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
