Denali National Park & Denali Highway

Leg 6. DENALI

16 June to 24 June 2012

Denali National Park

We will leave the Anchorage area and travel north to Denali National Park, stopping for one night at Trapper Creek. Spending four days visiting this wondrous park will give us opportunities to ride in tour buses through the park, walk popular trails or hike in the remote wilderness with a park naturalist. Denali National Park certainly ranks among the very best scenic wonders in the world and, here, we are likely to find the largest assortment of large mammals freely roaming expansive habitat.

Denali Highway

We’ll drive the Denali Highway – a road you won’t see listed on other caravan trips – and stop at Tangle Lakes, Maclaren River and another isolated spot which could easily rank as the most scenic camping spot you have ever visited. A bit over 100 miles in length, we spend four days soaking up the scenery and seeking its wildlife, Arctic Warbler being the most sought-after specialty of the road.

Highlights from prior trips

Grizzly Bear, Wolverine , Gray Wolf, Red Fox, Brown Lemming, Collared Pika, Porcupine, Hoary Marmot, Arctic Ground Squirrel, Beaver, Dall’s Sheep, Moose, Barren Ground Caribou. Trumpeter Swan, Tundra Swan, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, American Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye , Spruce Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan, Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, Merlin, Gyrfalcon, American Golden-Plover, Wandering Tattler, Whimbrel, Red-necked Phalarope, Mew Gull, Arctic Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, Great Horned Owl, Northern Hawk Owl , Alder Flycatcher , Say’s Phoebe, Northern Shrike, Horned Lark, Bank Swallow, Boreal Chickadee, Arctic Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Varied Thrush, Bohemian Waxwing, Blackpoll Warbler, American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Lapland Longspur , Smith’s Longspur , Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll.

Schedule

First day - travel George Parks Highway, bird Trapper Creek area, camp at Trapper Creek.
Second day - continue travel to Denali National Park, visit exhibits at park headquarters, arrange tours of your choice.
Third day - birding and hiking popular trails, watching for mammals too.
Fourth day - bus tours of Denali National Park.
Fifth day - hiking in remote areas with park naturalist.
Sixth day - travel to Denali Highway, birding first miles.
Seventh day - continue birding and sightseeing on Denali Highway; camp near glacier.
Eighth day - continue birding and sightseeing on Denali Highway; camp at Tangle Lakes.
Ninth day - bird the last of the Denali Highway; fishing and kayaking also available.

Package features: 9-days / 9-nights

campgrounds (9 nights)
guided birding at Trapper Creek
Denali National Park entrance fee
Denali National Park bus tour (your choice of several tours)
Cabin Nite dinner/theater tickets
guided bird/mammal hike at Savage River
guided birding along Denali Highway (4 days)
services of social director

Package price

$670 one person (one RV)
$790 two people (one RV)