Named number 2 on National Geographic’s ‘Best Drives in the World’ list, the Denali Highway stretches 134 miles between Cantwell on the Parks Highway and Paxton on the Richardson Highway. Once the only route to Denali National Park it passes through a wilderness of tundra and mountains that will take your breath away – if the weather cooperates long enough for you to see the view!
DAY 1
Coming south from Fairbanks on the Parks Highway, a pilot car led us through the Bear Creek fire area between the 259-276 mileposts. 21,000 acres had been lost so far and the burnt spruce trees lined the roadside like blackened pipe cleaners. A few minor fires still flickered on the verges and distant plumes of smoke showed on the hills.
Firefighting in Alaska is a serious profession and the names make the crews sound like baseball teams: the Midnight Sun Hotshots and the North Star Fire Crew were in action that day.
Once through and further south at Healy we decided to stop at the 49th State Brewing Company for lunch. The beers were good and I had a Soda Flight which was quite interesting but we made the mistake of having burgers which came with some sort of synthetic potato salad infill which was quite disgusting. You really wouldn’t think the Americans could cock up a burger but there was the proof!!
In the grounds was the delapidated bus which had been used in the Into the Wild film (the original was airlifted to Fairbanks in 2020 after too many people got into trouble trying to find it!). Christopher McCandless had walked into the wild along the Stampede Trail, just 3 miles north of Healy. Crossing two rivers he came upon the Magic Bus which he used as a base for 3 months. Trapped by rising rivers and starving, he died in it in August 1992.
Some 38 miles south of Healy, at Cantwell, we turned off on the Denali Highway. This was once the original route to Denali National Park until the Parks Highway was completed in 1972. Today, the first 3 miles on the western side and the last 25 miles on the eastern side are paved, but otherwise it is good gravel that presents no trouble at all.
From the word go this is a dramatic drive, although we were actually driving against the mileposts which start on the eastern side, as well as having our backs to the Denali view. It was hidden in cloud cover though so it didn’t make much difference!
Until Mile 118, it is native Athabascan land and the trees are festooned with ‘Private’ notices. If you do elect to camp at one of their campsites, there is a $30 charge – there are a huge number of better, free campsites ahead so I would not advise stopping.
There was a large very beautiful lake which had great reflections of the mountains, after which we paralleled the Nenana River, which runs into the Yukon. It is too silty for fishing but is popular with white water rafters.
We climbed steadily to just before 116 where there was a nice overlook of the river valley with scattered wetlands. There was a ridge to higher country and encircling snowy mountains – as we watched the rain approached.
We popped into the BLM Brushkana Creek Campground (104.6) which has leafy sites on or near the river for $20. There is also a nice day use area with a shelter overlooking the river. We found these campsites a useful drinking water source and would always stop to top up our water bottles.
We went on a little further to Mile 103 where we found a grassy clearing well off the road with fabulous views to the Alaska Range and the West Fork glacier. The range stretches 650 miles from Cook Inlet, through Denali and on to the Canadian border. Below us there was a little lake and clearings amongst the trees but like much of lowland Alaska, the ground was very boggy – better to look at than to walk on!
There had been enough firewood left that we were able to light a fire and enjoy our mountain views before the rain came in and we decided to call it a day.
DAY 2
We awoke to a rainy day and our mountains of the night before were hidden by cloud. A moose with a calf walked by below the campsite.
We continued on then decided to pause a while in the hope that it might brighten up a bit, parking in a big gravel pit at 92.9 miles. Below us we had a wonderful view of a wild valley dotted with hundreds of lakes, although the mountains were veiled by clouds.
We drove on after lunch, passing the Clearwater Mountain Lodge which was closed and up for sale. There are about 4 lodges along this road so there are other accommodation options.
The Susitna River had another characterful bridge with a downward lean. An esker to the south on the other side (78.4) had a wonderful view of the valley.
Exploring a turn off at 73.6 we discovered another great wild camping spot overlooking a large lake. Shredded branches showed moose had passed through.
The Alpine Creek Lodge followed. The lodges are popular in winter with snowmobilers and indeed a lot of this land would be more accessible then when frozen and snow covered.
A huge esker took us to Clearwater Creek – these ridges of sand and gravel were carried by inner glacial streams and were left behind when the glacier receded. They make a perfect elevated highway.
