Squashed into the smallest car in Alaska, we head north to Denali National Park, home to America’s highest mountain and six million acres of taiga, tundra and trees. The quirky historical town of Talkeetna with its unique old time Alaska feel is a worthwhile stop en route.
A Ford Fiesta?! Newly arrived back on the mainland after our island adventures, we had been given the smallest car in Alaska! I was not surprised they rented it to us as the average American wouldn’t fit.
However it proved surprisingly nippy as we headed north from Anchorage towards Denali National Park on the Parks Highway, diverting to Talkeetna after 98 miles and taking the 14 mile Spur Road to this popular town which benefits from its location as a handy stop between Anchorage and Denali, as well as the convergence of the Chulnita, Talkeetna and Susitna rivers so there is great fishing.
Talkeetna is also famous for having elected a cat as Mayor. The present incumbent is a fluffy smoky coloured version called Aurora who can be found hanging out at Nagleys General Store. Alarmingly, I spotted flyers for the next election and the contest seems to be between two dogs so no doubt things will soon go downhill!
The place started life as a trading post but really took off in 1916 when it was designated as a headquarters for the construction of the Alaskan Railroad. Things grew quieter once that was finished but it seems to have ticked over quietly until more recent times when climbing and bush aviation took off – it is now the usual jumping off spot for climbers attempting to reach the summit of Denali (the highest peak in America at 20,210 feet). They fly onto the Kahiltna glacier to start their climb at about 7,200 feet, the popular route via the West Buttress taking 18-20 days.
It is also a stop on the Alaskan Railway from Anchorage to Fairbanks, although if you want a slower more unique experience it is possible to cover the same ground between Talkeetna and Hurricane Turn on the Hurricane Turn train – this is the last flag train left in America, whereby anyone wishing to ride the train can literally flag it down anywhere on its 55 mile route.
It is designed so that locals can access cabins and hunting areas and is an entertaining there-and-back day trip. There are various minor stops built in and the spectacular Hurricane Creek bridge which is nearly 300 feet high. There is no food on board so take lunch!
We arrived rather late in the day so just wandered, to the railway bridge where it crossed the Talkeetna River and then around the waters edge to the Riverfront Park viewpoint at the end of Main Street, where on a clear day there is a wonderful view of Denali and the surrounding peaks – it is usually possible to find free parking in this area too. If you want to see Denali from the water there are also jetboat and rafting tours.
Town was quite jolly and they have managed to preserve quite a few old log cabins which have now burgeoned into restaurants and quirky gift shops. I had expected something along McCarthy lines but this place was much more substantial and more fun.
It is worth picking up the Historic Walking Tour leaflet which points out the more interesting buildings. There are only a couple of streets so it does not take very long – we retired afterwards to the Denali Brewpub in the middle of Main Street with nice outdoor seating and craft beers. They also do the usual pub favourites in the food department.
Virtually opposite, the Talkeetna Roadhouse dates back to 1917 and offers characterful accomodation with lots of cosy public areas. It is known for its superb bakery which is open early until sold out – their raspberry cinnamon rolls have a cult following. The rhubarb and strawberry pasty wasn’t bad either – it makes perfectly good sense when you think about it!
The following day there were a couple of handy choices for breakfast: the Conscious Coffee outlet in a wooden cabin with an outside deck (they sell books too) and the silver Airstream next door which is famous for its spinach bread and breakfast burritos.
We checked out the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station which coordinates the Denali climbing groups. On a board behind the welcome desk was a list of attempts on the mountain and the number returned which was the same.
“What happens when one dies – do you adjust it accordingly?” I asked.
Apparently not; two climbers died this year yet the numbers were the same – although the bodies were recovered so I suppose they effectively returned! There is a climbers memorial in the cemetery just across the train tracks.
We had intended visiting the Museum but there was an early power cut and they hadn’t opened – we missed more Denali exhibits, a film and stuff on the early days of the town.
