Denali wildlife sightings -- best time to take the bus?

I'll be in Denali in late July for one day. I'm going to take one of the non-narrated tour buses into the park, along with my wife and two children (one teen, one 7 years old).

I'm trying to figure out the best time to book the bus. The sun sets near 11:20pm in Denali, and I've heard that your best chance at wildlife sightings comes near dawn and dusk. Sunrise is about 4:30am so there's no chance I'll be there for that.

I am considering taking a 5pm bus into the park, and catching the last one back, arriving at 11pm.

There is also a 3pm bus, arriving back at 9pm. I could get off that bus and catch later one (arriving 11pm) back, but I'm not sure if the kids will have the energy for all those hours.

What do you think? Aside from spending the night (can't do it) or spending a very long day in Denali (also can't do it), am I better off with the 3pm or 5pm bus?

Pretty sure the 9:30am and 12:15pm buses aren't going to be good, because I imagine the animals will be hiding/sleeping.

I spent 2 nights at the Denali Backcountry Lodge last month which is located at the very back of the Park, 92 miles in. Our bus in left around 1:00pm & our bus out left at 6:00am. So between the 2 trips, I have now driven the length of the Park from 6am to 7pm.

From my recent experience, the time of day did not matter. The wildlife is unpredictable but actually very similar on both trips. The animals were definitely not sleeping from 6am-noon when I was there.

On each trip we saw lots of caribou, some moose, dall sheep way up in the mountains, a male grizzly off in the distance, and what we believed to be the same mama grizzly & her 2 cubs although they were really close to the road on the way in & farther away on the way out. We also saw tons of ground squirrels. Lastly, we saw a porcupine on one trip & a marmot on the other.

Short version... I’m not sure the time of day matters & would personally choose based on your schedule as well as do anything you can to spend as much time in the Park as you can.

Hope this helps.

To see wildlife you want to take the shuttle bus at least as far as Eielson. The last shuttle to Eielson leaves around 2pm. The minimum distance to see wildlife is Toklat. You need to invest at least 6-7 hours into the tour to maximize your chance of seeing bears.

To see wildlife you want to take the shuttle bus at least as far as Eielson. The last shuttle to Eielson leaves around 2pm. The minimum distance to see wildlife is Toklat. You need to invest at least 6-7 hours into the tour to maximize your chance of seeing bears.

That's a separate discussion, but I'm glad you brought it up.

I was afraid the kids would already be restless going to Toklat (6 hours round trip, right?), and I didn't want to add another 1.5 on top of it to go to Eielson.

So if I get of at Toklat and go back, are you saying that I'll be cheating myself as far as seeing wildlife? I know I have to purchase the Eielson shuttle instead of Toklat if I want to do that, but I'm afraid it will be too much for the kids.

I consider Toklat the minimum to see bears, but the great view of the mountain if it’s out is closer to Eielson. You get a half hour at Eielson to let the kids walk around. I would buy the tickets to Eielson since they’re cheap and the kids are free and see how it goes. You can always get off the bus and get another shuttle going back... I try to go as early in the day as possible. As another poster pointed out, there’s no big difference in wildlife by time of day, unless it’s one of those there 80 degree days. If you have a car, you can drive in as far as Savage River, which if fun to do in the evening after the buses are done.

I agree with Wolfie .... the Eielson shuttle is your best bet. Toklat is on the edge of prime bear watching territory so your better off taking the extra 90 minutes for Eielson.

I prefer to take the shuttle between 8am-9am, but I've gone as late as 2pm. Had great wildlife sightings every time. I've also had rain every trip, even a brief snow flurry in late August. I've read that sunny warm weather is the only thing that negatively impacts sightings ; if it gets too warm the animals seek out shade and are harder to spot.

I prefer 8-9am because it works for me and my usual schedule .... I don't want to get up early and be grumpy and tired all day, and this schedule gets me to Eielson around noon-1pm which is a great time and place for my sack lunch. Plus Eielson is an actual destination with rangers, exhibits, trails, water fountain, flush toilets, and a bus dispatcher in case you want to hike and take a later bus back.

I've never experienced kids misbehaving on the shuttles (only loud adults), and I've ridden with kids from 3 months to 16yrs. The drivers always announce that passengers are the Wildlife Spotters and each kid wants to be the FIRST to see something so they're usually very focused on the way out. On the return trip, I'd say more than half the passengers, kids and adults, fall asleep.

You might want to pick up a free Jr Ranger at the Visitor Center for the 7yr old. He/she can work on the guide during the bus trip.

https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm

Additional info for families:

https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/kidsyouth/index.htm

Have a great trip!

As others have said: time of day is not nearly important as length of time in the park.

