Good video and commentary. Only caught a few errors...you don't have to "charter" a bus to go past the first 15 miles of paved road- you just have buy a ticket to ride a bus. And they say the Muries decried the original Eielson Visitor Center as an eye sore while showing a picture of the much newer and less obtrusive current visitor center. They also didn't mention the safety issue of allowing private vehicles on the often one lane sections of the Park Road after the 1972 completion of the George Parks Hwy which allowed much more private traffic to come to the Park. (BTW- the George Parks Hwy also goes through Denali National Park so there are two roads in the Park.)
Saw a grizzly heading for a bike rider while riding on the bus. A car behind us stopped to allow the bicyclist refuge just in case. He dropped his bike and stood by the open car door as the grizzly ran across the road and into the tundra, seemingly oblivious to the guy. The bus driver said they refer to bicyclists in the park as “meals on wheels”.😆
I took that bus tour decades ago and remember that joke. I also remember how terrifying it was riding in a bus on a narrow gravel road with a sheer cliff. Those drivers earned their pay (I'm mostly fine with heights unless I'm a passenger in a car/bus.)
@@travcollier No shit, there’s a really bad spot along the route to the Denali visitor center that was being worked on with a bunch of heavy equipment. Tight curve with a pretty big drop off. The whole time through there I was picturing the bus rolling down that embankment. Would not be pretty.
seeing a bear in the wild means something different when you are informed that bears have a sense of smell multiple times more powerful than a bloodhound and a bloodhound's sense of smell is 300 times better than a human's. that means, that bear you see has known where you were LONG before you can see him. he's not just a clumsy ole bear accidentally bumping into you. he wanted to get a look at you maybe or he had some other intention. bears can look like lumbering cute doofuses and that makes it easy to miscontrue the true nature of these animals and thus not take proper precautions for your own safety. it helps me to keep in my head whenever i look at a bear that these things are real life monsters related to pigs that will start eating you before killing you if they have half a mind for it. they most likely won't trouble you at all and don't need to be shot onsite or anything, just stay alert around them they can run faster than you.
@@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski I was on a bus, dude, and yeah, most people know they are fast and can smell extremely well but thanks for the lesson anyway. I hike, ride, camp, and live in bear territory so really not that big a deal. Also, they aren’t related to pigs any more than they are to humans. Maybe you’re thinking of “ManBearPig”🤣
I've been to Denali NP twice and the bus system is a great idea. It eliminates the wildlife viewing traffic jams you see in other parks and allows you to just ride and enjoy the breathtaking scenery without having to worry about actually driving.
Driving restrictions also reduce the interest in renting a car and driving to Denali. Back in the day, 30 years ago, my buddy and I took the train from Anchorage, with all our backpacking equipment, to Denali, then spent a week there. Train is still running.
@@dangreening I took the train on my first trip to the park. I was a fantastic way to go. Comfortable and beautiful scenery the whole way, and the train stopped right at the park entrance. I'd recommend it to anyone making the trip. 👍
The buses are wonderful, especially when the alternative is considered. The drivers will pull over and stop whenever a sharp-eyed passenger spots wildlife. This bus compromise keeps the park wild and pristine.
I contest that while the idea is great, what about those who don't want to ride a crowded bus? I live in the lower 48 and I flew to Anchorage and then drove to Fairbanks just to see Denali along the way. I wanted to see Denali (the mountain), but from the park I got no views. None. All my views and photos are from outside the park. Riding a public tourist bus is NOT why I traveled all that way. If you want visitors to ride a bus to see the interior, then fine, but at least have a road spur driving up to a viewpoint to see the mountain. I don't care if they build that road outside the park or if they let visitors travel a little further down the road that exists, but to come to a National Park and not be able to see the namesake of the park unless you ride the tour bus is NOT what a NP is about.
There are places I have to go to and can only go by automobile. I would prefer some sort of Public transit but I have to deal with the world as it is, as you do i.e. if you want to see Denali, do what I have to do, take a means of transportation you hate or do not go at all. That is your choice.
I took the bus ride into Kantishna. It was a life changing trip. I stress the importance of doing this to anyone. You have not experienced life on earth until you complete this trip. Make whatever plans you need to make this happen. You will never forget it. It is incredibly wild to think that man made a road out there. It’s unbelievable. Cheers!
That's a bucket list item for me. I was able to make it to Denali last year, but only had time for the ride to Savage River. Definitely want to head back at some point!
Headed there for a two week trip split up between Talkeetna and Soldatna this summer. So excited! Praying I'll get to see the mountain peak sometime during that 1-week window. In Talkeetna.
Imagine letting tourists try to drive anywhere they wanted in that wilderness. There'd be a search and rescue mission every ten minutes and someone getting eaten by a bear every half hour.
When I was there in 78 you were allowed to drive to your camp site and not allowed to use your car again until you left. Wonder Lake was quite a nice spot.
Good point. I should have clarified in the video that there are some exceptions to the 15 mile rule if you have reservations or a special permit. Thanks for the input!
i rode my bike with my dad to the eielson visitor center center and we passed like 200 feet from multiple grizzly bears. there where also more at the base of a cliff near polychrome overlook. apparently its just a normal occurrence for people to be close to bears and get literally chased by them according to the bus driver who drove us back. we saw lots of moose and other animals. there is literally grizzly bear hair on signs they rub themselfs on it just to scare the tourists or something, I swear they must find our fear entertaining. very cool place i recommend anyone to go and on a bike if you wont die of a heart attack, its much more terrifying.
that's honestly crazy that bike riding is allowed and they basically go "your funeral", they should at least make carrying like at least a .44 mag a requirement if you're biking but tbh i don't wanna see bear dies, so idk what the best solution there is too protect visitors, give them the freedom to explore how they wish but also protect the bears all at the same time :/
@@thekamotodragon I love that they give people the freedom to do dangerous things. They give you bear spray and send you on your way. Its at your own risk. I say whatever, let people do it if they want. I only think one guy has actually died.
Denali holds one of my all time favorite memories!! While heading into the park on a bus tour we stopped to observe a fox outside its den (which was known to have kits inside it), on the way back we spotted two foxes outside the den…….as well as a lynx stalking them in the brush!!!!! I NEVER expected to see a lynx in the wild so this was one of the biggest and best surprises in my lifetime!! I would have stayed to watch these animals all day long except the tour guild wanted to leave before we “saw the circle of life” in action.
Interesting story here, about 6 years ago, my grandparents who lived in Alaska at the time took, me, my sister, and cousin to Denali. My grandmother worked in the camp that is actually past the last observation stop that shows the mountain. In the very center of the park there is a campground that you have to make reservations to go to and its very expensive. My grandmother is close friends with the owner and director of this campground so we were allowed to drive our personal cars into the center of the park. Its a multi hour drive and you literally drive up the side of mountains with no rails and have to let the buses pass you. Easily the scariest shit ever as the buses multiple times almost knocked us off the rode plummeting to our deaths.
