Alaska offers many routes for an iconic road trip. However, none are as popular as the one from Anchorage to Denali. Denali National Park attracts no end of visitors hoping to see its towering peak, should the weather allow.
While the options for reaching the park include a bus, railway, and private vehicle, the latter allows you to do so at your own pace.
To make the most of our limited time, we like to fly into Anchorage, rent a vehicle, and then return it to Fairbanks, catching a flight home from there.
Alternatively, doing the opposite itinerary allows visitors to add on a cruise. There are many cruise lines offering options from Seward or Whittier cruise port to Vancouver, BC.
I prefer to book an early flight, giving me part of the day to explore Anchorage upon arrival. Even if it means getting up in the wee hours, I can catch up on sleep at my destination.
Renting A Vehicle In Anchorage
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) has many rental options. Choose from the standard companies such as Avis, Thrifty, Alamo, or Dollar.
However, RV rentals are popular in Alaska, especially for families. There are several rental companies such as GoNorth Alaska or ABC Motorhome Rentals.
I found renting a car in Anchorage reasonably priced, with lots of options for vehicle types. However, the drop-off fee at Fairbanks Airport tripled the rental cost.
With limited time, it wouldn’t be possible to travel to Denali and back without feeling like I spent the whole five days on the road and not exploring Alaska. So, it’s essential to compare the dollars and time.
Day 1 – Arrival In Anchorage
Assuming you arrive early enough in the day, take time to explore downtown Anchorage, taking a Red trolley tour or bike tour for an overview.
I found the Alaska Native Heritage Center and Anchorage Museum provided great starting points. In downtown, visit Star the Reindeer, the city’s unofficial mascot.
When we visited, the owner came out to feed Star and brought him to the window so we could see him and take some pictures.
The Eagle River Nature Center is 32 miles east in Eagle River Valley on the northeast side of Chugach State Park. It’s been called a “miniature Yosemite.” It offers nature trails that provide dramatic views of the mountains, glacier rivers and streams, and potentially lots of wildlife.
The 3-mile Albert Loop Trail winds around wooded pond areas with frequent beaver sightings, while a viewing platform along the Rodak Trail is a great place to see silver and red salmon spawning, especially in August.
Black and brown bears are frequently seen around the nature center, the latter often feeding on salmon in the shallow water between beaver dams. While I didn’t see any, I always had to be bear-aware.
Another option when staying in the city is the 11-mile-long Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which follows the coast and runs from Second Avenue in downtown Anchorage to Kincaid Park.Consider renting a bike to enjoy part of the trail.
This scenic coastal trail skirts the 1964 earthquake fault line. It meanders through fragrant forests and offers sweeping vistas. You could spot beluga whales and see views of Mount Denali.
Be sure to keep an eye out for moose along the way. Consider the Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria when it’s time to grab dinner.
This local favorite is famous for serving some of the best pizzain the entire state, including blackened Alaskan red salmon pizza that can be enjoyed with house made brews.
Day 2 – Talkeetna
Plan to rise early and drive south to the Portage Valley. The drive along the Seward Highway is picturesque and offers many viewpoints at Beluga Point or Bird Point.
At Portage Lake, the one-hour Portage Glacier cruise is a must. The cruise is inexpensive and gets you to the face of the glacier. Its terminus is divided around a rocky outcrop.
While I didn’t view any calving, it didn’t detract from the cruise experience. After the cruise, I headed back to Anchorage and made the drive to Talkeetna.
Located two hours from Anchorage on the way to Mount Denali, Talkeetna makes a great overnight stop. This small town was founded at the height of the gold rush, and I enjoyed wandering around its historic buildings.
They are a testament to local craftsmanship, having endured more than a century ofbrutal Alaskan weather. Today, they house local shops, breweries, and eateries, including the iconic Talkeetna Roadhouse.
A historically significant frontier roadhouse, it dates back to the early 1900s when miners and other travelers enjoyed wild game and fresh-caught fish paired with home-baked bread and produce from the garden on-site.
Three rivers converge here, making it ideal for salmon fishing.The area is also popular for four-wheeling and kayaking. Zipline tours are also available, and they offer a spectacular panoramic view of the Alaska Range from high above the town.
Talkeetna’s proximity to Denali makes it ideal for a flightseeing tour. Reaching the mountain by small plane or helicopter offers breathtaking views and the possibility of flying to the summit in just over an hour.
While not inexpensive, these bucket list flights provide views of Denali’s north and south faces, as well as other natural marvels. Depending on the budget, select from 45-minute tours to five-hour adventures, some with glacier landings.
If you prefer to skip Talkeetna, make the direct drive to Denali from Anchorage instead. By not staying overnight in Talkeetna, gives more time in Denali National Park.
Day 3 – Denali National Park
It’s about a 2.5-hour drive to Denali National Park from Talkeetna, so I rose early to make the most of my day.
