Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, August 2024

August 1st, we left our Anchorage hotel for the 5 hour plus drive to the Denali National Park and Preserve and our hotel in Healy.

Except for a snack and bathroom breaks our only stop was at the Denali State Park at the Denali overlook. Below a photo of the Denali mountain with the sign naming all the mountain peaks. 

A view from the overlook, the fireweed plants were pretty, than a peek of the river and the distant mountain peaks.

The ride to the park was scenic and we did see one moose cross the road in front of our car. 

Views from inside the visitor center. The exhibits were of the local wildlife seen inside the park. 

We arrived early enough we took a few walks on the trails close to the visitor center.

Alaska Railroad bridge, the train arrives in Denali with tourists and cruise line passengers from Anchorage.

Another walk was on the trail to the Horseshoe Lake. 

A view of the pond and nearby river from the trail. I am not sure if the tree damage in the far left corner of the photo was from the recent Riley fire back in June. I know the fire caused the closures of the this Horseshoe trail and whole the park. By mid July the fire was out and the park re-opened. Whew, just in time for our visit.  

This is the Horseshoe Lake, we did not walk the loop around the lake but just retraced our steps back up to our car. Between the drive from Anchorage, the first walk to the creek and then this 2 mile walk we were done for the day. We had just a short 13 mile drive to our hotel for the next 3 nights. 

Thanks for visiting! Take care, have a great day!  

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."