Denali road closure

[ptbenner]

Hello! My husband and I are considering booking a 2024 Alaskan cruise. I heard the road into Denali is closed about halfway through. What would we miss? Should we wait until it opens in 2026? I expect this will be our only trip to Alaska so we want to hit all the "must-sees," or at least as many as possible. Thanks!

[Hogladyrider]

42 minutes ago, ptbenner said:

Hello! My husband and I are considering booking a 2024 Alaskan cruise. I heard the road into Denali is closed about halfway through. What would we miss? Should we wait until it opens in 2026? I expect this will be our only trip to Alaska so we want to hit all the "must-sees," or at least as many as possible. Thanks!

I did a land trip to Denali in 2014 and we took the bus all 92 miles into the end of the road in Denali and stayed at Kantishna Roadhouse lodge for 2 nights....WELL WORTH the 92 miles....for wildlife sighting.  If you only plan on Alaska once I would wait until the road will open again.

 

I am looking at Alaska for the 3rd time and will wait until the road is open all the way, but just my two cents.

[surgie]

We are cruising in 2024 and will go back as a land trip when the road opens. It is not worth it to me to go party way. But...if you know it's your only trip to AK then I guess you'll have to decide if it's worth it to you:) 

[Northern Aurora]

The single road into Denali is closed about mile 43.  Work on the bridge project just started last month.  The National Park Service is hoping to have the road fully accessible in 2025 but who knows?

 

What folks are missing from the Denali experience includes the Polychrome Overlook (mile 46), the Toklat River rest stop (mile 53), the Stony Hill Overlook (mile 62) and the Eielson Visitor's Center (mile 66).  My perspective, as someone who lives about a 2.25 hour drive north of the entrance to Denali National Park, is that someone who doesn't go into the park at least as far as Eielson Visitor's Center has shortchanged themselves on the Denali experience.

 

While Denali is heavily sold by the cruise lines it certainly is not the only road accessible interesting park in Alaska.  As an alternative consider Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve.  Also consider researching the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark and the town of McCarthy.  May be of interest.  Gorgeous area.

[PNW Traveler]

We did the bus trip last year when the road was closed.  The closure is far earlier along the road than halfway, and misses some of the more special wildlife sighting areas that are farther in on the road.  I've done this same trip twice before, all the way to the end, and the best sightings were definitely farther into the park.  On one trip I counted more than 300 sightings and then stopped counting!

Denali is still an amazing place to visit.  The mountain is there in all its glory.  The sled dog kennels are open near the visitor center complete with a ranger talk, demonstration,  and a walk through the kennel area.  We saw many moose, mostly females with calves.

[KruisinKath]

12 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

The single road into Denali is closed about mile 43.  Work on the bridge project just started last month.  The National Park Service is hoping to have the road fully accessible in 2025 but who knows?

 

What folks are missing from the Denali experience includes the Polychrome Overlook (mile 46), the Toklat River rest stop (mile 53), the Stony Hill Overlook (mile 62) and the Eielson Visitor's Center (mile 66).  My perspective, as someone who lives about a 2.25 hour drive north of the entrance to Denali National Park, is that someone who doesn't go into the park at least as far as Eielson Visitor's Center has shortchanged themselves on the Denali experience.

 

While Denali is heavily sold by the cruise lines it certainly is not the only road accessible interesting park in Alaska.  As an alternative consider Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve.  Also consider researching the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark and the town of McCarthy.  May be of interest.  Gorgeous area.

Unfortunately, the latest updates have pushed it to 2026.  We’re going in July 2025, so I’m wrestling with whether to focus on other areas or hit Denali. 😗

[AKJonesy]

You can keep your eye on updates directly from NPS here:  https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

 

Excellent information post #4