Instead we visited some of the town gift shops: Blue Moose Alaskan Gifts had a good range of clothing and quirky odds and ends; it’s neighbour had artistic metal cutouts of animals and birds – rooks a speciality! The High Expedition log cabin won the prize for the best flower baskets although it actually sold cannabis!
It was time to head on towards Denali on what was turning into a very wet day. We heard on the news that an 8.2 earthquake near Kamchatka had caused major tsunami warnings – thankfully we were far removed from that one!
A small detour – Petersville Road
This good bitumen and gravel road leaves the Parks Highway westwards at 114.9 Mile; it was originally built as a mining road in the 1920s and was homesteaded in 1948 by Detroit immigrants, drawn by the offer of 160 free acres. These turned out to be largely bog – only 14 stayed to clear the required 20 acres, calling themselves the 59’ers.
It is worth stopping at 0.6 mile to see the Donaldson 59-er Log Cabin. An rusty Model T Ford dump truck stands outside and there is an array of old stuff on the porch and a rotten boat in the bushes. There seems to be a museum inside but no obvious opening times.
The road wound through thick trees interspersed with open boggy tundra and dark lakes, a landscape I find quite atmospheric. It looked like a good moose area and indeed we did actually spot one with a calf.
The rather plain Forks Roadhouse stands at a fork in the road after 18 miles, but wasn’t open when we visited; it actually dates back to the 1930s but was burnt down in 2012 and has been rebuilt. The area is largely used by ATVs in the hunting season and their tracks can plainly be seen etched into the boggy ground.
The right fork at the roadhouse leads to a rough road which continues for 11 miles to an old gold mining area where panning and prospecting is allowed.
The left fork quickly ends at Peter’s Creek – it is a pretty spot with a bridge providing onwards ATV access and some nice wild camping spots.
We turned around there and headed back to the Parks Highway, exclaiming en route at the state of some of the residences. I think it is fair to say that nothing is ever thrown out in Alaska.
To Denali
We drove north through a wet landscape, the grey mountains wreathed by low lying cloud. The stunted brushy vegetation supported scattered spruce trees and marshy lakes. There were no Denali views to be enjoyed.
We went through Broad Pass which is actually one of the lowest passes in America at 2,400 feet and soon after reached Cantwell which began as a flag stop for the railroad and is a handy stop en route. The beautiful Denali Highway goes eastwards and is a superb drive if you have the time.
Crossing the Nenana River, we finally reached the Denali National Park entrance. Denali was actually first climbed in 1913 but it wasn’t until 1917 that Denali National Park and Preserve was established, primarily in those days to protect the fast disappearing Dall sheep.
Our first stop was at Riley Creek Mercantile to pick up our camping passes – we had three nights booked at Teklanika Campground at Mile 29 and one at Savage River, all about $40 a night.
Private cars are not allowed beyond Savage River but we were allowed to drive to Teklanika to camp on condition that the car was not moved until we checked out after a minimum of 3 nights, so we had to use the park buses to get around for the duration – another $33.50 each for the non-narrated camper bus.
Many people just choose to have a day trip into Denali on the park bus system – the full 5 hour narrated Tundra Wilderness Tour costs $144.50 and lasts about 5 hours to Mile 43 and back. They do stop for wildlife viewing and scenic viewpoints.
The visitors centre was quite big and glossy with some good displays. It is possible to sign up for free ‘discovery’ day walks (two days in advance) with a ranger.
We drove out to Teklanika very slowly at about 6 pm but there was no wildlife in sight bar husky walkers. The campsite was well spread out amidst spruce trees and sits above the Teklanika River, not that it was visible – this was the river that trapped Chris McCandless of Into the Wild fame.
Denali
Our first full day in the park found us obediently waiting for the 9.00 am shuttle bus (every half an hour and can be flagged down or stopped anywhere) to ferry us to the road’s end – which unfortunately due to landslip and the ongoing construction of a bridge, is presently at the 43rd Milepost and not the 92nd. The road will hopefully reopen in 2027.
American buses always look so delightfully old fashioned with their boxy shape and big noses. We duly trundled along until a bear was spotted grazing on the tundra below Sable Pass.
