Denali National Park and Preserve is where spectacular scenery reigns, and all you need to do to see it is to travel the 92-mile Denali Park Road.
Alaska’s most well known national park, hundreds of people see sights that will stay with them the rest of their lives, and the view of the tundra over Sable Pass as we began a 12 mile hike back to camp is most certainly a sight which will stay with us for ours.
While backcountry hiking is available throughout the majority of Denali National Park, the section of country on either side of the Sable Pass, mile 37-43, is the only permanently closed area for off road hiking within the park. This is a sweet spot for bears, wolves, caribou and moose, so the “no hiking through the tundra” rule is for the preservation of both wildlife and tourists alike; a reasoning which is fairly apparent by the grizzly bear chew marks in the wooden Sable Pass sign!
Despite this, Sable Pass is a fantastic spot to jump off the park shuttle bus to hike the road and snap a photo of the expansive scenery before you. On a clear day as you come down Sable Pass to the south, the clouds will part to reveal the stunning Mt McKinley, about 55 miles away.
8 Comments
Where are the other photos? :)
Hi Allan! Psyched you’re keen for more photos from our trip :) The snapshot from the road posts are just the one snapshot and a story to go with it – quick and easy updates that we can put online to keep you up to date during our trip.
When we finish the trip we’ll have time to go through and edit and post the rest of our photos, but I like trying to keep everyone updated with our snapshot posts in the meantime :) Will be home in 4 weeks so there will be an onslaught of photos and posts then :)
Gorgeous photo, Megan!
Thanks Charles!! Didn’t see as much wildlife as we would have liked but the scenery was admittedly stunning!
Beautiful. I loved Denali and look forward to see the rest of your photos.
Thanks Rhonda! It really is wonderful in terms of a photographers playground!! So glad you had the opportunity to experience it also – I’ll have to shoot over to your site and check if you have any photos up too! :)
Beautiful! Hiking across Denali Park must be a pretty epic adventure! If we ever have the opportunity to visit Alaska, then we’re going to make sure to trek and camp at the park. :)
It absolutely is! The hike we did on the day we snapped this photo was an 8 hour one; we got the shuttle bus out and then hiked back to camp. Highly recommend it – I hope you have the chance to visit Alaska soon :)