Denali National Park, 99 years old and 6 million acres of beauty. there is only one road going through the park which is 92.5 miles long and took 16 years to complete. the park has about 570k visitors every season, so the amount of vehicles allowed in the park is limited.  

the majority of people are brought in/out via park buses which can take you the full 92.5 miles, to the Eielson Visitors Center at mile 66,  or to a number of other stops along the way.  some permits are given out to campers and photographers on a limited basis and individuals can enter a lottery to get a drive permit.  the lottery might be for locals only, i can’t remember.

there isn’t any food or beverage sold in the park, so you need to bring in all of your snacks and drink.  if you’re camping they will give you a bear box for your food…..they also give a full training on how to deal with bears.

on our 8 hour tour we saw 7 bears…….we also saw, Dall sheep, Ptarmigans (fat little brown & white birds), Spruce Grouse (also brown & white birds….not so fat), moose, porcupine, ground squirrel, eagle and caribou.  no shortage of wildlife.  there will be photos of animals eventually…..as soon as the nice South African couple with the stellar lens emails them to me in 3-4 weeks when they get back home from their trip.

we only got out of the bus in three locations and the visitors center.  if you’d like a tour with more stops you might look into the wilderness tour.  there is also a natural history tour, and i believe that is much shorter.

recommendations: if you want to take animal photos you need a long good telephoto lens. check the weather in advance and if there is a chance of rain take your boots, and rain gear….being wet on a 8 hour bus ride isn’t fun. make sure you bring enough snacks and water.