Clearwater Creek (55.7) had an old bridge which was a popular swallow nesting spot. The best camp space was already taken so we went a little further to 49.6 where a road dropped down to a lovely camping spot right on Geeta Lake, framed by mountains in the distance.
We had a nice evening enjoying the tranquility and bird life. A bald eagle perched on a nearby outcrop and ducks dabbled furiously.
In a clearing we found some chewed moose bones, but failed to find the whole animal. There were a lot of dog prints around – or were they wolves? Sometimes it is nice to be in a rooftop tent!
DAY 3
A quiet morning and very still, other than bird twitterings in the undergrowth and the odd splash of a fishing gull. On the other side of the lake three moose came down to drink; apparently this is a huge hunting area in the autumn – I would rather view them alive.
The road passed through Crazy Notch, which is actually a long gap in the glacial moraine cut by a glacial stream about 12,000 years ago, dropping down to the Maclaren river where the Maclaren River Lodge sprawls untidily. There are superb views up the valley to the Maclaren Glacier, which can be reached by a 14 mile road from this point.
We climbed up to Maclaren Summit (at 4,086 feet, the second highest pass in Alaska after the Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway); it is worth pulling in to look back at the river valley with it’s many lakes and eskers, Crazy Notch was prominent in the moraine ridge on the opposite side of the valley.
A couple of trails leave from the summit, although they are more designed for ATVs than walking. However we walked some way out on the Oscar Lake trail for fabulous valley views.
To the other side we found the beautiful High Valley, fringed by the Amphitheater Mountains and with a chain of lakes. More trails led off to various gaps, opened by glaciers long ago, including the easy Landmark Trail, which goes 4 miles to the southern tip of Landmark Lake. This gap is still used by caribou on their migrations.
Rain threatened so we proceeded to the lovely Tangle Lakes which have a BLM campground and a couple of flanking lodges. A fishing competition was in full swing and one chap proudly told us he had caught 10 Dolly Varden that day – they look very similar to trout to my untutored eye.
We followed a trail from the campsite which climbed up to an esker, giving fabulous elevated views over the tundra and mountains. After probably a mile, it ended in a stone cairn with a spiral maze on the ground. Bear and moose had been spotted in the area, so we kept an eye out but saw neither animal.
The campsite was $20. We drove 2 miles up the road to camp on an elevated bluff (19.3) with wonderful northern views for free. One of the joys of Alaska is the numerous free camping spots and as the car hire was costing £100 a day, I was quite happy to find them!
DAY 4
Little remained to do of the Denali Highway.
Our campsite was opposite the trailhead for Swede Mountain and it was a sunny day so it was decided that a walk was in order. The trail winds 1.5 miles to a lookout giving superb views over Tangle Lakes and the mountains – it can be very wet though, one entry in the visitors book even suggested taking a snorkel!
Our fisherman had mentioned that the Tangle River Inn had just reopened and was renowned for their cinnamon rolls so we decided to check them out. Unfortunately the rolls were not on the menu so we settled for chocolate chip cookies instead. The inn has a nice traditional feel and a lovely little cafe with stunning views.
The Wrangell Mountains could be seen to the southeast with a viewpoint at Mile 12.7. The highest is Mount Sanford, lying to the left at 16,237 feet; Mount Wrangell in the middle is only 14,163 feet but occasionally releases steam: it is the most northerly active volcano on the Pacific Rim.
The final stretch of the Denali unfolded a myriad of mountains before us, the viewpoint at 7 Mile being the pièce de résistance, with Sevenmile Lake in the foreground looking very serene. The Gulkana Glacier in the Alaska Range was visible and a range of lakes, strangely at all different levels in the landscape.
It had indeed been a breathtaking drive – don’t miss this detour on any trip to Alaska!
NOTES
I really don’t know why some car hire companies object to gravel roads such as these as they are totally straightforward and even easily doable in a 2WD. Those that include gravel roads include Go North and Alaska Auto Rentals.
If you don’t want to avail yourself of the wonderful wild camping en route, there are accomodation options:
Denali Highway Cabins at Paxton
Tangle River Inn at Milepost 20
Tangle Lakes Lodge at Milepost 22
Maclaren River Lodge at Milepost 42
Alpine Creek Lodge at Milepost 68
https://www.bluesberryinn.com/ at Cantwell
Fuel is available at Cantwell and at Meier’s Roadhouse, 15 miles south of Paxton and the Maclaren River Lodge at Milepost 42.
