Anchorage to Denali National Park

The drive to Denali was uneventful for the most part. We'd received some intel that we needed to stop at Talkeetna, we stopped. And it was absolutely worth it. What a cool spot! We got lunch at Denali Brewing and then walked around, souvenir shopping and taking photos. After that, we stopped at many scenic spots along the way. The plan was to camp for the night at a rustic cabin at Byers Lake just outside Denali National Park.

When we arrived at Byers Lake, the entrance was closed because of snow, so we had to park at the Veteran's memorial nearby and then hike into our cabin. What we didn't expect was 2-4 foot snow banks. We postholed it for close to a 1/4 a mile, twice mind you, to get to our cabin. The cabin was rustic, but we'd hiked in with firewood and camping gear. Needless to say, I was drenched from thighs down, miserable and not terribly happy. Mostly just grumpy because I thought I lost my glasses and the hike in/out wore me out far more than it should have.

The night at the cabin was peaceful, we had a few Anchorage beers to keep us happy. And once we made it back to our vehicle the following morning, we made our way to Denali. When we arrived at Denali, we were told that the roads were closed because of whiteout conditions. We waited around and got lucky by being the first handful of vehicles through the gate when it opened. What a magical place, but we were limited to only 33 miles out instead of the almost twice that. Still, we had a great trip. Snow, wild animals, and a National Park in Alaska. This was heaven! I took so many photos, here are my favorites, which one do you like best?

Since I’ve posted far too many photos for this blog entry, my favorite 5-6 photos from Denali will be in the next post. Until then, thanks for reading!