After landing in Anchorage very early in the morning, and picking up our rental car, and stocking up on some essentials, we started driving towards Denali National Park which is around 239 miles away. As you head out of Anchorage, initially you will be on Alaska State highway 1 North (Glenn Highway) and then mostly on Alaska State highway 3 North. While it’s a good five-hour drive all the way up to Denali National Park, the numerous scenic highlights and activities along the way make it a much longer drive. Also, while driving on Alaska State Highway 3, you will catch the first glimpses on the majestic Denali (provided it’s a clear day), and it’s impossible to not stop and soak in the beauty!

Geographic features are often named on a whim. This grand mountain was called Mt. McKinley for many years, being named after a US President. However, in 2015 it was renamed Denali, the Athabaskan word meaning “the high one”. Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level and has a topographic prominence (prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or from sea level if there is no higher peak) of 20,156 feet (6,144 m), making it the third most prominent peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua.

A few of the other scenic stops along the way include:

• Susitna River Bridge
• Kesugi Ridge Trail
• Byers Lake
• Nenana River Overlook

We chose to make quick 15-20 minute stops along each of these. However, if time permits, one can spend a lot more time, especially along the trails. We finally arrived at McKinley Park (which sits just outside Denali National Park), at around 3 pm and checked into our hotel.

One of the advantages of being in Alaska during the summers, is that you get almost 18 hours of daylight! This allowed us to squeeze in a few more activities for the day. Later in the evening, we drove down to the Denali Visitor Center (just before close), watched the park film and spoke to the rangers there. We also ensured that we confirmed the spot we would need to be, to board our early morning shuttle the next morning to visit the park.

The Denali Park Road is 92 miles, running from east to west. Locations on the road are usually referred to by their mile number, meaning how many miles they are from the eastern end (the park entrance is Mile 0). During the summer months, private vehicles are allowed only up to mile 15 of the park road. So, that’s exactly what we did! After driving up to Savage river trailhead we did the 2-mile long Savage River Loop, which is a mellow walk along the river. The surface is uneven and rugged in areas, but there is no significant elevation change. We had the entire trail pretty much to ourselves!

Having got a brief introduction to Denali, we headed back to restaurant in McKinley Park for some Alaskan brew and a salmon dinner. Either we were starving, or the food was amazing, or maybe both 🙂 After a memorable dinner, we retired for the day and got some much-needed rest to help get ourselves ready for a really early start the next day.