people, the Koyukon.
After arriving in Anchorage and renting a car, we left quickly to start our next adventure. The drive to Denali was about four and a half hours and luckily we had daylight til almost 10 pm, so we weren’t in a big rush. The drive was easy, the road bordered by tundra, leafless trees (spring had not yet arrived), tall evergreens, and in the background: the beautiful snow-covered mountain ranges with shrouded views of Denali.
People who have been here kept telling David and me not to get our hopes up: that we might not get to see Denali at all because it has its own ecosystem and it’s often shrouded in low-hanging clouds and fog. We caught only half-views of it on our drive but the glimpses were beautiful.
Eager to get to Denali National Park, we stopped only a few times, once to view a lone moose munching plants off the road. Never taking any long detours. we viewed Mirror Lake and Reflection Lake, both right off the highway and both living up to their names, reflect the stately mountains and trees in their crystal waters.
We knew we’d get to the Lodge after dinner service, so we looked for a place along the way and found it: H & H Cafe (and Gas), a run-down looking place with a lake view, advertising burgers. We couldn’t resist. We were greeted by a couple of big friendly dogs roaming the dining room (!!!!) and some old rough-looking codgers in leather boots, hats and vests behind and at the bar. Too hungry to look for another cleaner, less-ramshackled pace, we kept our minds open and were grateful when our juicy burgers and fries arrived. I’m sure this dive would not be for everyone, but it satisfied our appetites and created some fun memories.
Grande Denali Lodge must have been named for its vast Alaska Range views and giant stuffed bear in the center of the restaurant because “grande” it was not. As has been our experience in most lodges within or near national parks, the accommodations are similar to a Motel 6. Nothing fancy, average food, serviceable. It was just our luck to check in on the day it reopened for the season, so they were short on staff and service. We faced lots of little issues, but if you want to stay closest to the park, this is your best option.
On our first day exploring Denali, we drove to the Savage River and hiked the Savage River Loop Trail. There were some challenging spots, having to cross some shin-deep snow patches and slippery icy parts of the trail. But there were beautiful views of the river and lake and peaks of green emerging from the gray/brown brushy soil, as well as some little marmots and pikas on the banks. In the distance on the rocky ridges we saw big Dall sheep. Stretching all around us were the majestic snow-riddled Alaskan mountains.
After the hike, we continued the Denali Park drive as far as we could, which was only 15 miles. At that point, the road is closed to personal vehicles and you must take a park shuttle to continue to mile 30. That is the end point of the 92-mile road in, the only access to the 6.1 million-acre park. Recent landslides and late icy conditions have caused road closures, but the park rangers told us they hoped to have 43 miles accessible by the summer of 2025.
We spent the rest of the day stopping along the open road and exploring the tundra, snow, and frozen rivers on foot and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery and some grazing moose that didn’t seem to mind our company. That night we drove to another resort outside the park and dined on fresh Alaskan rockfish at Karstens Public House, named for Henry Karsten, the explorer who led the first expedition of Denali.
The next day we boarded the park bus (narrated by a park ranger) and rode it to the end of the line…Mile 30, where we disembarked and spent several hours walking along the rocky and icy Taklanika River. We were told to look out for grizzlies and black bears but never saw any. There were lots of campers and backpackers heading into the remoter areas of the park that were accessible only by foot.
Denali's tundra is unique and beautiful in a rough and raw way. Walking through the crunchy, rough tundra, you experience the vastness and solitude of the Alaskan wilderness. On the bridge where the bus stopped, we looked down to see an alluvial fan of snow, ice, tundra. A little triangular quonset hut was perched on the edge of the road, set up as a ranger station to keep trekkers safe.
Heading back closer to the lodge, we decided to hike Horseshoe Lake, an easy/moderate 2.5 mile hike great spot for wildlife viewing and surrounded by lush forests and towering mountains. Beavers are particularly active in the area, and we saw their dams and lodges around the lake. The surrounding forest and meadows are also home to moose, but we saw only their droppings, no roaming ones.
We set out early after breakfast to see a little more of the park before driving back to Anchorage for a late night flight to Charlotte via Chicago. The day was spectacular with the best views of Denali we had had since our arrival. The azure sky was almost cloudless and Mt. McKinley/Denali rose high and mighty. Denali is 20,310 feet above sea level, making it the tallest mountain in North America, and covers about 600 square miles. The mountain is massive and has steep faces, sharp ridges, and vast glaciers. It actually has two peaks. The South Summit is the highest at 20,310 feet while the North Summit is slightly lower at 19,470 feet. The South Summit is the true summit. The North Summit is often considered a secondary peak.
Our research told us that Talkeetna, the quaint hamlet at the edge of Denali, was a great place to stop, explore and have lunch, and it was. We discovered that halibut tacos were a big thing. Almost every little cafe and food truck sold it in some form or another, but we opted for sockeye salmon kabobs, arugula salad and a shared hearty seafood chowder for an alfresco lunch. Afterwards we explored the main street and the few side ones — many of them unpaved — looking into a few shops selling local art crafted by native Americans. But having not a millimeter of space in our bags, we passed it all by. The only thing we had room for was some homemade ice cream from a little Airstream trailer near the water. Ending our Alaskan journey with Talkeetna was a perfect good-bye to this adventure.
Looking back, this was a fabulous last big trip for David and me to experience together.