Another Alaskan chiming in -- I believe that folks short-change themselves if they don't go into Denali as far as Eielson Visitor's Center.

Okay, I think I'll spring for Eielson.

If we bail out early, or if we stop on the way back at Toklat or something, can we take back the Toklat bus, or only the Eielson bus?

You can board any shuttle with seats available.

There is no "best". :) I also find some of the claims above, based on a very limited sample, is pretty useless. :)

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Denali is not a zoo, everyone won't get those "close" views or numbers of sightings. Binoculars are necessary. And distance is your best friend, the farther you go, the more viewing opportunities. I also agree Eielson is the minimum. They have a very nice Visitor Center. I'd suggest checking your activity schedule, and perhaps consider that timing? The stop at Eielson will nicely break up the bus ride. IF you are concerned about your kids. Be realistic, some do not do well, and although minimized above, I've had 2 runs with disruptive, unprepared kids on the bus. One- the bus simply stopped along the road, looked up at the clueless parents and stated they "needed to take a break" and the bus door opened. Everyone looking at them probably helped move them along.

Be certain, to bring triple the games and snacks you think you'll need. and extra batteries and headphones. Get off the bus, if needed. So, a suggestion- NOT to take the last bus. A negative to not have some time for extras.

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses.

Based upon the feedback I received here, I decided to buy the Eielson tickets.

However, I made a foolish mistake and thought that I booked the 2pm (last) Eielson shuttle instead of the 1pm! I realized this mistake when eating lunch in the area at 12:55! Ooooops

In a panic, we high tailed it over there, and got there about 1:10. The 1pm bus had left. I was glad to see that the 2pm still had seats available. However, they have a ridiculous policy that there's no way to transfer seats, even if you're willing to pay the $6/ticket change fee! They only transfer with 24+ hours remaining.

So what were my options? I could either get on a "standby" list, which would only let me on the bus if it didn't fill up, or I could just forfeit my tickets and buy new ones. Terrible!

This is a ridiculous policy. If there's seats available, why not just let you transfer them for the $6?

After trying to reason with the guy, and repeatedly offering to pay the $6/ticket transfer fee, he finally took pity on me and made an "exception", charging me the $6 for the two adult tickets, so I was booked on the 2pm bus for just a $12 penalty. Phew!

Anyway, the weather was mostly cloudy and around 70 degrees. We saw relatively few animals on the way to Eielson. We saw some ptarmigan chicks near the beginning (cool, because I had never seen a ptarmigan before), and then some sheep high up on the mountain. But that was it through Toklat. Even worse, the clouds were thick and completely covering Denali, so there was virtually no hope in seeing the mountain.

Between Toklat and Eielson, we saw three sleeping Grizzlies, and someone saw a caribou but didn't point it out in time, and the driver was unable to reverse due to the narrow and dangerous road.

I had taken this bus 23 years ago, but didn't remember the treacherous mountain driving it had to do! Kinda scary at some points, especially when two buses have to squeeze by each other on a steep mountain road!

At Eielson, Denali was still under thick clouds, and even the driver conceded that we wouldn't be seeing it.

I told my family that I was optimistic that the ride back (starting at about 6:30pm) might produce more animal sightings, given the later hour. I know many of you asserted that time of day doesn't matter, but that hasn't been my experience in other places with wildlife, and I assumed that closer to evening would be better.

And indeed it was.

On the way back, we got a closer view of the same bears, and then saw caribou, different sheep (a lot lower down on the mountain), a moose, and even a porcupine, which ran by too quickly to see clearly and then disappeared

But the big surprise... near the end of the drive, at about 9:30pm, there was Denali! Totally clear view. Somehow the clouds cleared up. True, we weren't as close as Eielson, but it was great to be able to see it. Supposedly the clouds had been consistently covering it for the prior 4 days, so we got really lucky.

The bus was also relatively empty, with several empty seats, and we didn't pick up many additional passengers. I think that was also due to the late time we started (2pm).

So here are my suggestions for anyone looking into which bus to take, like I did:

1) Take the bus to Eielson

2) Take the last or second-to-last one

3) Stops weren't that exciting. You'll probably just want to ride the bus to Eielson and get off for the brief periods during the scheduled stops. I found those to be more than enough.

4) If you can coordinate your visit with the weather, try as hard as you can to ride the bus on a clear or mostly clear day. I was told that they hold back 35% of the bus seats until 48 hours before, so if you call right when they open 2 days before your planned visit, you can almost surely get seats.

5) Bring water and snacks! They do not sell food, and there is only one water refilling station -- at Eielson.

6) Binoculars for animal viewing are a must!

Hi everyone, thanks for your responses.