I personally have driven the entire park road, in a mid-size sedan to mile 92.5 and back, all dirt road (like you said) after mile 15 (by Savage River Loop, one if the coolest hiking trails ever). I ended up seeing 9 or 10 grizzles fairly close to the road. So the reason I got to drive the entire road is because each year they do a road lottery, and I was able to aquire one. A total of 400 cars are permitted a day, for 4 days in early-mid September. Easily the sketchiest road I've driven (other than the Alcan Highway to the lower 48). But it was a definite once in a lifetime experience.
I took the bus through the park in the mid 1970's. It was Mt McKinley back then. They gave us a card to check off the animals we saw. I saw almost every animal on the list. Fantastic trip.
I wish Yosemite would have removed cars from the valley as part of the Merced River Plan. Unfortunately there was too much money being made to make any changes. In fact, they expanded parking lots and removed the bicycle rentals.
Yes! Ive only visited Yosemite once and it was peak season. I LOVED the park, but a lot of the experience was lost due to the endless traffic jams in the valley.
Yellowstone (edit: not Yosemite) is kind of a waste the way it is right now. You’re basically on rails the entire way through the park, packed in like you’re on a Disney ride. And if you venture off the beaten path you risk being eaten or gored by the wildlife, or falling into deadly hotspring. I honestly don’t want understand why its such a popular destination
So grateful to environmentalists who've had to fight tooth and nail to curtail development in our national parks and all around the Earth. Nature has intrinsic value, far beyond "human interests."
If there is value in the world but no one is able to see it, what is the point of hiding it? We’re talking about paving a gravel road here, not tearing down giant sequoias to make room for a Dennys restaurant.
@@spoonlesscorey1628 Seriously, you think Nature has no value unless it's to be seen (or exploited) by humans? Those who truly respect and love Nature will make the effort to see it beyond cruising in their comfy cars. Too many people have an amusement ride mentality when it comes to seeing and experiencing the great outdoors.
@@stonew1927 I’m just a fan of good land stewardship, not abandonment. A good example would be sustainable logging. It is in the best interest of a logging company to maintain a healthy forest in order to continue harvesting perpetually and sustainably. At the same time the temporary logging roads they cut give access to the forest that wouldn’t be there ordinarily (these are never paved, and rarely get gravel, 4x4 access only). Logging company gets lumber, explorers get access, and the forest keeps getting new trees and wildfire mitigations as it is maintained by an evil corporation. I’m not suggesting we start logging protected areas. Just that we drop this abandonment mentality. It is possible to have cake and eat it too, if you only look a little deeper.
They do open the road to mile 30 to private cars before the summer season starts, they just don’t widely publicize it but they do post it on the website. They opened the road to mile 30 last year in 2021 Mother’s Day weekend. It’s was the most beautiful drive I’ve ever been on and we saw a good number of grizzly bears. 😁
In 2020 it was open well into June. Since tourism season was cancelled, I guess they figured why not. I got to drive up to the rest stop. I'm not sure if it was restricted to Alaska residents or not.
When my wife and I visited Denali National Park during Alaskan 'shoulder season' our last day at Denali was the first day of their fall operation schedule when you can drive your vehicle 30 miles in.
Thanks for the video and education. Nicely done! I was on one of the last buses to (and from) Eielson Visitor Center before the August 2021 road slippage and subsequent closure at Pretty Rocks, Polychrome Pass. Made it just in time...tho bummed it'll be a bit before I can return. The bus system? Yes, yes, and yes! Extraordinary day and experience!
Thank you for watching! Glad to hear the bus system worked for you and what luck to get in before the closure. I find the history of the bus system so interesting as it relates to Denali's wilderness experience and can add a lot of context for people's visit so they're not just thinking "why do I have to ride a bus in this National Park?"
You can drive to the Teklanika 30 mile stop, or at least that’s where I was able to drive to last fall before the first snow of the season. I drive it every week and currently it’s open to the 13 mile mark. Park Rangers said they’ll open it up further in the coming weeks.
Spent a lot of time in Denali in the late 60s and early 70s. Even after the buses were introduced and private vehicles restricted to Savage River, you WERE allowed to drive to Wonder Lake with your own car/camper after Labor Day and until snow flew. All the years I spent in the park, I never did have to take a bus to get to road's end. Always went after Labor Day. Last year for me in Denali, IIRC, was 1974. Loved the place. Read The Wilderness of Denali by Charles Sheldon, still in print. Still have my copy from all those days ago.
@@NationalParkDiaries Of course very variable! A (very?) few weeks? I don't think it relevant any longer? Likely many years since travel to Wonder Lake was allowed by private vehicle even after Labor Day? Dunn'o. AFAIK, those with confirmed reservations for Wonder Lake campground were always allowed to drive to Wonder Lake. Again IIRC, there was a small commercial operation at Kantishna beyond Wonder Lake and guests of that concern were permitted to travel the entire length of the road. This was all back in period 1967-1974 or so.
A bit misleading, since, at least at one time, private vehicles were allowed to drive to campgrounds where visitors had reservations. Also, at one time, at least, there was an annual lottery to allow a limited number of vehicles to drive the road the last weekend it was open. We won the lottery in 1994 and drove the entire 93 miles.
Thank you! Fellow environmental science major here also. I thought this was fascinating when I first learned about it too and thought it would make a great video.
Sometime in the mid 90s I took a 70 foot long truck and trailer with a load of building supplies into Kantishna and a load of salvage back out. I had like a six or eight hour window to get there, offload, reload and get back out. Most interesting trucking I ever did!!!
This is the way preservation should be done. Not prioritizing tourism. So many other places advertised as "outdoor" or "nature" in Europe, Asia, or even in Canada are so commercialized and too developed.
@@PeteZam i think Yellowstone is fine. Like some of the more well-known parks, they were developed and designated earlier, so the core areas have more visitor amenities, that's understandable. But it's still a haven of wildlife, with a lot of wilderness areas off road and not easily accessible. But if you go to Canada or Switzerland, they have aerial trams/gondolas and ski resorts, inside national parks.
Hey I've been there! It was definitely strange to experience for the first time, but I 100% support the decision to not expand/improve the roads. Makes me wonder a bit about the mountain lions of Zion National Park: if they started limiting human influence in the park by reducing vehicles and switching to a similar bus system, could it potentially lead to an increase in mountain lion numbers or territory ranges? 🤔 The world may never know.
when i went to zion, the only way i could get into the park was on a bus. There was a highway that went through the park people could drive on, but the rode leading to angels landing was bus only
I’ve worked seasonally in Denali/Healy and lemme tell ya, the workers are so use to bears/bear alarm getting rattled but everybody stayed scared of accidentally bumping into a moose. The kids/people that grow up there year round are TOUGH in the truest sense of the word
Denali is a fine park and mountain. I could see it from my front door for most of my life. I never went far enough into the park to the foothills of Denali though. I only visited certain tertiary sites on the edges of the park or adjacent to the boundaries of the park. frankly I wouldn't make that journey even if I could. yes, Denali is fine, but Alaska is positively exploding with other beautiful wilderness sites and, unlike Denali, these spots can be your own private places where no other humans may have ever even seen. my brother and I charted so many beautiful little private lakes, peaks, and valleys with various recreational craft. including some spots not even accessible by any type of bush plane, spots where you have to traverse varied dense spruce woods, meadow, marshlands and ponds to access the area which my brother and I did via snowmobile in the summer or winter ( you can ride snowmobiles on open water as long you keep your speed up it's not as sketchy as it sounds). that is one of the joys of living in Alaska though, it takes some familiarity with the areas and having precisely the right gear that one generally acquires from living there. attempting that sort of thing as just a visitor could easily see you dead in a variety of unpleasant ways. so you should probably just stick to the park roads unless you know a local who is willing to babysit you.
