You can only drive the first 15 miles into Denali National Park with your own vehicle. To access the rest of the 90 miles, you must take a tour bus or shuttle, which can be pricey. While I was at the visitor center waiting to ask questions about the shuttle, a couple approached me and gave me their passes for free! Awesome! But they were for the 6:45am shuttle- with 5yr old twins? Ouch! We somehow managed to wake up, take down the tent, pack up and board before it left. Our tickets were for Wonder Lake, a 11.5hr round-trip ride, however, 12 hours on a bus with the kids didn't sound like a good idea, so we made plans to get off at Eilson Visitor Center (which was still 6hrs roundtrip) and wait there for our friends to join us. The driver narrated our trip and told us to yell "STOP!" if we saw an animal.
The shuttle made quick 5-10 minute stops for bathroom breaks or photo opportunities four times before we reached our destination. Here are some photos from stops along the way.
A grouse on a nest.
Our first grizzly sighting, and she has two cubs!
The road runs along the mountainside, offering fantastic views of the vast expanse below.
We stopped at this area that I love called, Polychrome.
We ended up seeing 9 grizzly bears (4 cubs), 4 moose, 6 call sheep, 9 spruce grouse, 3 ptarmigan and 16 caribou (mostly by themselves)- so many that our group decided we didn't need to stop for them anymore!
This was our most exciting experience. We initially saw this grizzly when he was on the other side of the bus, jumping up on his hind legs while hunting a ground squirrel. He then crossed in front of our bus and walked down the road right along our side of the bus! He continued on to the grassy area you see here then deep into the tundra. SO COOL!
A nice view of a braided river, created by glacial silt.
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