Denali Education Center Reviews

One of the highlights on our AK road trip. Beautiful sceneries and great hikes. Would have staid longer if time would have permitted. We are sure coming back to this place next time.

Phenomenal experience. Saw so many amazing vistas, animals & birds.

One of our nation's greatest national parks. A must visit!

Absolutely beautiful lots of wildlife and spectacular views

Beautiful! We took Taiga trail to the Horseshoe loop trail, and we saw a mother and her moose calf by the lake. We also saw two beavers swimming. The green trees, blue lake, and mountains also make for a beautiful backdrop to a lovely hike!

Tour bus driver very knowledgeable. Appreciated his use of video camera for animal sightings.

Denali National park was beautiful, I hope to go back.

Amazing would really recommend going there the wildlife and walks are just wonderful and mount McKinley is fantastic

Wildlife sightings guaranteed! Very great nature and great tours and connections!

It'd be easy to just rate this a 5 star cuz... It's Denali. But the rating reflects the fact that I researched a ton before I came and one example of a massive shortcoming of this place is the fact that most of it is only accessible by a bus. What they need to understand is that most people are flying in to either Anchorage or Fairbanks and then driving. If you're coming from Anchorage, you have yourself an 8.5 hour round trip drive. So what's your reward for sitting in a car that long? Being forced to sit in a bus to see the park. The buses drive about 11 mph, and they're your only option to get to places like the Eielson Visitor Center. You literally aren't allowed to drive into the park. Is there really that much traffic in Alaska that we can't allow people who took a 7 hour flight followed by a 4 hour drive to just get out and hike without being forced on a bus? Terrible process for exploring the park. Don't take this personally please. Just know that SOME of us don't make the trip to sit on a bus.

Absolutely stunning! You could spend a week and it wouldn't be enough.

Love the park! It was a smooth drive into mile 30 yesterday.

Awesome wildlife viewings. Took a bus tour with the shuttle to wonderlake. Busdriver stopped for every wildlife viewing to take pictures. Unfortunatly it was pretty smoky and we couldn't see Denali from inside the park.
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McKinney Chalet august 16, 2017

To be fair, we are more of big, luxury type people. I like a restaurant in the same building. Breakfast just an elevator away.
Here, the rooms are in 20 different buildings and all require taking a shuttle bus to main lodge. Sometimesthere are 2, sometimes none for half hour. All open to the weather.
I was expecting a Lodge atmosphere with roaring fireplace and huge lobby. Its nice but since this is a hotel that takes many many tour groups, its very crowded. No seats at bar, all tables being used.
We got off the train at 12 noon so the train people poured in as well as buses filled with tour groups. All rooms and all but one restaurant needs a shuttle to get to. Rain, wind temperature, you have to stand at an exact space with many others. Most times all the people waiting couldn't fit on the shuttle.
There are no hotel room in main building.
Rooms are miss matched and spread out.
Ours was dark with low wattage bulbs.
It was rustic but not dirty. Just inconvient' to get around the property.
The one restaurant in the main building was very good! We had to wait 20 minutes
If you eat in there try to get the one table right in front of fireplace.
Since this is the place where Holland America
Takes their land tours, i thought it was be more upscale.

Wonderful, one of the most beautiful national parks in North America, a lot of animal sightings

I recently went on a Backpacking trip in Denali and it was the most beautiful place I have ever traveled too. The vast ruggedness of the land gives you a new perspective on how far things really are. If you ever get a chance to visit this beautiful landscape I highly recommend it.

Amazing views and park. Only way to visit is by bus but it's great as then you can scout the landscape for wildlife. We also had amazing views of both peaks of Denali.

This place is unlike any other.... Seeps into your soul!

Wonderful!!!! Dreamlike landscape. In the season unfortunately overrun.

Unmatched beauty. Breathtaking views. I seen Grizzlies, fox, carabou, moose, sheep and hare. Our guide was awesome. She was informative, funny, great personality and amazing driver. A must see. Highly recommended.

Every American should see our last wilderness once.

No description can adequately describe the grandeur of this national treasure.

God throughout the United States of America for opportunity to study and work have great knowledge

One of the most amazing National Parks! Everyone should visit!

An incredible, magical place to bond with nature and wildlife.

We took the 30 mile Natural History Tour in the park and had a great tour with our guide who assisted in helping us see the different wildlife in the park. He loaned his binoculars to us so we could see some wildlife far away.

Probably the most overwhelmingly beautiful place I've ever been to! Don't miss the Green Bus shuttle tours. Put it on the bucket list and get there! Can't wait to get back there

Climb of Mount Nealy was tough but worth the views.

Alaska is amazing and Denali is the best park in the USA!

The place was shut down because of the government shutdown. We still had an awesome time here. Did the trails and drove into the park. If you want to come you should it's open and the snow plow is clearing the roads in the park...

Stunning mountain views and a good view of the Alaskan wilderness. Can be hard to see the summit of Denali so consider pairing a flight with the park visit. Can be warm by mid summer (roughly 90) or chilly so plan with layers. Additionally, make sure camera batteries are charged because every view is photo - worthy

Beautiful national park with excellent tour guides Dallin, Sharon, Sean, and Angela. All are passionate about their jobs and the beautiful history

The grandscape of Mount McKinley from Wonder Lake is reason enough to go there. Access is tough, with options being buses and lodges at the end of the 90-mile Park Road. With few exceptions, private vehicles aren t allowed past Mile 15. I occasionally work as a photo resource person at Camp Denali in the Kantishna Hills. This lodge has unlimited access to the road, and the staff is great. The Park Road can bring you close to moose, wolves, grizzly bears and caribou, as well as the beauty of the tundra. I would recommend going in late August or early September when the animals are in prime condition and the tundra has taken on its scarlet and purple fall color.

