Ride the park bus into Denali National Park
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
Only the first 15 miles of the gravel road into Denali National Park are open to private cars, so most visitors go deeper into the Alaskan wilderness on park buses. On a clear day the mountain itself, Denali, can be seen from as early as Mile 9, and wildlife may appear at any bend, though sightings are never guaranteed.
Gentle£100 to £500 / $130 to $650An afternoonOutdoorsWith othersAlaskaSummer, when the park buses run from mid-May to mid-September
How to start
- Read the park's guide to exploring Denali and choose between a narrated tour bus and a cheaper transit bus that lets you get off to walk and catch a later bus back.
- Book with the park's bus concessioner, and check the park's alerts for how far buses go this year; the park has reported the road closed at Mile 43 because of the Pretty Rocks landslide.
- With less time, use the free buses on the first part of the road and join a ranger programme at the sled dog kennels.
Where to go
We opened this link on 2 November 2026 and found it to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. The hard part of a day out is the timing: the right season, tickets and getting there. The plan watches the calendar for you.
Read next
Six pairs of shoes and seven months on the Pacific Crest Trail took Nancy Zelick from Mexico to Canada
How a retired Intel researcher from Baker City, Oregon, walked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada in about seven months: the snow, the gear, the food and why she thinks pace mattered more than youth. How to start multi-day hiking, or build towards a long trail if you already walk.
Stargazing for beginners: what to see, what to bring and where to look through a telescope
A beginner's guide to stargazing: letting your eyes adapt, the planets you can find without a telescope, why a red torch matters, the honest challenges of cloud and cold, and observatories and astronomy societies near you that will lend you a look through their telescopes.