Six days in Cantwell, Alaska…
Why we came…
To check out Denali National Park and the Denali Highway…
The campground…
Cantwell RV Park is decent. Like many Alaska RV parks, the spaces are tight. It’s a large packed gravel area with all pull-through sites. Trees have been planted along the sites, but they just make the cramped spaces even tighter. Besides our campground neighbors, the RV park was peaceful. We couldn’t hear any highway noise and just an occasional train toot once or twice a day.
We had water and electric. There is a dump station available. We had a strong and reliable Verizon data signal. We were never able to connect to the wi-fi. Because we didn’t have full hook-ups, we used their showers a couple of times. They were clean and had good hot water. There are also laundry machines available. The campground owners and workers care and do a good job maintaining everything.
Overall, we were comfortable but would have liked more space.
The camp sites were tight, but we liked Cantwell RV Park
The owners and workers take pride in the campground.
Nearby towns…
Cantwell, population 219 and elevation 2,190 feet, has two gas stations, two restaurants, and not much else. At nearly 2,200 feet elevation, it’s one of the highest towns in Alaska. Though it doesn’t sound too high, timberline is roughly 3,000 feet in this part of the state.
Fairbanks is 150 miles to the north and Wasilla is 169 miles to the south. They are the closest major supply and service centers in the region.
Adventures…
A spectacular hike…
There are four trails that gain access to Kesugi Ridge, which would total 27.5 miles if you started at the northernmost access point and finished at the southernmost point. Interestingly, there would be a marathon along the ridge the following weekend.
We set out to hike Little Coal Creek Trail, the northern most trail. We wanted to hike just over three miles (one way) to a knob along the ridge. We planned to do it the first day since it would be our best weather day.
When we started out there were some low cumulous clouds and some high cirrus clouds far to the south. As we drove south, we had some nice views of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet.
Even though we lived in Alaska for a number of years, neither of us had done this hike. As we climbed we felt like we were experiencing the real Alaska with expansive views of mountains, glaciers and braided rivers in every direction!
The incredible views of Denali continued for about a mile and a half to around 2000 feet. Now the cumulus clouds were level with our eye view towards Denali. As the clouds cruised north, they would obscure our view of the “High One”.
There is a knob at the top of Little Coal Creek that is perfect for taking a break and appreciating the capacious views. We could see how the trail continued and hooked up with the main ridge trail. But it also crossed extensive snow fields!
On the way up, we were passed by an older couple from Talkeetna. They were running the trail to check conditions for the upcoming marathon. They were probably in their 60s, but could have been a couple of those ageless people in their 70s. As we snacked on top of the knob, we watched them tentatively picking their way across the snow fields.
We hung out on the knob for about an hour enjoying the pleasant weather and most incredible view. We put the camera on a tripod, set the timer, and took several pictures. We hoped to capture the gap between clouds when a sliver of the “Tall One” would peek through. Otherwise we just sat and enjoyed the view. It was a special place!
On the hike down, it was like walking in a postcard. As we descended, our perspective changed and the clouds blocked less of the view. We often paused to take in the beauty of it all.
The big picture of where we hiked and the spectacular landmarks to the west
Hike route on Little Coal Creek Trail / Denali State Park info (click picture for a better view)
So glad to see Denali, The High One, out. This view is along the Parks Highway south of Cantwell.
Denali (on the left) towers more than 18,000 feet above than the Chulitna River
Still headed up. See our goal?
Looking north over the Chulitna Valley towards Cantwell
Looking south towards Kesugi Mountain
The Kesugi Ridge Trail continues over that saddle / Early spring flowers at 3,000 feet in Alaska
This is one of the most incredible views we’ve ever had! We are standing at 3,000 feet elevation, and looking up at Denali, 20,310 feet, the highest spot in North America.
Headed back down. It’s a bit rocky near the top.
Checking out the valley and rugged Alaska Range before we head down
That terrain is incredible! / It’s like walking in a post card. Do we have to leave?
A drive down the Denali Highway…
“The Denali Highway is certainly one of the most spectacular drives in the world. Much of the route lies above timberline, so the vistas go on forever. The mountains and glaciers of the Alaska Range form a majestic backdrop, with miles of rolling tundra punctuated by shallow lakes in between.”
The entire highway is 135 miles connecting Paxon and Cantwell on opposite ends. “Before the Parks Highway was completed in the early 1970s, the Denali Highway was the only road access to Denali National Park.”
The term “highway” here is used loosely. The same is true for the Dalton Highway running to Prudhoe Bay and the Steese Highway running to Circle. These Alaskan highways are not four lanes of pavement but instead are barely two-lane wide dirt roads.
As we headed east from Cantwell, only the first few miles were paved. When we hit the dirt, we were surprised to see that the speed limit was 50mph. We limited our speeds to 30 to 35mph in the big ole Dodge truck. We avoided driving faster because of spotty washboard and potholes.
Neither Arleen nor I had driven the Denali highway when we lived in Alaska years ago. We set out with the goal of the Susitna River crossing at 55 miles.
Unfortunately, it was a gray, drizzly, overcast day and we would not see much of the scenery that the area is known for.
We did see two trumpeter swans, one moose, and one caribou. The single caribou was odd since they often move in masses.