Americans get very excited at bear sightings: the entire truck got to its feet and headed for the windows. Two caribou about a mile away were also treated with due reverence. We were glad to escape the throng and get off at Mile 43 by the East Fork Toklat River (3,055 feet).
I often feel at a bit of a loss hiking in Alaska. Used to the beaten tracks of Europe where anywhere worthwhile will have an obvious track to it, I find the Alaskan system rather bewildering.
Yes, I can go anywhere, in any direction, for as long as I like and don’t forget the bear spray – but where does one start, what does one aim for? The consensus seems to be to stick to the rivers where the hard packed gravel provides a good surface for walking, or get to the open ground on top, although unfortunately there is quite a lot of bush between river and ‘top’!
This time we contented ourselves with an hour’s amble along the East Fork Toklat River which offered great views of the distant Polychrome Mountains. The water looked quite dirty and glacial, running quickly in braided torrents.
We wound between low willow scrub with sightings of ptarmigan in their golden brown summer plumage, ground squirrels and a big pile of bear shit but no bear!
Backtracking to the road, we started walking home which was a slight mistake as the first 4½ miles were a long, hot climb to Sable Pass at 3,900 feet. However, the scenery was some recompense and when we stopped at a creek crossing for lunch we were treated to our own perfect caribou sighting when a large velvet antlered male walked past us on the road.
We carried on towards the pass, hoping to see the morning’s bear again. He was still in the area, about 300 m off the road on the opposite hillside and flat out fast asleep.
We carried on for another few miles, enjoying the multi coloured mountains. A magpie was snacking on a dead ground squirrel, we saw more caribou on distant skylines and even some sheep (white dots on a red hillside!).
Eventually we’d had enough and hailed a bus to return to our campsite. It had been a long day and we were quite happy to collapse for the evening!
Bears!!
We moved rather slowly in the morning and didn’t get the bus until 10 am. We decided to ride to the end of the road just to see what was happening. It was a beautifully clear sunny day and although we saw no wildlife, we did have a superb view of Denali over the Polychrome Mountains.
Trying to work out where to walk I asked our bus driver to drop us off at the canyon which accesses Cathedral Mountain.
“Just shout stop!” She replied.
“I don’t know where it is!”
“ I pointed it out earlier, weren’t you paying attention?”
Getting a bit pissed off by this point we pointed out that we had been sitting on the other side of the bus and would she kindly let us off wherever it was. Even if we had driven past it once we were unlikely to find it again – needless to say she didn’t stop so we shouted Stop! and got off at the nearby Igloo Creek Campsite.
Cursing blinkered, rude American bus drivers, we decided it was too late for Cathedral by then so caught a bus to the Teklanika River.
We elected to walk upstream for a while along the right bank, following fairly good trails through low willow trees and along little stream beds. We saw old bear tracks in the mud.
Thinking it was time for lunch, we pushed through the scrub to join the river bank proper. I was just saying to Simon that knowing us we would be having our picnic and a bear would walk past, when he put his hand up and came to an abrupt halt.
“Bear!”
We were only about 200 metres away from a large grizzly browsing along the river edges. We backtracked quietly and turned to look at a safer distance only to find there were 3 bears, probably a mother and two big cubs.
We put more distance between us and stopped for lunch on a spit in the river where we could see well upstream. Suddenly the bears emerged, ambling in our direction and again we thought it time to move on, this time going to the road bridge where we curled up to observe them.
They crossed the river, worked their way down the left bank and eventually padded over the road and continued down the other side digging for roots and browsing quietly. We had superb views throughout so although the day had initially seemed a bit of a write off, it all worked out well in the end.
We walked up to the Teklanika River Viewpoint and dropped down to the river there when we were safely in front of them. A final meander along the pebbles and bush bought us back to the campsite after an exciting day – the bears really do find you in this country. The other moral of this story is to always have lunch with good sight lines and watch your back!
Savage River
The following day we moved to the Savage River Campsite and set off on the Savage Alpine Trail – a real trail at last, four miles long and with 1,500 feet of climbing!