The park holds a lottery in September. They give out a limited number of passes that let you take your personal vehicle past the 15 mile mark during a 2 week period. though currently the road is closed after mile 43 due too a landslide at Polychrome pass while they figure out the future of the road through the pass. they are looking at several bridges over landslide areas as well as redirecting the road to avoid going over Polychrome.
Denali is in Alaska. Nowhere in description does it say this, or until halfway through video...so just thought I'd let people know. This was a great video. Good writing, pacing, production, and content 👍
Hahaha, fair enough! I guess I took for granted that people would know where Denali is. Thanks for the feedback, I'll update the description. Thanks also for the compliments!
Also not entirely true that you have to take a bus, lived up there for 4 years and drove the entirety of it in both my jeep and truck and it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. You CAN drive the road, you just have to win a literal lottery or win an award lol
They should have the same transportation as Disney World. People can see everything better, no problem with animal residents or environment. Have vehicles park at the hotel/motel area. A friend who worked summers at U.S. National Parks told me you could see more in certain Canadian Park. When I asked why he told me the roads were higher than the trees and see much more.
Drove to Wonder Lake with my wife and two kids in 1980 We camped at wonder lake and drove back to the park entrance the next day ( though only 80 some miles it was a full day’s drive
Great video. However all of you photos of the Eielson Visitors Center are of the new one. I work at DNP from 1975-1980 and my last year was stationed at Eielson. The old visitors center was a real eyesore compared to the current one.
just a minor correction. individuals camping at teklinika are allowed to drive thier personal vehciles to and from that point. it's the exception that proves the rule
A lot of people seem to think that running into a grizzly will ruin your day. Well, sometimes, that is true. But running into a moose will SURELY ruin your day........ Saw a couple in my few visits to Alaska and saw some people approach one in Yellowstone. The result was not pretty but no one got hurt. Very stupid.....
Riding the bus with other visitors with the driver serving as an informative guide was great! The bus would drop riders off (and pick up, they left room for random riders) wherever we wanted. Better than driving and having to park a private vehicle.
Funny you should mention that, I just got back from a bikepacking trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and I was telling my friends how cool I think it would be to do a trip along Denali Park Road lol.
I visited Denali for a backpacking trip about 7 years ago. The bus system is great. I'm glad they went that way and I love how they run the park. I can't imagine tourists cars on that road even if it were widened. We asked to be let off about a mile east of polychrome.. and off you go into the wilderness. Your senses change in that environment. It took a day or so but it was fascinating how aware we became of wildlife. We saw two grizzlies and some cubs but the bull moose was the most intimidating animal we saw, standing on the crest of a ridge staring at us as we inadvertently crossed a thicket and approached a female moose.
I have visited and I do not like where the road ends. When you go all the way to Alaska, then drive 1/2 way across the state from Anchorage just to see Denali and you do not ONCE see the mountain from inside the park. The views and pictures I have of the mountain come from well outside the park. You do not go all that way to a National Park only to be told you have to ride a bus, often crowded, just to see the park's main draw. Either traffic needs to be allowed to travel to a point to view the mountain or a viewpoint spur needs to be constructed to allow for this. I was terribly let down by my one and only visit to Denali.
Only driving your car a limited way in and taking a bus the rest that is allowed sounds like a great plan to me. Hoping to go there in the next couple of years. Keep Denali wild.
Agreed! I've loved learning about the Muries and their conservation efforts. If you're interested, there's a great book called Two in the Far North written by Olaus Murie's wife Margaret about their time in Alaska and their efforts to protect wilderness.
If this had occurred in the 21st century, the Murie's would have been denounced as radical environmentalists, leftists, communists, etc and the Alaska government would have done what they could to expand tourist business to increase state income. Businesses would have gotten involved, donated to appropriate lawmakers, and lobbied for hotels, restaurants, etc to be built in the park to cater to the public ... and enrich themselves. That is the world we live in today.
Since 1966, the idea of a bus system in Yellowstone and Yosemite as well as some other more popular parks has been floating around. I have mixed feelings about it.
No mention that the park was name Mount McKinley national park until 1980 and that the official name of the mountain (federally anyway) wasn't changed until 2015? Granted, Denali is a more fitting name for the peak, but there are many of us who didn't realize that Denali was actually the same mountain as Mount McKinley with a different name.
Not the point of the video but worth knowing (though you could tell of the name change by the pictures, even if the narration didn't point them out). Honestly Denali makes more sense to call it, as it had been for thousands of years, than to name it after a president who never set foot in Alaska. Interestingly enough the official name of the park changed to Denali before the official name of the mountain did.
I rode the green bus and.....it was boring AF. For those who think they're going to see all kinds of bears, do realize that there are only 300 bears in the entire area.
It’s a very good policy. People would litter the place if allowed to use the route themselves. It only takes one. And unfortunately there is always ONE TO MANY !
Everyone should be eaten every day of the seasons if they entered at theirs own curiosities. It is exactly how the ancient parks should be liked, no modifications, no modernization, you entering at your own death. No mercy, no complaints, just go as the ancient went before us, and survived with natures. After all, it is supposedly wilderness, no luxury or any rescue operations, you must be educated before walking in a wilderness. You should be able to camping all you wants, no restriction.
I believe so. I'm pretty sure all buses pick up at the park entrances (or at least near it), so as long as the train takes you there, it should be fine.
Hope you got to enjoy it! Unfortunately, this year (2022), the Denali Park Road lottery will not be happening as a landslide has damaged the road beyond Mile 43. The Eielson Visitor Center and Wonder Lake Campground will be closed for 2022. Hopefully they will be able to repair this damage and shore up the road for the summer of 2023 (though it may not be so soon) so people can visit these indescribable places once again. (Link: www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm )
Yellowstone also has lots of animals. But it has roads all over the park. I appreciate that. I think National Park policy is not consistently applied. I love Denali Park but the shuttle bus ride is no fun. Round trip takes the entire day. I always find myself looking at my watch so I don’t miss the bus. There aren’t many stops along the way to get off the bus and enjoy the scenery and wildlife.
Thanks for your perspective. Personally, I like the policy at Denali because it puts the park and its wildlife first. It's one of those trade-offs we have to make when it comes to National Parks. Yellowstone and Denali are both phenomenal parks, and I think their respective policies each make them unique.