Little disappointed with rain and traffic, but still and fun.

Physically spectacular ...over run with buses and tourists

It was the only time I saw a wild animal up close. While I was in the bus, I bear slapped our door. This was my most memorable experience I have ever had!

If you want to ride the bus, call the day of for the schedule. I drove three hours with screaming kids just to find out they changed the schedule without posting it.

if you like pure wilderness.great.don't bother going to look at animals.there aren't any.!.saw a grisly from 1000yds.very.very disappointed.same with views from railways.(3)trees.trees.and more trees.from toronto.to vancouver.

Absolutely disgruntled that an employee of the people would hang up on me after asking about drone use in a National Park... and wanting more info!

The best NP I have ever been to. The wildlife is incredible, especially after mile marker 15 when you have to ride in a tour bus. Definitely do that! After mile 15 is when we saw all the Grizzly bears and other beautiful wildlife such as Golden Eagles, Gyrfalcon, Moose, Dahl Sheep, etc. We also got lucky and saw Mt Denali on a clear day. It was breathtaking. I remember our guide told us only something like 20% of visitors actually see the mountain due to clouds, so good luck!

Everyone must go and see even if you have lived here for 30 years.

Vast. Very well preserved. High chances of spotting grizzly bear during the bus tour. You can view Denali s peak on a clear day.
No food or water available inside the park. You have to carry your own food along with you. Make sure you are packed for a full day of bus tour.

beautiful wilderness area. Lots of pretty scenery and wildlife. Access is only via bus service on a single road in and out of the wilderness.

Had special permit to camp near Wonder Lake, had an amazing three days there in backwoods nature.

Denali National Park and Preserve is a beautiful place with lands untouched by man. It is important to note that Denali is more of a preserve than a "park." Cars are not allowed beyond the bus station. You must buy a bus ticket to go very deep into the park. There are no real "trails" past the bus depot either. My husband and I hiked the tundra by compass just to make sure we didn't get turned around in all the wide open land. If you buy a bus ticket, you can get off the bus at any stop and catch another bus later. The only problem with this is, the buses are really full, and it's very hard to find a bus that has room for you to hitch a ride back. I feel like Denali needs to get a better system for making sure hikers don't get stranded. Some hikers were waiting and told by 5-6 buses that there was no room. When my husband and I were trying to catch a bus back after a hike, we were over 50 miles from our car, so walking back wasn't an option. When we finally caught a bus, it was almost completely full and we had to sit away from one another. The bus driver would stop if someone spotted wildlife, but you had to remain on the bus and it was so crowded that getting a good view of anything was difficult. The bus system is really set up like more of a sight-seeing adventure. It's very crowded and touristy. If you enjoy that type of thing and want to sit on a crowded bus for 4+ hours, you would probably enjoy this. I prefer exploring alone.
I should also add, there is no where to buy food or drinks past the bus station, so make sure you bring all you will need for a full days' adventure!

It will take your breath away. Alaska is a life experience. Very expensive there. Tours, food etc. Plan for it. You only live once.

Great place but hard to reserve hikes or bus rides and you have to reserve otherwise it's all sold out

B-E-AUTIFUL. There is no other word that could describe this wonderful place. A must see in everyone's life.

I lived in Alaska when I was a kid in the 60s.. I've been there it's beautiful..

Absolutely magnificent, the tour was really great and informative.

Great park with views like no place else. Guides were wonderful.

It was great! We saw Grizzlies, Caribou, Fox, Dahl Sheep, Moose, a piece of Mt. Denali and a lot of beautiful Views. The tour bus driver gave us Denali 101. If you could remember everything he said, you could be hired on with the park service. The buses now have small TV screens tied to the tour guides binoculars, so what he stops to see you can see it in the bus. It was awesome!!!. We went 62 miles into the park. It was worth every cent we paid. Making this a National Park is one thing the government did right. Bring Binoculars!

Very informative tour, but it rained on us, which cited down on the visibility.

Exeptional park in many ways. Bear & other wildlife see ing guaranteed

Beautiful views and just a great place to visit even for the day! Lots of wildlife to check out and plenty to explore. A must stop in Alaska!

Very beautiful, saw wild animals, had an outstanding tour guide. Had a wonderful time

Great area for wildlife viewing. You can drive the first few kilometers on Parkstrasse yourself and e.g. Watch reindeer. You can only continue with the National Park shuttle bus. Again and again you see animals there, e.g. Grizzly bears, reindeer, black bear, mountain goat, etc.

It was sssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooo buytiful

How could you rate a national park less than a five? They're all amazing, Denali included. It's a huge park with some very well maintained trails near the visitor center. Check out the sled dog kennels and the book store for some extra stuff to do after your hike. And don't forget to stamp your national park passport book! There are variations on the Denali stamp depending on where you get it, so look for them all!

This place is spectacular! Beautiful, pristine, and wild! God's art work is amazing! Can only visit this park by bus or lottery. Great way to do it and well worth it! Don't miss it!