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Learn and Explore
Visiting Denali during a pandemic is going to be a little bit confusing!
Most park operations (e.g., when visitor centers, campgrounds, and other facilities are open) will be changed from normal years. Certain facilities will be closed to the public, while other facilities will have adjusted hours and seasons.
Park Operations Altered Due to COVID-19
Below is a list of information pertinent to trip planners in summer 2021. If you encounter discrepancies between other parts of our website and this information, go with what you see below. This supersedes all other trip planning information during this pandemic.
Visitor Centers & Other Facilities
- The Denali Visitor Center outdoor desk is open from May 15 to August 1, 9 am to 5 pm daily. Rangers will be on hand to answer trip planning questions, distribute maps and brochures, sell park passes and collect park entrance fees, and help kids connect with the park’s Junior Ranger program. The interior of the facility will open on August 2, 2021; at that point, the facility will be open daily, 9 am to 5 pm, until late September.
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The Eielson Visitor Center outdoor desk is open from June 1 to September 21. Eielson Visitor Center is located at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road and is only accessible by bus.
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The Murie Science and Learning Center is closed for summer 2021.
- The Backcountry Information Center (adjacent to the Denali Bus Depot) is open from May 15 to September 22, 10 am to 4 pm daily. Please note that you must reserve your backcountry permit in advance: Learn more about backpacking in summer 2021.
Entrance Fees & Passes
Entrance fees to Denali are required. Visitors can learn about fees & passes in Denali and pay their park entrance fees online in advance, or upon arrival to the entrance area of the park. The Denali Annual Pass is also available for purchase online. You must be able to show a park pass or proof of online purchase (on a mobile device or printed receipt) if asked by a park ranger.
Buses
Reservations for 2021 summer bus trips opened on December 1, 2020. Buses in Denali are operated by our commercial partner, Doyon/Aramark Joint Venture. Visitors should read the Joint Venture's statement on COVID-19 to understand how riding a bus will work this summer.
A noteworthy change for 2021: Most buses will travel no farther than Eielson Visitor Center (Mile 66).
- Service on May 20 started, as always, with non-narrated transit buses going to Toklat River (Mile 53). Narrated tour buses also began going to Toklat River on that date.
- On June 1, transit buses began going as far as Eielson (Mile 66). Transit buses operate until September 16.
- Wonder Lake Campground (Mile 85, see below) is open June 8 to September 16. Camper buses travel to Wonder Lake, so that campers may come and go from the campground. However, no other transit buses will travel beyond Eielson Visitor Center. Thus, the only way to travel by bus beyond Eielson is to stay at Wonder Lake Campground one or more nights. Cycling or hiking west beyond Eielson is generally allowed, though visitors should keep in mind that there are very few buses to potentially board and come back out of the park west of Eielson.
Campgrounds
All of our campgrounds will be open in 2021—including Wonder Lake Campground, which was closed in 2020. Advanced reservations for all campgrounds are strongly recommended. As mentioned above, day-trips to Wonder Lake via bus will not be available in 2021. The only service to Wonder Lake will be camper buses, for campers traveling to or from Wonder Lake.
Campers are asked to do their part in maintaining social distancing. Bring all supplies for adequate sanitation. It is the responsibility of each camper to understand current Alaska State Health Mandates and their applicability to visitors' camping experience.
Facilities
- The Denali Bus Depot and Riley Creek Mercantile opened on May 20, 2021, and both facilities will only accept credit/debit cards in 2021. Cash will not be accepted at either location. These two facilities are where campers check in for their campground, and where bus tickets may be purchased. The Mercantile also has food and other camping supplies. The Denali Bus Depot will be open from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm and the Riley Creek Mercantile will be open from 1 pm to 10 pm, daily.
- The Riley Creek Mercantile shower and laundry facilities will not be open for the 2021 season. Additionally, the restrooms at the Mercantile will not open in 2021; there are restrooms throughout the campground, however. Refer to our Riley Creek Campground info for a map of restrooms.
Ranger Programs
- The Denali Sled Dog Kennels (Mile 3.4 of the Denali Park Road) will be open to visitors from 10 am to 4 pm daily, from May 15 – September 21. Visitors to the Sled Dog Kennels will have the opportunity to walk through the dog yard, home to the park’s canine rangers, talk with rangers about the work sled dogs do to protect park wilderness and learn about mushing through outdoor exhibits.
- Sled Dog Demonstrations and Discovery Hikes will not occur in 2021.
- Availability of other ranger-led programs is yet to be determined. Check at the Denali Visitor Center, Eielson Visitor Center or on park bulletin boards for available ranger programs on the day of your visit.