I can agree with your frustration, however we both know what the current populace is capable of pertaining to destruction of a National Treasure. I will never have the experience you once had, but if the public was not restricted it would be gone forever as you saw it. The only way you could enjoy it as you did is become a park ranger.
If all you do is drive that Yellowstone road system, you have seen 10% of the place at best. The most remote spot,in the continental US, furthest from any road is at the park's southeast corner. I agree, allowing use of that road through Denali would likely do little harm to wildlife. Protecting urban types from the wildlife on the other hand...
Pikes Peak became exactly what Denali National Park is protecting from. they shaves of a massive layer at the peak for some stupid big gift shop. takes away from the beauty. the roads are fun to drive and in some way add to the beauty but i cant help but wonder how much better it would be without it all.
Eh…this is extremely debatable. Pike’s Peak is right next to CO Springs and Denver, with other infrastructure in the general area. Denali is on its own.
I am not sure about Anchorage, but I did take a bus from Fairbanks Airport to Denali Park in August 2021. I then took the park Camper Bus to camp at Wonder Lake. However, the Park is closed from Mile 43 west in the foreseeable couple years due to road landslide.
I was able to find this: www.alaskatravel.com/park-connection-bus/anchorage-denali/ Looks like there is, but it doesn't leave from the airport. It picks up in Downtown Anchorage and has 2 daily departures up to the park.
May I suggest that you look into taking the train - much more scenic and relaxing. The main depot is downtown but there is a 'commuter' line in the summer that is mainly for the cruise ships but anyone can catch ride.
@@AlexCab_49 the train station is right at the airport, and it will drop you off at the park. but i’d suggest just renting a car, there is so much more to alaska than denali.
@@joshuah.7341 main road, same as all the busses you just keep driving until about 29 miles and you can’t go any further because the road slid off the mountain so unfortunately you can’t go all the way to the eilson visitor center and see denali up close
On one hand, the thought that there's a bus period probably means there are too many folk going to the same "parts of the park" to fine it remotely enjoyable" On the other hand, unlike me, I could see why one wouldn't want just any ceazues deiving untamed onto the lands. Lord forbid some business tycoon ventures in and ends up "offering too much money to turn down" to the parties envolved." On the other other hand..... it's Alaska, so for folk like me who really want to venture into the unknown and unwatch, uninhibited, there is probably more than enough land where even the rangera aren't interested in venturing on to. And if any ate, they're probably in the same mindset and if you ran into them, you'd have a liflong buddy for real adventure.
While the Denali Park Road was originally constructed to reach the Kantishna Mining Camp, it is now fully a park road and only used for park visitors. Interesting piece of history though for sure!
@@denali9449 I met a young lady the other day whose name happened to be Denali. She was impressed I knew about the mountain, however she said she had been told recently the name had been reverted back to Mt. McKinley. I can find no such reference anywhere though.
@@whiteknightcat No, she was misinformed. In 2017 Trump, in his efforts to erase the actions of Obama, wanted to change the name back to McKinley. When he ran into the senate steamroller named Murkowski/Sullivan he left well enough alone. Our Koyukon/Athabaskan ancestors gave the mountain its name more than 10,000 years ago. To borrow a line from Star Wars, "It is the way." May your young friend continue to represent the Great One with pride.
Doomsday is on the horizon. Believe Jesus is the Son of God. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Good video and commentary. Only caught a few errors...you don't have to "charter" a bus to go past the first 15 miles of paved road- you just have buy a ticket to ride a bus. And they say the Muries decried the original Eielson Visitor Center as an eye sore while showing a picture of the much newer and less obtrusive current visitor center. They also didn't mention the safety issue of allowing private vehicles on the often one lane sections of the Park Road after the 1972 completion of the George Parks Hwy which allowed much more private traffic to come to the Park. (BTW- the George Parks Hwy also goes through Denali National Park so there are two roads in the Park.)
Thanks for the corrections, always appreciated!
dall sheep have horns
The Parks does not go “ through “ DNP. It more correctly skirts the eastern fringe of the National Park.
Now you can just buy a ticket. I imagine the bus service wasn't always available depending on economy/etc.
@@0xsergy Back in the old days the bus was free. It was a service of the park.
Saw a grizzly heading for a bike rider while riding on the bus. A car behind us stopped to allow the bicyclist refuge just in case. He dropped his bike and stood by the open car door as the grizzly ran across the road and into the tundra, seemingly oblivious to the guy. The bus driver said they refer to bicyclists in the park as “meals on wheels”.😆
Free delivery
I took that bus tour decades ago and remember that joke. I also remember how terrifying it was riding in a bus on a narrow gravel road with a sheer cliff. Those drivers earned their pay
(I'm mostly fine with heights unless I'm a passenger in a car/bus.)
@@travcollier No shit, there’s a really bad spot along the route to the Denali visitor center that was being worked on with a bunch of heavy equipment. Tight curve with a pretty big drop off. The whole time through there I was picturing the bus rolling down that embankment. Would not be pretty.
seeing a bear in the wild means something different when you are informed that bears have a sense of smell multiple times more powerful than a bloodhound and a bloodhound's sense of smell is 300 times better than a human's. that means, that bear you see has known where you were LONG before you can see him. he's not just a clumsy ole bear accidentally bumping into you. he wanted to get a look at you maybe or he had some other intention.
bears can look like lumbering cute doofuses and that makes it easy to miscontrue the true nature of these animals and thus not take proper precautions for your own safety. it helps me to keep in my head whenever i look at a bear that these things are real life monsters related to pigs that will start eating you before killing you if they have half a mind for it. they most likely won't trouble you at all and don't need to be shot onsite or anything, just stay alert around them they can run faster than you.
@@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski I was on a bus, dude, and yeah, most people know they are fast and can smell extremely well but thanks for the lesson anyway. I hike, ride, camp, and live in bear territory so really not that big a deal. Also, they aren’t related to pigs any more than they are to humans. Maybe you’re thinking of “ManBearPig”🤣
I've been to Denali NP twice and the bus system is a great idea. It eliminates the wildlife viewing traffic jams you see in other parks and allows you to just ride and enjoy the breathtaking scenery without having to worry about actually driving.
Driving restrictions also reduce the interest in renting a car and driving to Denali. Back in the day, 30 years ago, my buddy and I took the train from Anchorage, with all our backpacking equipment, to Denali, then spent a week there. Train is still running.
@@dangreening I took the train on my first trip to the park. I was a fantastic way to go. Comfortable and beautiful scenery the whole way, and the train stopped right at the park entrance. I'd recommend it to anyone making the trip. 👍
The buses are wonderful, especially when the alternative is considered. The drivers will pull over and stop whenever a sharp-eyed passenger spots wildlife. This bus compromise keeps the park wild and pristine.
