Ultimate Guide to Planning a Backpacking Trip in Denali National Park

Intro

Season

Routes & Itineraries

North Side / South Side Routes

To Go Guided or UnGuided?

Gear Suggestions for Alaska

Rescue Insurance

Final Thoughts

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to wild places all over the globe… I still return to Alaska every year because it remains the most awe inspiring place I know.

When people think of Alaska, they think of Denali, The Great One. Denali, along with sister peaks Sultana (Foraker) and Beguya (Mt. Hunter) are like the guardian spirits of central Alaska. The mountain has captured people’s hearts: and for good reason. In 2016 I spent 45 days climbing the mountain by myself and it’s one of the most memorable experiences of my life. There’s so much extraordinary beauty out there it can feel like you’ve been transported to another world. Denali has some of the coolest backpacking on the planet. But I’ve also had some of my most humbling experiences in the Alaska Range, from an eight day backpacking trip where we never once had more than 100 ft of visibility, to crossing rivers in August by breaking the thin layer of ice over the surface.

This guide will cover everything you need to know to plan a successful backpacking trip in Denali National Park. We’ll have helpful tips and tricks whether you want to go on a self-guided or professionally guided trip (or if you’re undecided). Read on to find out.

BEST MONTHS TO BACKPACK DENALI

In truth, you can backpack in Denali year-round if you’re wild and well-prepared enough. But most people will want to go sometime between June 20 and August 15. Before June 20th you’re likely to encounter a good bit of snow left over from winter. After August 15th your chances of encountering fall and winter conditions start to rapidly increase. That being said, of you have good weather mid to late August into September can be an incredible time in the park. You’ll have less crowds and beautiful fall weather. June is generally the least rainy month. But no matter what time you go, you shoulda truly be prepared for any kind of conditions including rain, snow, hail, strong winds and sub-freezing temperatures. Alaska is known to humble the un-prepared (and often the well-prepared too.)

DENALI NATIONAL PARK BACKPACKING ROUTES & ITENERARIES

Choose between the North side and South side of the park

The North side is where nearly everyone goes when they visit Denali National Park. And it’s where most backpackers go, too. The North side is epic and grand. Beautiful rainbow-colored mountains, a plethora of wildlife, and possible massive views of Denali and the surrounding glacier-covered Alaska Range make this an epic place to adventure. But it also comes with some serious backpacking challenges depending on the route you choose / the route you’re granted permits for. Big complex river crossings, endless miles of walking on spongy tundra, bushwhacking, brown bears, and dry glacier travel are all part of the fun.

On the north side of the park, backpackers have to get permits at the backcountry permit office the day before or the day of their adventure. You can not make reservations in advance. Essentially, what this means is that you have to be flexible.

The six million acres of Denali are divided into 87 separate backcountry units, and each unit is thousands of acres in size. Forty-two units have a quota on the number of individuals who may camp there each night. For example, if a quota is 8, there could be 8 solo backpackers, or 4 groups of 2 people, etc. Your backcountry permit will specify the unit in which your party must camp, but you may travel through other units to get there. "Double-booking" a single night in two different units or a unit and a campground is not allowed. All party members must attend a backcountry orientation at the Backcountry Information Center prior to receiving a permit.

What this essentially means, is you must be both flexible and competent. Flexible because it’s very possible your desired route won’t be possible based on permit availability (especially if you found said route on the internet!). And competent because you have to be a good enough route planner and navigator to make it all happen with little advanced planning. If you’re not super comfortable and experienced with off trail backpacking in big wilderness, I’d recommend getting your permits the day before you got into the field and then spending the night nearby to look over maps and plan out your adventure in detail.

Choosing a North Side Route

Depending on your fitness and experience you could consider traveling anywhere from 3 - 10 miles per day. Of course, some folks cover 20… but they’re superhuman. The travel is rugged and often slow, so don’t commit yourself to a route that you can’t finish. As a rough guide, 10 miles on trail in the lower 48 or Europe is about 1-2 miles off trail in Alaska.You can flag down the regularly scheduled park bus anywhere along the Park Access road. So doing present moon routes is as easy and convenient as doing complete loops (and I think more fun!)

A few important things to note:

There are some big rivers in Denali — planning a route that requires you to cross one both increases the risk and also the likelihood of getting shut down. Water levels can fluctuate dramatically based on the weather.
In some cases, walking on dry glacier is a simple thing that can be done without crampons. In other cases they can be a complex maze requiring a solid pair of micro spikes or proper crampons. Come prepared or avoid having to navigate them to complete your route.
Whiteouts aren’t uncommon. Even if you’re old school and use a map and compass, it’s still a very good idea to have your route downloaded onto Gaia or whatever your mapping app is.

