Denali Was Out – Joining the 30% Club

After our weekend reset, we set off north from Anchorage after spending a month in this area of Alaska. We planned short travel days this stretch, hoping to get a visit into Denali in a good weather window without sitting in expensive campsites.

Our first travel day took us north of Willow. We found a little campground at Willow Creek State Recreation Area with parking lot style dry camping, fire pits and picnic tables, pit toilets, and places on the creek to hike or fish. We kept an eye on the forecast since there was more rain and a flood watch in this area, too. We explored some of the trails, but I totally forgot to get photos, so you’ll just have to check out the YouTube video on this part of the trip since BJ hasn’t gotten to editing to grab me shots for this blog post (I’m a smidge ahead of him since the blog goes weekly and the videos are biweekly right now).

We stayed 2 nights so we had a day to explore the nearby Independence Mine State Historical Park. We paid our $5 parking fee, donned our rain gear and spent a couple hours exploring, including a walk up to a snowy area for Luna to have her first snow play. This mine had some of the better conditions for workers, and it was neat to see the buildings in varying phases from decaying to fully restored.

With rain still in the forecast for a day or two, we headed a bit closer to Denali National Park, and in view of the mountain. We stopped for an overnight at Denali View North, a dry camping area and rest area just inside the Denali State Park (yes it is both a state and national park), a day use area that also has RV and tent dry camping spots with picnic tables, fire pits and amazing mountain views for $20/night. After setting up in the rain, the skies cleared time to time, giving us glimpses of snowy peaks, enticing us as we move closer to the park.

With a sunny day in the forecast, we headed to Cantwell RV Park, about 25 minutes from the Denali National Park entrance. We arrived on Friday and planned for a long weekend to allow us some work and rest time, and a day in the park where Luna would be safe in the RV. They had water and electric sites, a dump station, laundry ($6/load) and bathhouses for about $50 a night.

Saturday was forecast to be a sunny day, so we packed the cooler and headed off. We have America the Beautiful passes that gave us free admission, so we checked in and set off to explore. It was a busy day, so we skipped the bus tours (no spots anyway) and we drove the 15 miles open to private vehicles up to the Savage River Loop trailhead. We stopped at several overlooks along the way for pictures and lunch, then made our way to the trailhead where we parked and hiked the river loop, about 2 miles.

While we didn’t get to see wildlife other than some birds and squirrels, we had spectacular views of the peaks of Denali until about 2PM, when clouds rolled in. Sunday turned out to be another clear day, so we drove in again for more clear views and a lunch date at the cafe, but still no wildlife. The fact that we saw the mountain two days in a row completely clear was such a treat. I think I read that means we are in the 30% club, although it seems to be inconclusive of whether that’s the amount of visitors that get to see its peak clearly or how often it is visible. We weren’t worried about what it’s called, just in awe we got to see it!

We will see you next week as we continue the adventure around Alaska and head for our northern most stop on the trip!

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