I contest that while the idea is great, what about those who don't want to ride a crowded bus? I live in the lower 48 and I flew to Anchorage and then drove to Fairbanks just to see Denali along the way. I wanted to see Denali (the mountain), but from the park I got no views. None. All my views and photos are from outside the park. Riding a public tourist bus is NOT why I traveled all that way. If you want visitors to ride a bus to see the interior, then fine, but at least have a road spur driving up to a viewpoint to see the mountain. I don't care if they build that road outside the park or if they let visitors travel a little further down the road that exists, but to come to a National Park and not be able to see the namesake of the park unless you ride the tour bus is NOT what a NP is about.
There are places I have to go to and can only go by automobile. I would prefer some sort of Public transit but I have to deal with the world as it is, as you do i.e. if you want to see Denali, do what I have to do, take a means of transportation you hate or do not go at all. That is your choice.
I took the bus ride into Kantishna. It was a life changing trip. I stress the importance of doing this to anyone. You have not experienced life on earth until you complete this trip. Make whatever plans you need to make this happen. You will never forget it. It is incredibly wild to think that man made a road out there. It’s unbelievable. Cheers!
That's a bucket list item for me. I was able to make it to Denali last year, but only had time for the ride to Savage River. Definitely want to head back at some point!
note taken! I'm just about to finally get time to travel after 10 years of working. Definitely going on the list.
Headed there for a two week trip split up between Talkeetna and Soldatna this summer. So excited! Praying I'll get to see the mountain peak sometime during that 1-week window. In Talkeetna.
Yosemite and Yellowstone for me.
Imagine letting tourists try to drive anywhere they wanted in that wilderness. There'd be a search and rescue mission every ten minutes and someone getting eaten by a bear every half hour.
The bears would be grateful ... "Hmm, wonder who's on the menu today."
Nothing wrong with letting a little natural selection take place :)
Yum
🤣🤣🤣
But muh Jeep had a "Trail Ready" badge on the fender....
When I was there in 78 you were allowed to drive to your camp site and not allowed to use your car again until you left. Wonder Lake was quite a nice spot.
Good point. I should have clarified in the video that there are some exceptions to the 15 mile rule if you have reservations or a special permit. Thanks for the input!
Yes. I rode my motorcycle to Wonder Lake campground in1978.
that's so strange lol
i rode my bike with my dad to the eielson visitor center center and we passed like 200 feet from multiple grizzly bears. there where also more at the base of a cliff near polychrome overlook. apparently its just a normal occurrence for people to be close to bears and get literally chased by them according to the bus driver who drove us back. we saw lots of moose and other animals. there is literally grizzly bear hair on signs they rub themselfs on it just to scare the tourists or something, I swear they must find our fear entertaining. very cool place i recommend anyone to go and on a bike if you wont die of a heart attack, its much more terrifying.
that's honestly crazy that bike riding is allowed and they basically go "your funeral", they should at least make carrying like at least a .44 mag a requirement if you're biking but tbh i don't wanna see bear dies, so idk what the best solution there is too protect visitors, give them the freedom to explore how they wish but also protect the bears all at the same time :/
@@thekamotodragon I love that they give people the freedom to do dangerous things. They give you bear spray and send you on your way. Its at your own risk. I say whatever, let people do it if they want. I only think one guy has actually died.
Denali holds one of my all time favorite memories!! While heading into the park on a bus tour we stopped to observe a fox outside its den (which was known to have kits inside it), on the way back we spotted two foxes outside the den…….as well as a lynx stalking them in the brush!!!!! I NEVER expected to see a lynx in the wild so this was one of the biggest and best surprises in my lifetime!! I would have stayed to watch these animals all day long except the tour guild wanted to leave before we “saw the circle of life” in action.
Awesome!! Lynx are a bucket list species for me!
Interesting story here, about 6 years ago, my grandparents who lived in Alaska at the time took, me, my sister, and cousin to Denali. My grandmother worked in the camp that is actually past the last observation stop that shows the mountain. In the very center of the park there is a campground that you have to make reservations to go to and its very expensive. My grandmother is close friends with the owner and director of this campground so we were allowed to drive our personal cars into the center of the park. Its a multi hour drive and you literally drive up the side of mountains with no rails and have to let the buses pass you. Easily the scariest shit ever as the buses multiple times almost knocked us off the rode plummeting to our deaths.
Sounds like an incredible time!
I personally have driven the entire park road, in a mid-size sedan to mile 92.5 and back, all dirt road (like you said) after mile 15 (by Savage River Loop, one if the coolest hiking trails ever). I ended up seeing 9 or 10 grizzles fairly close to the road. So the reason I got to drive the entire road is because each year they do a road lottery, and I was able to aquire one. A total of 400 cars are permitted a day, for 4 days in early-mid September. Easily the sketchiest road I've driven (other than the Alcan Highway to the lower 48). But it was a definite once in a lifetime experience.
@@bobandbill911 that is amazing
I took the bus through the park in the mid 1970's. It was Mt McKinley back then. They gave us a card to check off the animals we saw. I saw almost every animal on the list. Fantastic trip.
Very nice!
When I was there in 1978 I was allowed to ride my motorcycle to Wonder Lake campground.
I wish Yosemite would have removed cars from the valley as part of the Merced River Plan. Unfortunately there was too much money being made to make any changes. In fact, they expanded parking lots and removed the bicycle rentals.
Yes! Ive only visited Yosemite once and it was peak season. I LOVED the park, but a lot of the experience was lost due to the endless traffic jams in the valley.
Yellowstone (edit: not Yosemite) is kind of a waste the way it is right now. You’re basically on rails the entire way through the park, packed in like you’re on a Disney ride. And if you venture off the beaten path you risk being eaten or gored by the wildlife, or falling into deadly hotspring. I honestly don’t want understand why its such a popular destination
@@spoonlesscorey1628 Eaten or gored by wildlife? Which Yosemite did you visit?
@@stevenborgogna Had a brain fart, I was thinking of Yellowstone, my bad 🫤 I’ve never been to Yosemite
@@njunderground82 because the valley is not suited for large amounts of people. Most of those are smaller cities and farmland.
So grateful to environmentalists who've had to fight tooth and nail to curtail development in our national parks and all around the Earth. Nature has intrinsic value, far beyond "human interests."
Hunting around there is great
If there is value in the world but no one is able to see it, what is the point of hiding it? We’re talking about paving a gravel road here, not tearing down giant sequoias to make room for a Dennys restaurant.
@@spoonlesscorey1628 Seriously, you think Nature has no value unless it's to be seen (or exploited) by humans? Those who truly respect and love Nature will make the effort to see it beyond cruising in their comfy cars. Too many people have an amusement ride mentality when it comes to seeing and experiencing the great outdoors.
@@stonew1927 I’m just a fan of good land stewardship, not abandonment.
A good example would be sustainable logging. It is in the best interest of a logging company to maintain a healthy forest in order to continue harvesting perpetually and sustainably. At the same time the temporary logging roads they cut give access to the forest that wouldn’t be there ordinarily (these are never paved, and rarely get gravel, 4x4 access only). Logging company gets lumber, explorers get access, and the forest keeps getting new trees and wildfire mitigations as it is maintained by an evil corporation.
