Tag: Denali

Capture the best photos of Denali National Park & Preserve at these 7 spots

See the Alaskan wilderness.

A photograph can help preserve cherished memories. Unfortunately, as many nature photographers know, it can be difficult to capture certain outdoor scenes on film. Crowded landscapes, unpredictable weather, and many other factors all make taking the perfect photo a struggle at many national parks. Photographers who visit Denali National Park & Preserve can make their work easier by identifying a few key scenic areas.

Whether you want to snap a shot of grazing caribou or majestic mountains, these seven spots are the park’s top places for photos. Pack your trusty camera, and get ready to explore everything from the Alaska Range to Wonder Lake.

Tourists spot two of Denali National Park’s rarest critters

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of animals so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors rarely see them.

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of critters so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors almost never see them.

“A rare appearance by two wolverines quickly became the talk of the park this week,” Denali announced on Facebook. “These critters spent part of their day peeking at visitors from a culvert along Denali Park Road.”

The post continued: “Since these animals are so rarely seen, some park staff had to brush up on their wolverine knowledge!”

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The park explained that wolverines are related to weasels, mink, martens, and otters; that they’re super scavengers “that will eat just about any type of meat they can find.”

Wolverines roam expansive territories, often in rugged terrain, and are solitary except for a short mating period during the summer. So the sight of two wolverines was extraordinary for Denali visitors who observed them.

Pregnant females, according to the park, build snow dens for birthing and nursing.

Because of their solitary, wide-ranging nature, wolverines are extremely difficult to study.

The population in Alaska is stable, but numbers have declined in the western contiguous United States and Canada.

In January 2021, Yellowstone National Park shared its first-ever trail-cam footage of a wolverine, and the footage went viral.

Last March at Yellowstone, a father and daughter on their first trip to the park spotted a wolverine walking across a snowy road. MacNeil Lyons, their tour operator, told FTW Outdoors:

“For the rest of the tour, the 9-year-old daughter couldn’t stop saying, ‘Wow… we saw a wolverine today! She told me it was the most amazing day ever in her life.”

Last April, a trail-cam operator in Canada’s Yukon Territory shared a video compilation featuring amusing wolverine footage captured during a six-month period on multiple trails.

To be sure, trail cameras are the most effective means of capturing footage of wolverines in the wild.

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Denali National Park opens July 1; expect notable changes

Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve will open for the summer season beginning July 1, utilizing a phased approach.

Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve will open for the summer season beginning July 1, and tourists will find some changes to be significant.

Narrated bus tours and transit services will be available, but busses will run at 50% capacity to allow for social distancing. Tour bus schedules will be finalized in early June, and reservations can be made online via Reserve Denali.

Traditionally, once the park opens, Denali Park Road is accessed only via tour bus. However, the park might allow commercially guided vehicle tours and will allow limited private vehicle access on a reservations-only basis.

“With the cancellation of the summer cruise season, we expect to see fewer visitors this summer,” Denice Swanke, park superintendent, explained in a news release issued Wednesday. “We remain committed to the bus system, but fewer cruise ship visitors means we’ll be putting fewer buses on the road, so there will be some unused capacity that we want to make available to the public.”

The Denali Visitor Center and Eielson Visitor Center will be open daily through the season.

Sanctuary River and Igloo Creek Campgrounds also will open July 1, and reservations are required.

The park has worked closely with federal, state and local authorities to develop a phased reopening to increase access and services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On choosing July 1, Swanke explained: “We worked closely with local businesses and our Doyon/Aramark Joint Venture concessionaire to determine opening timelines. Despite so much uncertainty, July 1 was a date that everyone felt they could support and be ready to safely welcome the public.”

Denali will host its annual end-of-season Road Lottery Sept. 18-22, with September 19 being Military Appreciation Day. Winners will have the park to themselves, in their private vehicles, for an entire day.

Online lottery applications will be accepted June 1-30. Winners will be notified July 8.

–Images are courtesy of Denali National Park