Alaska CruiseTour . 2012 . Sep 23
The
Denali Natural History Tour (priced at $99 per pax) is bundled into our cruisetour package with Princess Cruises as a
complimentary tour. The tour takes about
5 hours, and it brings us into
mile 17 of the Denali National Park and Preserve. We had high hopes of viewing wildlife in the National Park, but as the name of the tour suggests, this tour focus more on the natural and cultural history of the park, rather than the wildlife that you can find in the park.
Before the start of the tour, we were offered the option to upgrade this tour to the
Tundra Wilderness Tour which brings us deeper into Denali National Park
up to Mile 53 for $20 per pax. But this tour takes
9 hours and will start only in the afternoon, meaning that it will be late night by the time we get back to the
Lodge!
Our driver cum narrator, a retired US Marine gives us an overview of
Denali National Park on the short drive to the entrance of Denali National Park. We were considered lucky to be able to do this tour, as weather conditions has deteriorated over the last few days, and the road in Denali National Park may be closed if it rains or snows too heavily.
Our tour bus that brings us into Denali National Park.Note: the buses used for this tour are school buses and are not equipped with an onboard restroom unlike the motor coaches. However, there are regular toilet breaks during the tour.
Wilderness Access Center
Located at
Mile 1 of the Denali Park Road, the first stop at the Denali National Park and Preserve is at the
Wilderness Access Center. This is the place where the film
“Across Time and Tundra” is screened. It narrates the early efforts on the demarcation and development of the Denali National Park and Preserve and the visitors of early visitors.
Into Denali National Park and Preserve
Our very accommodating driver cum narrator makes stops along the Denali Park Road for us to spot some wildlife. Some people in our bus swear that they saw a herd of
Dall Sheeps at the hill tops and others say they saw
bald eagles. But no matter how we try to zoom in on our binoculars, we could only see scrubs and soil!! These animals are too camouflaged for us to make out where they are!!
A patch of wild berries, abundant throughout the park.
The endless tundra. The Denali National Park and Preserve covers almost 6 million acres of wildland, about
34 times the size of Singapore! Denali National Park is home to about
2000 moose,
1700 caribous,
2500 Dall Sheeps, more than
300 grizzly bears and about
100 wolves. That is a lot lesser than the 5 million humans dwelling in tiny Singapore!
Finally, we got to see a bull Moose out in the open. This is the closest that we ever got to a live Moose. We were simply driving by when passengers seated on the right hand side screamed for the driver to stop for they had spotted a moose!
Savage Cabin
This is the second pit stop of the tour. The
Savage Cabin is an example of the living conditions of the early Park Rangers taking care of the
Denali National Park. Entry into the cabin is not allowed, and we can only peek in through the window.
Sharp nails at the windows to deter Grizzly Bear attacks.
Denali Park Road
The Denali Park Road. The Denali Park Road is 92 miles long and is the only road that runs into Denali National Park. To prevent traffic congestion and minimize visitor impact, private vehicles are not allowed into the park from 14.8 miles onwards.
The landscape of Denali National Park is constantly changing as the glaciers that have carved out this area is retreating.
On good days, weather permitting,
Mt McKinley the highest mountain in North America is visible at Denali National Park. But the mountain keeps eluding us..
Primrose Ridge
The last stop and the turn-around point for the Denali Natural History Tour.
Primrose Ridge is located at Mile 17. An Alaska Native is invited to give a presentation about their culture and customs and the history of this vast expanse of land.
We were quite surprised to see a bin in the middle of the wilderness. Wouldn’t it attract really hungry grizzlies to dig into the bin for food scrapes?
Stunning views of the tundra at Primrose Ridge.
Complimentary bottled water and snacks provided for the tour.
A complimentary Denali guidebook was also given at the end of the trip.
We enjoyed the Denali Natural History Tour very much, but we find that this tour barely scratches the surface. If your main purpose in going to Denali National Park is to observe wildlife, then you may have to note that the Grizzly Bears, foxes, wolves and Moose are usually only spotted if you travel deeper into Denali National Park.
As mentioned earlier, private vehicles are not allowed into Denali National Park and Preserve from mile 14.8 onwards. Other than the tour buses, the National Park also provides complimentary shuttle services into the park, but this is more suited for people who would like to hike in the park.
If you are hoping to take a bus into Denali National Park and cannot decide on which bus/tour to take, the
official website of Denali National Park gives a very good comparison and guide as to which tour you can pick:
http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/which-bus-to-choose.htm.
Denali Natural History TourMile 238 5 George Parks Hwy
Denali National Park, AK
Phone: 907-683-2282
Join us in our next article on our breakfast next morning at the
King Salmon Restaurant.
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