I’m not suggesting we start logging protected areas. Just that we drop this abandonment mentality. It is possible to have cake and eat it too, if you only look a little deeper.
They do open the road to mile 30 to private cars before the summer season starts, they just don’t widely publicize it but they do post it on the website. They opened the road to mile 30 last year in 2021 Mother’s Day weekend. It’s was the most beautiful drive I’ve ever been on and we saw a good number of grizzly bears. 😁
In 2020 it was open well into June. Since tourism season was cancelled, I guess they figured why not. I got to drive up to the rest stop. I'm not sure if it was restricted to Alaska residents or not.
When my wife and I visited Denali National Park during Alaskan 'shoulder season' our last day at Denali was the first day of their fall operation schedule when you can drive your vehicle 30 miles in.
Thanks for the video and education. Nicely done! I was on one of the last buses to (and from) Eielson Visitor Center before the August 2021 road slippage and subsequent closure at Pretty Rocks, Polychrome Pass. Made it just in time...tho bummed it'll be a bit before I can return. The bus system? Yes, yes, and yes! Extraordinary day and experience!
Thank you for watching! Glad to hear the bus system worked for you and what luck to get in before the closure. I find the history of the bus system so interesting as it relates to Denali's wilderness experience and can add a lot of context for people's visit so they're not just thinking "why do I have to ride a bus in this National Park?"
You can drive to the Teklanika 30 mile stop, or at least that’s where I was able to drive to last fall before the first snow of the season. I drive it every week and currently it’s open to the 13 mile mark. Park Rangers said they’ll open it up further in the coming weeks.
Spent a lot of time in Denali in the late 60s and early 70s. Even after the buses were introduced and private vehicles restricted to Savage River, you WERE allowed to drive to Wonder Lake with your own car/camper after Labor Day and until snow flew. All the years I spent in the park, I never did have to take a bus to get to road's end. Always went after Labor Day. Last year for me in Denali, IIRC, was 1974. Loved the place. Read The Wilderness of Denali by Charles Sheldon, still in print. Still have my copy from all those days ago.
How long is that window typically?
@@NationalParkDiaries Of course very variable! A (very?) few weeks? I don't think it relevant any longer? Likely many years since travel to Wonder Lake was allowed by private vehicle even after Labor Day? Dunn'o. AFAIK, those with confirmed reservations for Wonder Lake campground were always allowed to drive to Wonder Lake. Again IIRC, there was a small commercial operation at Kantishna beyond Wonder Lake and guests of that concern were permitted to travel the entire length of the road. This was all back in period 1967-1974 or so.
Took that bus ride in 2018. Great trip.
A bit misleading, since, at least at one time, private vehicles were allowed to drive to campgrounds where visitors had reservations. Also, at one time, at least, there was an annual lottery to allow a limited number of vehicles to drive the road the last weekend it was open. We won the lottery in 1994 and drove the entire 93 miles.
You are incredibly lucky
Bro recently found ur channel and its amazing you will definitely blow up in no time
Thanks, much appreciated!
great vid! Learnt some things even as an Enviro major. Good analysis of the unique policy of Denali
Thank you! Fellow environmental science major here also. I thought this was fascinating when I first learned about it too and thought it would make a great video.
Sometime in the mid 90s I took a 70 foot long truck and trailer with a load of building supplies into Kantishna and a load of salvage back out. I had like a six or eight hour window to get there, offload, reload and get back out. Most interesting trucking I ever did!!!
This is the way preservation should be done. Not prioritizing tourism. So many other places advertised as "outdoor" or "nature" in Europe, Asia, or even in Canada are so commercialized and too developed.
add yellowstone to that list. nothing but a sea of humans and traffic, and human constructions and walkways ruining everything
@@PeteZam i think Yellowstone is fine. Like some of the more well-known parks, they were developed and designated earlier, so the core areas have more visitor amenities, that's understandable. But it's still a haven of wildlife, with a lot of wilderness areas off road and not easily accessible. But if you go to Canada or Switzerland, they have aerial trams/gondolas and ski resorts, inside national parks.
The last 10 or so years has seen so much change in Banff NP, and I don’t consider it positive at all
@@PeteZam yellowstone is freaking massive. The tourist area is heavily tourist centerd but plenty of the park is true wildlife.
Zion in Utah is very commercialized.
Hey I've been there! It was definitely strange to experience for the first time, but I 100% support the decision to not expand/improve the roads. Makes me wonder a bit about the mountain lions of Zion National Park: if they started limiting human influence in the park by reducing vehicles and switching to a similar bus system, could it potentially lead to an increase in mountain lion numbers or territory ranges? 🤔 The world may never know.
when i went to zion, the only way i could get into the park was on a bus. There was a highway that went through the park people could drive on, but the rode leading to angels landing was bus only
I’ve worked seasonally in Denali/Healy and lemme tell ya, the workers are so use to bears/bear alarm getting rattled but everybody stayed scared of accidentally bumping into a moose. The kids/people that grow up there year round are TOUGH in the truest sense of the word
We got a pass to drive through Denali when I was younger and it was one of the most harrowing drives of my life!
But also beautiful I bet!
Denali is a fine park and mountain. I could see it from my front door for most of my life. I never went far enough into the park to the foothills of Denali though. I only visited certain tertiary sites on the edges of the park or adjacent to the boundaries of the park. frankly I wouldn't make that journey even if I could. yes, Denali is fine, but Alaska is positively exploding with other beautiful wilderness sites and, unlike Denali, these spots can be your own private places where no other humans may have ever even seen.
my brother and I charted so many beautiful little private lakes, peaks, and valleys with various recreational craft. including some spots not even accessible by any type of bush plane, spots where you have to traverse varied dense spruce woods, meadow, marshlands and ponds to access the area which my brother and I did via snowmobile in the summer or winter ( you can ride snowmobiles on open water as long you keep your speed up it's not as sketchy as it sounds). that is one of the joys of living in Alaska though, it takes some familiarity with the areas and having precisely the right gear that one generally acquires from living there. attempting that sort of thing as just a visitor could easily see you dead in a variety of unpleasant ways. so you should probably just stick to the park roads unless you know a local who is willing to babysit you.
The park holds a lottery in September. They give out a limited number of passes that let you take your personal vehicle past the 15 mile mark during a 2 week period. though currently the road is closed after mile 43 due too a landslide at Polychrome pass while they figure out the future of the road through the pass. they are looking at several bridges over landslide areas as well as redirecting the road to avoid going over Polychrome.
Denali is in Alaska. Nowhere in description does it say this, or until halfway through video...so just thought I'd let people know.
This was a great video. Good writing, pacing, production, and content 👍
Hahaha, fair enough! I guess I took for granted that people would know where Denali is. Thanks for the feedback, I'll update the description. Thanks also for the compliments!
Nice video. Thanks.
@@williamarnold9744 Thanks for watching!