Anderson Pass and McGonagal Pass are notable standouts in the park, but really, the whole place is beautiful so I’d encourage you to just go and find out. My one word of warning: the lowlands (and even a lot of the midlands) in Denali are boggy tundra that is downright exhausting to walk on. On one trip my achilles tendons became wildly inflamed because they were being repeatedly hyperextended by the bog. So my recommendation is to just show up and see what’s available but do your best to get above the tundra and stay above the tundra.

You can learn more about the different backcountry units here.

Getting to Denali North Side Routes

Rent a car: this is the simplest option. Rent a car in Anchorage or Fairbanks and drive to the backcountry permit office at the start of the park access road. Either show up early in the morning and leave the same day. Or show up whenever and plan on spending the night in a hotel or AirBnb nearby.

Pros: Easy

Cons: Expensive. And your car just sits there unused while your saunter.

Alaskan Railroad: You can take the Denali Star train from downtown Anchorage all the way to Denali National Park. The cost is about $277 per adult. Depending on the length of your trip this may or may not be cheaper than renting a car.

From Fairbanks though, the cost is only $88 per adult. Flying into Fairbanks and taking the train is the cheapest option all on public transport.

Flying: There are a number of companies that can fly you either to Kantishna or to a landing strip near Healy.

This will be the most expensive option and you’ll still need to use the public park bus to get to your route, but it could be a good option. Especially if one wanted to start and end their trip at the Kantishna Road House.

The South Side of Denali is a whole other ball game for backpacking. Generally, very few non-guided parties go backpacking in this side of the park because the terrain is massive and, other than a three week walk in through alder, is only accessed via bush plane landing either in the Dutch Hills, on snow covered glacier, on the Whale’s Tail, or in a few other hidden spots. If taking off from Talkeetna it’s a good idea to stop in at the Ranger Station. If you’re flying direct from Anchorage, it would suffice to give them a call before you leave.

The Dutch Hills:

The foothills of the Alaska Range. You can drive pretty darn close up Petersville Rd. This could offer an incredible off the beaten path trip — but you won’t really feel immersed in the big mountains in the way that you do on the North Side or on The Whale’s Tail.

Glacier Landing:

Landing on glacier is great — but requires you to bring and know how to use mountaineering gear. Things get heavy fast with this approach. But, if you’re a competent mountaineer with lightweight gear it could open up an entire world of possibility. Modern ropes like Petzl’s Rad line make this a compelling possibility. People have been known to fly into the mountains, land on glacier, and hike out / packrat out back to Talkeetna.

The Whale’s Tail:

Definitely some of the most epic backpacking you can do in Denali and one of the most incredible trips in Alaska — but you’re unlikely to convince an air service to fly you in unguided. If you’re interested in this area, we offer one or two guided trips to the Whale’s Tail each year and custom trips for groups of 4 or more.

Getting to Denali South side routes

For the south side, you’ll either want to drive up Petersville Rd with an AWD vehicle, fly in from Anchorage or fly in from Talkeetna.

Talkeetna Air Taxi and K2 Aviation can land on just about any snow covered glacier out there conditions permitting.

Sheldon Air Service can get you into the Dutch Hills and surrounding areas.

Rusts Flying Service may (unlikely and expensive) be willing to fly you into the park.

K’esugi Ridge Trail

While technically not in Denali National Park, the 29 mile long K’esugi Ridge trail gets an honorable mention. If the weather is good and clear you’ll have incredible sweeping views of Denali all while hiking on good trail. Because it’s a one way trail you’ll either need to do an out and back, have two cards, or do some hitchhiking (generally easy to do in AK). It’s only a few hours north of Anchorage and you don’t need any permits. This is one of the only good trails in the entire state!

There’s lots of information about the route on the internet so it shouldn’t be too hard to plan. Here’s a good place to start.

TO GO ON A GUIDED OR UNGUIDED BACKPACKING TRIP IN ALASKA?

Whether to go on a guided backpacking trip in Alaska or run the trip yourself comes down to a few important considerations.

We have a lot of fun together! There’s something about remote wilderness that can make the most unlikely strangers into the best of friends.

