Home to the highest peak in North America, Denali National Park is a vast and untamed wilderness. The park features some of the most rugged terrain in Alaska, a state that is known for its wild landscapes. At the heart of Denali sits the 20,194-foot mountain with which the park shares its name. On a clear day, the summit of the mountain—which was formerly known as Mount McKinley—can be seen in Anchorage, which sits nearly 250 miles to the south.
Viewed up close from within the national park, Denali stands as a stone sentinel over a wilderness stuffed with wild animals, wild terrain, and wild dreams. Here’s a guide to this unforgettable destination and how to explore it from an RV.
Photo Credit: NPS Emily Mesner
Why Visit Denali National Park in Your RV?
Spread out across almost 5 million acres of land, Denali National Park is enormous. That leaves a lot of ground to cover on your vacation. Wouldn’t you rather camp inside the park, catching a shuttle bus every morning to a new hiking destination? Driving outside the park’s boundaries every night to stay at a motel takes time that could be used to explore Denali’s wonders. With your RV in a park campground, you may even spot some of the park’s most popular residents, like moose, marmots, and bears.
Photo Credit: Paxson Woelber (CC BY-SA 3.0)
When to Visit Denali National Park
Denali is open year-round, although your experience in visiting the park will vary greatly depending on when you go. This is what you should expect during each season:
Denali National Park in Spring
Spring is slow in coming to Denali, with cold conditions and snow common all the way through April. Dress in warm layers and expect conditions to change quickly. The Park Service begins plowing the road in mid-March, with the weather slowly changing after that. By May, temperatures begin to rise and the skies clear, as it is the driest month of the year inside the park.