I would advise anyone setting out on this trail to do it from the Savage River Campsite as the path rose gradually up the flank of a small mountain so it wasn’t too much effort. If starting at the Savage River, there is a very steep climb up!
We detoured slightly to a picturesque peak from where there were superb views over the valley below and the distant mountains to all sides. Some cloud ensured that we never saw Denali but we did see some Dall sheep, the world’s only wild white sheep.
We dropped steeply down to the Savage River via various rocky pinnacles and quickly did the 2 mile Savage River Loop, a scenic meander along the river to a footbridge, returning on the other side.
The river ran quite clear through some very rugged country. There are Arctic greyling in the river but the park has a catch and release policy.
We caught the free shuttle bus back to the campsite where we went to the ranger talk in the evening. Called Scat Happens, it was a game based around identifying different animal scats – we got 3 out of 4! Great fun for children!
Dogs!!
The following morning we were up early and explored the little trails around the campsite. The classic log Savage Cabin was built by road crews in 1924-25 and is now used by rangers. It was locked but we opened the shutters (with protruding bear deterring nails) and peeped in – it looked quite cosy.
In the forest there were lots of snowshoe hares in their brown summer livery – their population fluctuations mirror that of the lynx, their major predator.
Across the road, the Mountain Vista Trail does an easy 0.6 mile loop down to the Savage River in an area which had the first tourist camp in 1923. It was rather a tent city and in 1939 a more comfortable hotel was built and this area reverted to nature.
Next stop were the park kennels. I don’t particularly like dogs but I have lots of respect for the working models and these guys wanted to work. A small team was hitched to a wheeled cart and did a small circuit with great enthusiasm.
An Alaskan husky is not a particular breed – rather like the residents it can have a lot of variety in its make up but the end result is an athletic dog which is capable of pulling up to 100 lbs.
Denali preserves the tradition whilst using them to access wilderness areas where there are no motor vehicles allowed. On winter patrol they usually cover about 20 miles a day at 5-6 mph although 20 mph and 60 miles have been recorded.
As the ranger said, “There is no difficulty starting them in the morning!” They can survive outside at temperatures down to -40°, their tails curled around the face to keep the nose warm.
The original wooden building housed a harness room, a sled display and an attic for fish storage; these days a dry kibble has replaced frozen salmon.
There were a few side enclosures but the majority of the dogs were chained to individual kennels outside. They looked alert and fit – what an adventure it would be heading off into the wilderness with a sled!
We finished our visit to Denali with the quick Horseshoe Lake Trail (1.4 mile return) which crosses the Alaskan Railway tracks and then drops down the hill to a rather pretty lake with vivid blue and green tones and signs of old beaver dams.
The path touched on the Nenana River before returning along the other side of the lake. It was a pleasant walk and a nice way to round off our visit to the park.
That night we found a lovely camping spot on the Nenana River below Carlo Creek so we were handy for breakfast at the nearby Creekside Inn the following morning.
This traditional log cabin set up has a great breakfast – indeed, all day – menu and is much better than anything at the park entrance. Their cake selection is tempting too especially their cinnamon rolls. There is a little gift shop by the bakery and they also have cabins if you want to stay.
The skillets when they came were enormous and we lingered over bottomless coffee – it was proving quite difficult to draw ourselves away from the delights of Denali!
NOTES
The Hurricane Turn train leaves Talkeetna every Thursday through Sunday in the summer season. It also operates a limited winter schedule.
The Roadhouse is a characterful place to stay in town. Latitude 62 is a log cabin motel with a popular local bar and a good breakfast.
Info on Denali can be found here, including campground bookings. Buses can be booked online or in person except for the camper buses which are only bookable in person or via telephone.
Park entry is $15 per person (free with annual America Wide parks pass which is $80)
Plan carefully if you want to go back country as the rangers are loathe to suggest anything! If you prefer trails for long distance hiking, I would suggest you check out the Denali State Park to the south, particularly the scenic K’esugi Ridge trek.
Alaska & Denali