Teklanika Road Permits
Permits allowing private vehicles to travel some of the restricted portion of the park road—between the Savage River Check Station (Mile 15) and the Teklanika Rest Stop (Mile 30)—will be available during summer 2021, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 2021 Updates:
- Starting April 20, 2021, permits could be purchased through Recreation.gov.
- Teklanika Road Permits are sold out. Additional permits will only become available in the event that a permit booking is cancelled by a permit holder.
- No walk-up permits are available in the park—permits must be reserved online ahead of the date you wish to visit.
This is a unique summer opportunity to take in Denali’s scenery from a private vehicle and watch for wildlife, big and small, along the way. Visitors may pause to watch wildlife from their vehicle, but must follow wildlife viewing rules and the terms of the permit for duration of time at a viewing stop. Plan for two hours of drive-time round trip. Travel is on a two-lane winding, gravel road. Visitors who wish to travel farther into the park should explore bus options at reservedenali.com.
- Cost: A permit costs $25 per vehicle. This cost does not include the park entrance fee—visitors must either show that they already have a valid park pass, or pay the park entrance fee online through Recreation.gov when purchasing the permit. Learn more about park entry fees & passes.
- Reservation frequency: Individuals may reserve one permit for one private vehicle per day to travel past Savage River (Mile 15). To maximize how many visitors can partake in this program, permit reservations cannot be purchased consecutive days. However, an individual may reserve non-consecutive days. The reservation holder must be in the vehicle at time of entry.
- Vehicle length restrictions: The maximum allowable length for vehicles using a permit is 40 feet. No trailers of any kind are allowed during permit use, including bike trailers. If you have a valid reservation at the Teklanika Campground on the same day as your Teklanika Road Permit, you may leave a trailer at your campsite as long as the trailer in tow is integral to the camping experience.
- Checking in:
- Permit holders must check in at the Savage River Check Station no later than 45 minutes after their ticket start time (e.g., if you reserved a start time of 9 am, you must arrive between 9 am and 9:45 am to use your permit). Plan for a 30-minute drive from the park entrance to Savage River (Mile 15). Please keep our rangers healthy by ensuring all vehicle occupants wear a mask or face-covering during vehicle check-in.
- Permits are valid for one round-trip drive. Once vehicles have left the restricted section of road, there is no reentry (i.e., if you drive past Savage River for a few miles and then remember something you left near the park entrance, you cannot go retrieve the item and then resume driving to Teklanika).
- Pets: Pets that fit inside your vehicle are welcome. If your pet disturbs wildlife when you pause to view animals, you must continue driving to prevent your pet from harassing wildlife. Leashed pets (6' or shorter leash) may be walked on the park road, in parking lots, or on campground roads. Tethered pets may not be left unattended and pets may not be transported in the open bed of a truck. In general, pets are not permitted on park trails nor off-trail—the exceptions to this rule are the Roadside Trail and the Bike Path, both of which are located near the park entrance.
- Parking & stopping:
- Permit reservation holders may park in spots designated by green cones and go on a day hike. There are no formal trails in this area of the park. Hikers must be prepared to navigate off-trail, follow all wildlife safety precautions, and practice Leave No Trace principles.
- The road permit may not be paired with an overnight backpacking trip. No overnight parking is allowed.
- Download a parking map for Teklanika Rest Area (which also shows the way traffic should flow through this area). Because private vehicles will be sharing this relatively small parking lot with bus traffic, there are specific locations you can park depending on the size of your vehicle. Very generally, buses will park in the center of the rest area parking lot; smaller private vehicles will park behind or in front of them, along the edges of the parking area, and oversize vehicles (e.g., RVs) will park either at the extreme southwest end of the parking lot, or along the shoulder of the park road. Please use the appropriate parking area for your vehicle!
- Camping: Permits may be combined with a Teklanika Campground Reservation, however, the distance between the campground and the permit terminus is one mile so visitors do not gain much driveable distance. Visitors camping at Teklanika Campground may prefer to explore transit bus options to travel farther into the park.
- Other considerations:
- Permit holders may park and bike on the Denali Park Road past the road permit terminus at Mile 30.
- No drinking water or food for purchase is available beyond Mile 15. Restrooms are located at Savage River (Mile 15), Teklanika Rest Area (Mile 30).
Road Lottery
The annual Denali Road Lottery will occur as usual.
Conditions on the Denali Park Road
The map below illustrates which parts of the park road are open to private vehicles (thick green line) and, in summer, to bus traffic (thin black line). Red indicates sections of road closed. Icons also indicate which park campgrounds are open.
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