I worked in the park....this place is so amazing 🤩
Also not entirely true that you have to take a bus, lived up there for 4 years and drove the entirety of it in both my jeep and truck and it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. You CAN drive the road, you just have to win a literal lottery or win an award lol
As long as I can bike it I’m cool. Glad to see I can!
You can drive a vehicle past the normal stopping point, but you need to be in a camper heading to the Teklanika campground. BTW, it is awesome!
Alternative title for the video “The Good Adolf”.
Nice job.
Thanks!
They should have the same transportation as Disney World. People can see everything better, no problem with animal residents or environment. Have vehicles park at the hotel/motel area. A friend who worked summers at U.S. National Parks told me you could see more in certain Canadian Park. When I asked why he told me the roads were higher than the trees and see much more.
Yo this story needs to be a movie. Thank you for coming to my TED talk
Drove to Wonder Lake with my wife and two kids in 1980
We camped at wonder lake and drove back to the park entrance the next day ( though only 80 some miles it was a full day’s drive
Yay one time the good guys won but it was a small victory
Great video. However all of you photos of the Eielson Visitors Center are of the new one. I work at DNP from 1975-1980 and my last year was stationed at Eielson. The old visitors center was a real eyesore compared to the current one.
Thanks for the warning, Ill stear clear of the Denali "E" ticket ride.
just a minor correction. individuals camping at teklinika are allowed to drive thier personal vehciles to and from that point. it's the exception that proves the rule
A lot of people seem to think that running into a grizzly will ruin your day. Well, sometimes, that is true. But running into a moose will SURELY ruin your day........ Saw a couple in my few visits to Alaska and saw some people approach one in Yellowstone. The result was not pretty but no one got hurt. Very stupid.....
They should do this in more national parks
Riding the bus with other visitors with the driver serving as an informative guide was great! The bus would drop riders off (and pick up, they left room for random riders) wherever we wanted. Better than driving and having to park a private vehicle.
This actually sounds like a cool NP to bike pack through specifically because of the no cars policy and unpaved road. I might have to do that someday.
Funny you should mention that, I just got back from a bikepacking trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and I was telling my friends how cool I think it would be to do a trip along Denali Park Road lol.
Was there last weekend and able to drive to Mile 30.
This is wonderful. Thank you for telling such an important story.
Thank you for watching it!
the River on the West Bank of the Northeast side of that mountain on the first map on this video looks like a good spot
We took the bus sixty miles into park then the train from the park to Whittier great time
Sounds good to me.
Good narrating voice
Haha, thanks!
I visited Denali for a backpacking trip about 7 years ago. The bus system is great. I'm glad they went that way and I love how they run the park. I can't imagine tourists cars on that road even if it were widened. We asked to be let off about a mile east of polychrome.. and off you go into the wilderness. Your senses change in that environment. It took a day or so but it was fascinating how aware we became of wildlife. We saw two grizzlies and some cubs but the bull moose was the most intimidating animal we saw, standing on the crest of a ridge staring at us as we inadvertently crossed a thicket and approached a female moose.
I have visited and I do not like where the road ends. When you go all the way to Alaska, then drive 1/2 way across the state from Anchorage just to see Denali and you do not ONCE see the mountain from inside the park. The views and pictures I have of the mountain come from well outside the park. You do not go all that way to a National Park only to be told you have to ride a bus, often crowded, just to see the park's main draw. Either traffic needs to be allowed to travel to a point to view the mountain or a viewpoint spur needs to be constructed to allow for this. I was terribly let down by my one and only visit to Denali.
Only driving your car a limited way in and taking a bus the rest that is allowed sounds like a great plan to me. Hoping to go there in the next couple of years. Keep Denali wild.
my uncle and i had to turn our rv around after we read in the contract that we couldnt drive that road. also no gas stations
Great video!
Thanks!
good video, glad it was reccomended. Keep it up!
Thanks for watching, will do!
Awesome work they did , yeah 👏💖😁 bravo men , 💖 🐎 🐆 🐻 🐿 🐼🦡🐃 🦊 🐺
Agreed! I've loved learning about the Muries and their conservation efforts. If you're interested, there's a great book called Two in the Far North written by Olaus Murie's wife Margaret about their time in Alaska and their efforts to protect wilderness.
Ever considered doing a video on little river canyon national preserve?
If this had occurred in the 21st century, the Murie's would have been denounced as radical environmentalists, leftists, communists, etc and the Alaska government would have done what they could to expand tourist business to increase state income. Businesses would have gotten involved, donated to appropriate lawmakers, and lobbied for hotels, restaurants, etc to be built in the park to cater to the public ... and enrich themselves. That is the world we live in today.
yo this channel should have 500k subs by now
i love this so much thank you
Thanks Steven! We keep growing more and more everyday so I'm excited to see where it goes!
The guys from ‘Mediocre Amateur’ did the bike ride, which you can watch on TH-cam. I have been wanting to do it, but can’t get anyone else to join me.
Since 1966, the idea of a bus system in Yellowstone and Yosemite as well as some other more popular parks has been floating around. I have mixed feelings about it.
My old lady bled through her Kotex while riding the bus in Denali Park back in 2000.
Yummy. But I was actually wondering ... what happens if one needs to use the restroom on the bus trip?
hilarious! laughed out loud at that one
Thanks for sharing that. 🙄
That is a really cool story and makes me want to build up wilderness survival skills to eventually visit the park for a backpacking trek.
You don’t need survival skills. Experienced in backpacking is enough.
No mention that the park was name Mount McKinley national park until 1980 and that the official name of the mountain (federally anyway) wasn't changed until 2015?
Granted, Denali is a more fitting name for the peak, but there are many of us who didn't realize that Denali was actually the same mountain as Mount McKinley with a different name.
If you dont know it as denali by now then go outside
Not the point of the video but worth knowing (though you could tell of the name change by the pictures, even if the narration didn't point them out). Honestly Denali makes more sense to call it, as it had been for thousands of years, than to name it after a president who never set foot in Alaska.
Interestingly enough the official name of the park changed to Denali before the official name of the mountain did.
I rode the green bus and.....it was boring AF. For those who think they're going to see all kinds of bears, do realize that there are only 300 bears in the entire area.
Thank you Always appreciate your content!
Thanks Joanna!
It’s a very good policy. People would litter the place if allowed to use the route themselves. It only takes one. And unfortunately there is always ONE TO MANY !
Everyone should be eaten every day of the seasons if they entered at theirs own curiosities.
It is exactly how the ancient parks should be liked, no modifications, no modernization, you entering at your own death.
No mercy, no complaints, just go as the ancient went before us, and survived with natures.
After all, it is supposedly wilderness, no luxury or any rescue operations, you must be educated before walking in a wilderness.
You should be able to camping all you wants, no restriction.
Don't pay to go the rest of the way in on the busses. It's not worth the price. You can fly over for less money.
Can you see the moosies from the plane? Or the wolfies? Or the bearsies?
@@whiteknightcat no, but you’ll see them from the bus!
