We finished our chores in Fairbanks (laundry, dump/fill tanks, propane, groceries, Alaska Public Lands Visitors Center and headed back south to Denali. We have 4 nights reservations at the campground in Teklanika River, although will likely leave late on the 7th since I have another cardio appointment on the 8th in Anchorage. We made it to the park around 2pm, checked in, got a shower, and checked out the visitors center. Before 1957 you could not drive here with the only access by train. People still use the train to get to Denali from Fairbanks and Anchorage.
We drove the park road and made it to camp around 6. Since we were here a few days we set up the shelter. It’s a good thing we did since the rain started at 10PM and went all night.
The next morning we had bus passes to ride up to where the end of the road is. Apparently the visitor center at mile 60 some is not open because the road is still being repaired from a landslide several years ago. We enjoyed the ride, and walked 3 to 4 miles at the very end through the river bed, across the bridge, and then up several miles on the Park Road. We checked out a little side road to one of the Rangers cabins, and found some fairly fresh bear prints. We didn’t actually see the bear fortunately, but we did see a caribou running down the creek.
it rained again once we got back to camp, but then the sun came out and it’s supposed to be really nice for the next couple days. Maybe we’ll get to see Mount McKinley. Tonight it’s grilled chicken for dinner over a fire that will hopefully be able to have.
here are some additional photos from the day. https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250804-05-denali-np-day-12