 

Based upon the feedback I received here, I decided to buy the Eielson tickets.

 

However, I made a foolish mistake and thought that I booked the 2pm (last) Eielson shuttle instead of the 1pm! I realized this mistake when eating lunch in the area at 12:55! Ooooops

 

In a panic, we high tailed it over there, and got there about 1:10. The 1pm bus had left. I was glad to see that the 2pm still had seats available. However, they have a ridiculous policy that there's no way to transfer seats, even if you're willing to pay the $6/ticket change fee! They only transfer with 24+ hours remaining.

 

So what were my options? I could either get on a "standby" list, which would only let me on the bus if it didn't fill up, or I could just forfeit my tickets and buy new ones. Terrible!

 

This is a ridiculous policy. If there's seats available, why not just let you transfer them for the $6?

Sorry but I disagree. You missed your scheduled time. It was not an open ticket. You were lucky you got an "exception". Their policy is written and it was agreed upon with the purchase.

Sorry but I disagree. You missed your scheduled time. It was not an open ticket. You were lucky you got an "exception". Their policy is written and it was agreed upon with the purchase.

Oh, I agree I got lucky that the guy made an exception, and I thanked him profusely for it!

However, their policy is still stupid.

When you miss your scheduled time, if they still have room on subsequent buses, they should allow you to transfer the reservation for some kind of transfer fee. It's absurd that I would have to go on the waiting list behind people who haven't bought their tickets yet!

I do realize that this was their (stupid) written policy, so I didn't fault the individual employee for this. On the contrary, I was thankful he helped me when he didn't have to.

But the policy was still dumb.

I'll be in Denali in late July for one day. I'm going to take one of the non-narrated tour buses into the park, along with my wife and two children (one teen, one 7 years old).

 

I'm trying to figure out the best time to book the bus. The sun sets near 11:20pm in Denali, and I've heard that your best chance at wildlife sightings comes near dawn and dusk. Sunrise is about 4:30am so there's no chance I'll be there for that.

 

I am considering taking a 5pm bus into the park, and catching the last one back, arriving at 11pm.

 

There is also a 3pm bus, arriving back at 9pm. I could get off that bus and catch later one (arriving 11pm) back, but I'm not sure if the kids will have the energy for all those hours.

 

What do you think? Aside from spending the night (can't do it) or spending a very long day in Denali (also can't do it), am I better off with the 3pm or 5pm bus?

 

Pretty sure the 9:30am and 12:15pm buses aren't going to be good, because I imagine the animals will be hiding/sleeping.

We actually took the 930am Eielson shuttle and saw quite a bit of wildlife including bears. One was a momma with tiny cubs.

Did you see the wildlife mostly on the way there or the way back?

Maybe it was cool enough at 9:30 to where a lot of the wildlife was still out.

Two weeks ago we were on the 8:30 shuttle to Eielson. We saw our first moose before we left the paved road. On the way to Eielson we saw more moose, caribou, dall sheep, eagles and some saw a white fox but I missed him. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and Denali was in full view. We ate on the bus before arriving at Eielson and did a short hike there and checked out the visitors center. We took the same bus back and saw one bear and then another with her cub. There were a few children on our bus and they were very interested in looking for and seeing the wildlife. They did plan to hike at the time and take a later shuttle down. We saw them the next day at the Dogsled demo and they saw more than we did on the way down!

I thought we may be bored or tired of the bus but we were not at all. Have a great time!

I'll repeat- :) There is NO best time. You can't "recommend" a time based on a single trip. That experience is never going to repeat. Every entry is different, and unknown. It's a mistake to make choices based on the past.

I've gone in successive days, and there was NO similarity. Wildlife and weather was totally different. It changes multiple times during the day.

I've seen plenty of wildlife in Denali on multiple trips, over 20 years. There is nothing I can predict. :) (I've only seen a full view of Denali in the park ONCE, last year).

We are going to be in AK in a few weeks on a land tour prior to our cruise and booked the Eielson shuttle at 6:30 am. We are early morning people and are always up by 5ish at the latest, even while on vacation--my DH usually way before that, he is normally up at midnight for work so even sleeping till 3 am is late for him. We are hoping to see some of the wildlife, but of course, it is always a gamble. Also hoping to see the mountain itself. The cabin we rented has bag lunches for sale so we will most likely do that. We will have our own car so can get to the pick up point in plenty of time. We love the beauty and quiet of the early morning and often sit on our porch at home listening to the birds and watching the sun come up.

Living in WI, we do see wildlife everyday in our yard, but not like we will there! We are really looking forward to this trip, it has been on my husband's bucket list for a long time. I have been planning and researching for 2+ years, I can't believe we leave in 4 weeks!!!