If that's your opinion why would you go to Denali in the first place? 🤔
@@michaeljdauben I'm guessing they never did anyway. Kind of hard for them to see the world from their parents' basement.
If you arrive by train to Denali can you still take the bus? My plan is by train round trip Fairbanks to Denali National park. Is this possible?
I believe so. I'm pretty sure all buses pick up at the park entrances (or at least near it), so as long as the train takes you there, it should be fine.
if you drive a car long enough in alaska, you’ll let the bus handle the window chips.
order 66 must be a direct reference
If it had a road I would go but fuk a bus ride.
1:28 1972 policy to limit private cars
Unless you go during COVID and win a pass. Most excellent and WAY better than the bus.
Hope you got to enjoy it! Unfortunately, this year (2022), the Denali Park Road lottery will not be happening as a landslide has damaged the road beyond Mile 43. The Eielson Visitor Center and Wonder Lake Campground will be closed for 2022. Hopefully they will be able to repair this damage and shore up the road for the summer of 2023 (though it may not be so soon) so people can visit these indescribable places once again. (Link: www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm )
Haha, very true!
Motorcycle allowed?
Take the bus guys. It’s pricey but we saw SEVEN Grizzly Bears from the last bus from Eilson, and were lucky to see the mountain from there.
Nah F your bus. I want to experience Denali in a nice Rubicon Jeep on my own not your stupid boomer bus with 65 year old Karens
@@HubstepCamaro trouble is it would be you and 10 000 other jackasses in their jeeps. Also my Toyota would eat your jeep and spit out the radiator
Motorcycles?
Yellowstone also has lots of animals. But it has roads all over the park. I appreciate that. I think National Park policy is not consistently applied. I love Denali Park but the shuttle bus ride is no fun. Round trip takes the entire day. I always find myself looking at my watch so I don’t miss the bus. There aren’t many stops along the way to get off the bus and enjoy the scenery and wildlife.
Thanks for your perspective. Personally, I like the policy at Denali because it puts the park and its wildlife first. It's one of those trade-offs we have to make when it comes to National Parks. Yellowstone and Denali are both phenomenal parks, and I think their respective policies each make them unique.
Policy dosnt have to be consistent..its not a TGI fridays.
I can agree with your frustration, however we both know what the current populace is capable of pertaining to destruction of a National Treasure. I will never have the experience you once had, but if the public was not restricted it would be gone forever as you saw it. The only way you could enjoy it as you did is become a park ranger.
And do you also drive the Hana Road at 60 MPH because it takes too long?
If all you do is drive that Yellowstone road system, you have seen 10% of the place at best. The most remote spot,in the continental US, furthest from any road is at the park's southeast corner. I agree, allowing use of that road through Denali would likely do little harm to wildlife. Protecting urban types from the wildlife on the other hand...
neat
Now tell us what you were told to not say
Pikes Peak became exactly what Denali National Park is protecting from. they shaves of a massive layer at the peak for some stupid big gift shop. takes away from the beauty. the roads are fun to drive and in some way add to the beauty but i cant help but wonder how much better it would be without it all.
Eh…this is extremely debatable. Pike’s Peak is right next to CO Springs and Denver, with other infrastructure in the general area. Denali is on its own.
All national parks should be converted to wilderness areas
Federally
protected by the government means it belongs to We the People.
Question: is there a bus from Anchorage airport to the Denali park entrance?
I am not sure about Anchorage, but I did take a bus from Fairbanks Airport to Denali Park in August 2021. I then took the park Camper Bus to camp at Wonder Lake. However, the Park is closed from Mile 43 west in the foreseeable couple years due to road landslide.
I was able to find this: www.alaskatravel.com/park-connection-bus/anchorage-denali/
Looks like there is, but it doesn't leave from the airport. It picks up in Downtown Anchorage and has 2 daily departures up to the park.
May I suggest that you look into taking the train - much more scenic and relaxing. The main depot is downtown but there is a 'commuter' line in the summer that is mainly for the cruise ships but anyone can catch ride.
@@denali9449 Ok you got my attention. How would I access that train from the airport and would it drop me off near Denali?
@@AlexCab_49 the train station is right at the airport, and it will drop you off at the park. but i’d suggest just renting a car, there is so much more to alaska than denali.
It is way too far to attract much traffic anyway!
actually you can drive all the to the end of the park
as a alaska resident me and my family did it yesterday and it was beautiful! we have driven past savage river many times.
How? Which road? Do you still get a good view of the mountain?
@@joshuah.7341 main road, same as all the busses you just keep driving until about 29 miles and you can’t go any further because the road slid off the mountain so unfortunately you can’t go all the way to the eilson visitor center and see denali up close
@@josiew5042 I see
So there are exceptions for Alaska residents. Makes sense!
they also do a road lottery where you can drive it, but a loootttttttt of people sign up for it
On one hand, the thought that there's a bus period probably means there are too many folk going to the same "parts of the park" to fine it remotely enjoyable"
On the other hand, unlike me, I could see why one wouldn't want just any ceazues deiving untamed onto the lands. Lord forbid some business tycoon ventures in and ends up "offering too much money to turn down" to the parties envolved."
On the other other hand..... it's Alaska, so for folk like me who really want to venture into the unknown and unwatch, uninhibited, there is probably more than enough land where even the rangera aren't interested in venturing on to. And if any ate, they're probably in the same mindset and if you ran into them, you'd have a liflong buddy for real adventure.
It’s a mining road…..we can travel a mining road.
While the Denali Park Road was originally constructed to reach the Kantishna Mining Camp, it is now fully a park road and only used for park visitors. Interesting piece of history though for sure!
Roads closed until 2027 haha. Also the road does a good job avoiding everything cool to see in there.
I'd like to see Mt. McKinley sometime.
The name is Denali.
@@denali9449 I met a young lady the other day whose name happened to be Denali. She was impressed I knew about the mountain, however she said she had been told recently the name had been reverted back to Mt. McKinley. I can find no such reference anywhere though.
@@whiteknightcat No, she was misinformed. In 2017 Trump, in his efforts to erase the actions of Obama, wanted to change the name back to McKinley. When he ran into the senate steamroller named Murkowski/Sullivan he left well enough alone. Our Koyukon/Athabaskan ancestors gave the mountain its name more than 10,000 years ago. To borrow a line from Star Wars, "It is the way."
May your young friend continue to represent the Great One with pride.
@@denali9449 I will let her know. Thanks.
@@denali9449 Well it's nice to meet you Denali. I'd love to visit Mt. McKinley sometime.
Doomsday is on the horizon. Believe Jesus is the Son of God.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Kinda weird that you never refer to the park by its original name. History is history, and should be acknowledged and remembered.
Mt McKinley
Adolf with his brother Olaf
Imagine this.. People go to these remote beautiful places to get away from our dumb as shit modern world.
I bet building a gondola instead of a bus would save land, fossil fuels, and time.
Are you fucking serious about the fossil fuels? Wow 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
That is the craziest thing I have EVER heard