Alaska – Long Weekend in Denali

Traveling to all 50 states has been an item on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. It started off as another item to cross of the list. However, after a road trip a few summers ago, I started to appreciate how much the United States has to offer. It was then that the goal of visiting all 50 states took on a new meaning. It became about exploring the diversity of the U.S. instead of just checking states off a list.

This spring/summer I had the opportunity to visit the last few states in the continental U.S., leaving only Alaska and Hawaii as the states I hadn’t been to. Fortunately, for work I get a four-day weekend for Labor Day, so I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to explore a small portion of what Alaska has to offer.

DAY 1: FLIGHT TO FAIRBANKS

The Thursday before Labor Day I left straight from work to fly out to Fairbanks, Alaska (via Chicago… and Seattle). After many hours of travel I made it to Fairbanks at 11:30 PM. While getting in that late is not ideal, I did get to see an amazing twilight sky from the plane. I picked up my National rental car from the airport and headed straight to the SpringHill Suites Fairbanks. Once I checked in I asked the concierge where the best place to see the Northern Lights is, since there was a decent chance of seeing them that night. She sent me down the Steese Highway a little out of town. I drove around for a while without seeing anything but eventually stopped on a dirt road to wait. After a few minutes my patience was rewarded with a beautiful sighting of the Northern Lights that covered a third of the sky.

Northern Lights in Fairbanks

DAY 2: FAIRBANKS TO DENALI NATIONAL PARK

North Pole/Santa Claus House

I headed out in the morning to stop by the Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska before driving to Denali National Park. It was a quick 15 minute drive from Fairbanks. The Santa Claus House is a Christmas-themed souvenir shop where you can take a picture with Santa and meet the reindeer. It was a fun stop before the 2.5 hour drive to Denali National Park. Since it was a clear day, I made a few picture stops on the way and even saw Denali (the mountain) on the drive there!

Picture with Santa in North Pole, Alaska

Denali National Park

When I got to the park I drove straight to the Denali Visitor Center (which is not too far into the park) to get recommendations from a ranger. The one I talked to was very helpful! He recommended taking a bus into the park to Wonder Lake (the ticket costs $46.75 roundtrip, plus a $10 park entrance fee if you don't already have a National Park Pass) and suggested a few hikes. You can only drive the first 15 miles into the park, which means that taking a park bus tour or shuttle bus are two of the limited ways to explore the rest of the park (and get better views of Denali). Shuttle and tour tickets do sell out so it is recommended to get them in advance (either at the Wilderness Access Center or online). The ranger recommended the shuttle bus because you can to get off at any of the stops, explore and then hop on a different bus.

After talking to the ranger, I drove down the road (a minute or two back towards the park entrance) to the Wilderness Access Center to purchase a ticket to Wonder Lake for the next morning. I luckily purchased the last seat on the bus. Following that, I drove out to Savage River (the last point you can drive to in a personal car), stopping along the way to take pictures.

Photo Stop along the Park Road in Denali National Park

Horseshoe Lake Trail

I then drove back to the visitor center to do a mini hike. Since it was late in the day I decided to save a more strenuous hike for later in the weekend. I opted to hike the Horseshoe Lake trail (2.5-3 miles round trip). It was mostly in the woods, with a downhill part near the lake. The scenery was beautiful because the changing fall foliage. I was a little worried about bears, especially since I was hiking alone, so I took the bike trail back to the visitor center. By that point it was 5 PM, so I checked into my hotel, the Denali Park Village, ate dinner there and called it a night.

Horseshoe Lake

DAY 3: DENALI NATIONAL PARK

I happened to wake up at 4 AM and was able to see the Northern Lights again! Usually they are most active late at night. I then went back to sleep before waking up to catch the shuttle bus to Wonder Lake at 8:45 AM. The entire trip out to Wonder Lake and back took 11 hours. The bus stopped about every hour for photos and bathroom breaks. I sat on the left side of the bus so I could get views of Denali on the way out. Along the way we saw several bear and elk in the distance. The best views of Denali were at the Eielson Visitor Center where we had a 30 minute break. I used that time to go on a mini hike around the visitor center. We had clear views of Denali (which only 33% of visitors to the park get to see) and a colorful fall landscape.

View of Denali from Eielson Visitor Center

It was another hour drive to get to Wonder Lake. The afternoon sun was in a bad place so the views weren’t as spectacular, even though that is the closest spot on the park road to Denali. I would have preferred to have taken the shuttle to Eielson and spent time hiking there instead of going all the way to Wonder Lake. The ride back was relatively uneventful, however, since it was evening we saw more wildlife, including elk and moose. We even saw a bear walk right in front of the bus.

Bear Sighting

DAY 4: DENALI NATIONAL PARK

Today I decided to hike one of the two strenuous hikes that the ranger recommended (Mount Healy Overlook and Savage River Alpine Trail). He suggested the Savage River Alpine Trail since it has more uninterrupted views of the park (and views of Denali on clear days). The trail connects the Mountain Vista and Savage River rest stops. You can leave from either side (although the ranger said it is less steep leaving from the Mountain Vista side). If you leave from Mountain Vista, you can hop on a park shuttle at Savage River to get back to your car.

The trail (starting from the Mountain Vista stop) starts out in the forest on flat terrain. Once out of the woods, the trail opens up and is a 1500 ft incline up the side of a hill/mountain. The hike up was beautiful since all of the shrubbery was changing colors for fall, which is a short season in Alaska. The top of the trail has a wonderful view of the Alaskan mountain range and Denali National Park. From the top you can continue on the trail to Savage River. I decided to go back the way I came so I wouldn’t have to wait for a shuttle at Savage River to take me to my car.

View from the Savage River Alpine Trail

After hiking I headed to 229 Parks for dinner, which was a delicious seasonal restaurant. It is relatively small, so it is advised to make reservations. The next day was my flight back. Since it was rainy I drove back to Fairbanks early.