Camp Ridge Trail

McKinley Bar Trail is a 5 mile roundtrip hike that is located 1/4 mile before Wonder Lake Campground. This hike is a great way to stretch your legs out after a long bus ride. This easy trail meanders through a spruce forest and past many small ponds before reaching the McKinley Bar on the McKinley river. The mile-wide gravel bar was crossed by some of the pioneering climbers to start their asce...

Sitting at mile 85 of the 92 mile park road through Denali National Park, Wonder Lake Campground is an oasis in the wilderness. Wonder Lake is also the the closest you can get to Denali. (Note: You may see the big mountain called Mt. McKinley on maps, but everyone in Alaska calls it Denali.) Private vehicle access is prohibited after mile 15, so you must be on a tour, shuttle, or camper bus t...

If you are looking for an overnight backpacking trip in Denali National Park with spectacular views of Denali, this is a great option. There is no trail and if you happen upon one, DO NOT follow it. The best part about Denali is that there are not many trails and most of the park is designated wilderness.Denali National Park is split into units, which have daily quotas as to how many people can...

To get to this trailhead, you are going to have to take the Denali Park shuttle bus to the Eielson Visitor Center. The shuttle system is great, but it's also the only way you're going into the park in the summer months. Once you're on the bus, you can get out at any point, go for a hike, and catch a bus back to the Wilderness Access Center at the end of the day. This is obviously much easier to...

From the Toklat contact station walk east back across the bridge (crossing the river) and drop down onto the river bar heading north. Walk for about 75 yards north hugging the cliffs on the right. Eventually you will reach an area where the tundra comes all the way down to the river bar. This is where you will need to bushwhack for about 5 minutes as you make your way through the brush line. On...

The best time of year to do this is when the weather is cold and the river is low. I have had the best luck in late spring and early fall. If it's raining or really hot this hike won't be doable because the river will be impassable without a pack raft or a high skill level of river crossings. Start at the Toklat River Contact Station, aka the tent. From the tent walk back along the road and ove...