Skill: Do you and the people in your group have the skills and know-how to safely pull off the trip you want to go on? In addition to all the basic backpacking skills, do you
1. Know how to competently navigate off trail without getting lost, even in severe weather or complete multi-day whiteout conditions?
2. How to switch routes last minute and navigate without any prior route preparation.
3. Know how to safely navigate grizzly and black bear country?
4. Know how to manage complex wilderness medicine and rescue scenarios when rescue may be many days away?
5. Know how to cross (or avoid) swift and deep rivers safely?
6. Know how to keep everyone warm and non-hypothermic even if it rains every day of your trip without ever getting a chance to dry things out or start a fire?
Logistics: Do you have the desire to put all the logistics together yourself. Would that be fun for you?
1. Planes, permits, trains, gear, food, routes, emergency plans, finding the best areas with the nicest travel and most beautiful scenery?
Would you enjoy joining a group and building group culture and cohesion?
1. This is always a bit of a curveball. On a guided trip you’ll be with people you’ve never met before. That can be incredible and sometimes it can be challenging. With rare exception, people come out of our trips saying the connections and friendships they forged to other people in the group were one of the standout highlights.
2. On the other hand, curating your own group can be awesome — you can share those memories with loved ones for the rest of your lives.
3. If choosing a guided group, definitely check how big the groups are. This can make a big difference. At Indigo Alpine Guides, we keep our groups limited to seven people. We find this provides a way better feel than trips with 10 or more people.

GEAR SUGGESTIONS FOR BACKPACKING DENALI

I’m not going to go through a full packing list, just some helpful suggestions. Of course, use your own judgement and experience.

Avoid down clothes. No cotton clothes. No down sleeping bags. Honestly, sometimes you just get soaked to the bone in Alaska — having synthetic clothing and sleeping bag (which keep you warm even when wet) can add a huge margin of safety and comfort.
Super strong tents with 6ft of p cord at each corner so you can use rocks instead of stakes for anchors (good for strong winds.
Ursack. Honestly, bear cans suck. If you can afford an Ursack it’s a worthwhile investment. Otherwise you can use your own bear can or rent them from the park for free.
Non-GoreTex Footwear. You will get your feet wet on your Denali backpacking route. Gore-Tex just means that your shoes will take longer to dry when the sun does come out. A good pair of camp shoes is also a big plus! Crocs without holes in them are my go to.
Gaia! I personally use Gaia for all my backcountry travel. But whatever you use, it’s good to not be reliant on paper maps. On one trip I did almost 10 years ago, it was so windy and rainy and snowy that our map literally disintegrated even with our best intentions to keep it protected in plastic.
No backpack rain covers. They rip off while bushwhacking. Instead, line your backpack with a thick compactor bag. Just twist and tuck the top of the bag to create a water tight seal.
Make sure you check with any planes or public transport about carrying fuel, bear spray, or firearms. You may need to use a specific kind of fuel or buy directly from them.
You do not need a gun to travel in Alaska! Bear spray is absolutely adequate. Practice good conservative bear awareness and you will never need bearspray or a gun.
An InReach. This is a good idea no matter what. But if you’re relying on a plane to pick you up it’s essential. Make sure you get a textable number from your pilot before you leave.

RESCUE INSURANCE

We’re going to write a whole article about rescue insurance so keep an eye out for that. But basically, Alaska is remote. Any rescue could cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Most travel insurance companies won’t actually cover remote rescue. When you buy a policy, make sure you confirm that they actually cover the adventure you’re going on. On personal trips, I have a pretty high risk tolerance, but I still choose to have rescue insurance year round. I highly recommend having it. But I even more highly recommend you don’t let the modern (relative) ease of rescue influence your wilderness risk tolerance. Just because you have an InReach with an insurance policy, doesn’t mean you ever want to have to use it.

2 options I recommend:

If you have an InReach, purchase their SAR 100 plan. This is cost effective and will smoothly integrate with any rescues initiated from your InReach. This plan only covers the one person who owns the device. You will need to purchase seperate policies for each person on your trip if you want them to be covered.
Global Rescue. This company is the gold standard for wilderness rescue and the only insurance I trust for my remote trips in places like Alaska.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope you’ve found this helpful! Of course, if you want to go on a guided backpacking trip in Denali, check out our Denali Whale’s Tail Trip, or reach out about a custom adventure anywhere in Alaska. Or if you’re planning a personal trip and have some questions, feel free to reach out. I also offer paid trip consultations for folks who have a lot of questions and / or want help creating a route.

If you go out on a trip and this guide helped out, tell me about it in the comments! Always keen to hear people’s stories!

Jack BynumApril 17, 2024Comment