Denali: the highest peak in North America

Denali is first of all a mountain: 6,190 metres, the highest peak in North America. It’s also a park one and a half times the size of Wallonia, the southern half of Belgium, with almost no roads or trails. Tundra, braided rivers, glaciers, and animals you watch from a bus.

History and origins

The Athabascans call the mountain Denali, “the Great One”. In 1896 a gold prospector renamed it McKinley, after a presidential candidate. The quarrel has gone on ever since: the peak officially took back its original name in 2015, then that of McKinley in 2025, by decision of President Trump. In Alaska, everyone says Denali. The park itself has not changed its name.

It was created in 1917, at the instigation of a naturalist, Charles Sheldon, to protect the Dall sheep from hunters. It was enlarged in 1980.

What to do there

• The park road: a single road 148 km long runs into the park. Cars stop at Savage River. Beyond that you take a bus: a simple shuttle, or a narrated tour bus. That’s where you see the animals.
• The wildlife: grizzlies, moose, caribou, Dall sheep and, with luck, wolves. The driver stops whenever someone spots one.
• The summit: it creates its own weather and stays in the clouds two days out of three. Only about one visitor in three sees it. Your best chances are early in the morning.
• The kennels: the park is the only one in the country to patrol in winter with sled dogs. You can visit the kennels and watch a demonstration, for free.
• The entrance trails: a few marked trails around the visitor center and at Savage River. Everywhere else, you walk freely across the tundra.
• Flightseeing: small planes take off from Talkeetna or the park entrance to circle the summit. Some land on a glacier.

Stories and good to know

• Measured from base to summit, Denali rises 5,500 metres. That’s more than Everest, which starts from a plateau that is already very high.
• In June it hardly ever gets dark. You can watch wildlife at 11pm.
• Every autumn, the park draws lots for a few hundred cars, which are allowed to drive the road over four days.

Practical information for your trip

• Pass: the America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee. Everything is explained in our guide to the national parks pass.
• Getting there: the entrance is about 4 hrs 30 by road from Anchorage and 2 hrs from Fairbanks. The Alaska Railroad train stops at the park gate.
• The buses: the shuttle, which is cheaper, lets you get off and back on wherever you like. The narrated tour buses include a guide and a meal. Either way, allow a whole day.
• Mosquitoes: they are ferocious in June and July. Bring repellent and a head net.
• Where to stay: in the hotels and cabins just outside the park, or in Healy, 20 minutes away. The park has several campgrounds.
• Combine it with: Kenai Fjords, south of Anchorage, to see the Alaska of glaciers and sea.