Denali is BOOKED!

Research is a huge part of this Western Adventure. As we have been reading blogs, watching vlogs, communicating with people who have completed this trip in the past we were emphatically told to book ahead for certain National Parks. Denali was one of those. 

As we continued to research we learned more about the Pretty Rocks Landslide. "The Pretty Rocks landslide has been active since at least the 1960s, and probably since well before the Denali Park Road was built through this area in 1930. Before 2014, the landslide only caused small cracks in the road surface and required moderate maintenance every 2–3 years. However, in 2014, road maintenance crews noticed a substantial speed up. By 2016 the movement had increased further, a slump had developed in the road, and a monitoring program was begun. The rate of road movement within the landslide evolved from inches per year prior to 2014, to inches per month in 2017, inches per week in 2018, inches per day in 2019, and up to 0.65 inches per hour in 2021."  (NPS.gov)

 Image from (NPS.gov)

You cannot access Denali Park Road after Mile 43 and it is expected to remain closed through the summer of 2026. That means several campgrounds and roads are inaccessible and you have to travel via tour buses to see most of the park. There are different bus options and some are tours and some are shuttles. The Denali Transit Buses provide a “hop on/hop off” system for those looking to experience Denali National Park and Preserve on their own timeline. We plan to do both.

Most places only open for on-line booking 6 months ahead of time. So we thought booking in December of 2023 for a Sept of 2024 trip would be too early and the site would not let us book. We were wrong we logged in yesterday, Dec 4, 2023 and found that 1 campground was completely booked and the other 2 opened campgrounds were almost full. So we reverse planned our trip to figure out when we would be in Denali. Turns out the campgrounds closing day is Sept 15. We want to be in Fairbanks as late as we can to increase the Aurora Borealis Experience. Also have to be out of British Colombia by October 1 as they have a safety rule "Winter tires or chains are required on most routes in British Columbia from October 1 to April 30."  (GOV.BC.CA)

Sept 10-15 it is! We are booked at Savage River Campground for 5 nights and 2 tours, Natural History Tour and Tundra Wilderness Tour. I love the name Savage River and have high hopes for adventure and animal encounters.  The excitement is building!!!