Denali is one of the top attractions in Alaska. The over six-million-acre park is home to North America’s tallest mountain, countless awe-inspiring landscapes, and abundant wildlife, including moose, bears, Dall sheep, wolves, and caribou.
Plan on overnighting here at one of the privately owned, remote wilderness lodges in the Kantishna area or one of the many Alaska hotels, motels, B&Bs, or vacation rentals around the communities of Healy and Cantwell. Choosing accommodation such as the Holland America Lodge in Denali, gets you closer to the park entrance.
Only one road travels into the park; private vehicles aren’t allowed beyond mile 15. From there, hop on a bus for a narrated tour, take the National Park Service’s hop-on, hop-off bus, or go for a six-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour.
The Tundra Wilderness Tour was everything I expected, with gorgeous scenery as far as the eye could see. However, due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide, my bus could only go as far as mile 43 during my tour.
Since the landslide in August 2021, construction has continued to regain access to the western region of the park. The road is not expected to reopen until 2027.
Once the road opens, guests can access one of the park’s most iconic sights, Wonder Lake. It’s located at mile 85 along Denali Park Road. It can be visited as part of the Kantishna Experience or on the Wonder Lake Transit Bus.
No matter your choice, you will have the chance to view Denali, North America’s highest peak, and its wildlife.
Keep an eye out for everything from smaller animals like marmot, fox, and arctic ground squirrel to moose, caribou, Dall’s sheep, black bear, and grizzly bear.
When we took the tour, luck was on our side as we spotted one grizzly, three moose, 25+ caribou, 25+ Dall sheep, and six Willow ptarmigan, the state’s bird.
In summer, Denali has long daylight hours with sunset around midnight, allowing me to continue the adventure in the evening. Sunrise occurred less than three hours later.
After the long wilderness tour, I took an evening ATV tour with a BBQ dinner. While I hadn’t been on an ATV before, I found the controls easy to master. The excursion was a blast, and we traveled through a river and puddles.
Alternatively, the national park offers two complimentary tours and other bucket list adventures, such as river rafting on the Nenana River or taking a flight-seeing tour to the Arctic Circle.
Day 4 – Denali National Park And Chena Hot Springs
This morning, join one of the many activities to provide more breathtaking views and opportunities to spot wildlife.
If you did not do so in Talkeetna, this is another great place to go flightseeing for a bird’s-eye view of the Alaska Range and the Mount Denali summit.
For avid hikers, consider a guided option, as there aren’t many maintained trails here. Also, there are no formal trails at all in the backcountry. The park rangers at the Denali Visitor Center provide complimentary hikes.
Even if you’re an experienced hiker, you’ll get local knowledge of the area’s flora and fauna with a local guide. Plus, there’s no chance of getting lost with someone experienced leading the way.
The Denali Visitor Center provides interactive exhibits on the park’s flora and fauna. I especially enjoyed the fantastic theater movie, which featured stunning aerial photography of the towering Denali.
After wrapping up the morning in Denali, make the 2-1/2 hour drive to Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs.
The Chena Hot Springs Resort is about 80 minutes beyond Fairbanks. You’ll have a wonderful time relaxing in its famous hot springs pools.
While the Chena Hot Springs provides the perfect place to see the northern lights in winter, we didn’t have that opportunity with the midnight sun.
Activities like dog sledding are offered, and the Aurora Ice Museum is right outside. Designed to looklike an igloo, it was made from a thousand tons of snow and ice and displays remarkable works of ice art in various forms.
If you choose to forego the trip to the hot springs, Fairbanks has its own ice museum on 2nd Avenue. While the museum is small, many of the exhibits are interactive. So, take a selfie on the snowmobile, or relive your childhood by sliding down the ice-carved slide.
The Palace Theater is another top attraction in the city. It hosts an old-school musical/comedy about frontier life with nightly performances inhistoric Pioneer Park.
Day 5 – Fairbanks
In Summer, Fairbanks offers a lot of activities. The Large Animal Research Stationis a hidden treasure at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is located on the site of a former homestead.
It serves as a stopping point for reindeer and muskoxen monitored here for physiological and behavioral research. Guided walks are available from May through September.
The University of Alaska Museum of the North is worth a visit as one of the premier museums in the city. It showcases various exhibits related to notable people and places in Alaska.
The Gold Dredge and Riverboat Tour is a longer excursion. It allows you to enjoy a quintessential Alaska experience of gold panning. While it sounds cheesy, it was a lot of fun, and we got to keep the gold we found.
The tour also offers a chance to see a portion of the Alaskan oil pipeline. We learned about the equipment used to clean the pipe’s interior and why parts of the pipeline run above ground.
The highlight was exploring the Chena Village, a replica of a cultural settlement. It features a demonstration of smoking fish, a cache of animal pelts, sled dogs, and a herd of reindeer.