We topped out on a hill above the Nenana River at 2,700 feet around the 20 mile point. That is close to timberline in this part of Alaska! The highest point was a pass at 3,100 feet at mile 36 (or 97 coming from Paxon).
We stopped at the Brushkana River. We had plans to fish it for graying. But it was running very fast with runoff. In addition, it was lined with a lot of big boulders. We drove on.
From the highway, we could see the glaciers that are the source of two major rivers. Interestingly, the Susitna River flows southwest and dumps into Cook Inlet and the Gulf of Alaska. In the meantime, the Nenana River, that begins just one drainage away, flows west and then cuts north, adding to the Tanana and the mighty Yukon. The Yukon flows west into the Bering Sea! Yet, we could see where they begin next to each other on the south side of the Alaska Range.
We turned around at the 55 mile point where an old wooden bridge crosses the Susitna River. The river was an impressive size here, so close to its headwaters.
We had a pleasant drive. Too bad the dreary clouds kept the spectacular scenery hidden from our view!
We drove roughly 55 miles of the 133 mile long “highway”
Info about the area. (Click the pics for a better view.)
A dramatic sky at the start of our adventure
Headed east and about to descend to the Susitna River
Our first good view of the mighty “Big Su”
The old wooden bridge was cool
Looking west across the Susitna River / The only caribou we saw. There are many in this area.
The only moose we saw / We watched these swans enjoying a good meal
Tour through Denali National Park…
“Denali National Park and Preserve encompasses 6 million acres of Alaska’s interior wilderness. Its centerpiece is 20,310 foot high Denali, North America’s tallest peak. With terrain of tundra, spruce forest and glaciers, the park is home to wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, moose, caribou and Dall sheep.”
“The 92 miles long, Denali Park Road parallels the Alaska Range and travels through low valleys and high-mountain passes. It is the only road in the park.” Private motor vehicles are only allowed along the first 15 miles of the road.
The weather was supposed to be abysmal. We knew that our chances were slim to see Denali. Only 10%-30% of summer visitors get to see it anyway. So we decided that bad weather wouldn’t stop us from seeing wildlife. Our best bet would be a tour bus ride through the Park. That way, we’d even stay warm and dry!
There are multiple colored buses running into the park; red, blue, brown, grey, green and brown. The green are transit buses and are cheaper than tour buses. They are more flexible allowing you to disembark / re-board anywhere along the road. They stop for wildlife viewing, restroom stops and beautiful scenery, just like tour buses, but are not narrated.
“Your driver is your narrator on the tour or tan buses, and he/she will provide a detailed and captivating program to accompany your journey along the Denali Park Road. Tour buses make restroom stops and pause for views of wildlife and scenery. All three tour bus options of varying length offer either a snack or full lunch.”
We chose the Tundra Wilderness Tour. The Tundra Tour runs 62 miles into Denali National Park to Stony Hill Overlook. Our tour started at 07:10 and they ask you to be there a half hour early.
So we were up at 05:30 and out the door by 6:10 for the 30 minute drive. On the way we saw seven moose! Four were lone moose but one was a mama with recently-born twins. That was before we even got on the wildlife tour bus!
There were about 50 people on bus. They were all adults except one 10 year old boy and a baby. Thankfully the baby only cried for a few brief periods.
The narrator briefed us on a variety of subjects from the history of the Park Road to the geology to information on wildlife. For instance, the mountain is called simply “Denali” not Mount or Peak because those are English words.
We learned there are two different kinds of tundra in Denali; alpine and arctic. “Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra in that alpine tundra typically does not have permafrost, and alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic soils.”
We also learned the spruce that we had seen on Kesugi Ridge was White Spruce and it is found throughout the eastern side of the park. The western side is dominated by the diminutive Black Spruce.
We stopped to see a gyrfalcon, a moose, lots of caribou, distant Dall sheep, and one fat, entertaining, grizzly bear. The tour driver would try to focus a camera on the animal(s) to show on the drop-down video screens. They combine this edited video with an Aramark movie of the park and offer the DVD set for $29.98. It’s a unique souvenir.
We slowly drove by a number of hikers and cyclists. There were more private vehicles than expected. RVs are allowed into the Teklanika Campground though they only get a one way in and out pass. Professional photographers, artists, and scientists conducting studies can get passes.
We had 10 minute rest stops about every hour or so. We had longer stops at Polychrome to climb to the top of an overlook hill of the colorful valley. Plus, we stopped at the Toklat Ranger Station for a while to look through the naturalist’s tent and book store.
But the surprise and the highlight was when we turned around at Stony Hill Overlook at mile 62.
There, 35 miles off to our southwest, was Denali! Unfortunately, the air was smoky due to wildfires but we could see the whole mountain! It was a real delight considering we had started the day not expecting to see it at all!
Tour route in Denali National Park to the Stony Hill Overlook
We arrived at 6:45am and this parking lot was almost empty. It was nearly full when we got back at 2:00pm. / About to board our bus
There was a constant flow of tour busses and people
The first critter we spotted: a moose / The tour bus guide controls a camera that displays what’s seen. At the end of the tour, a DVD of your adventure can be purchased for $30.
A Park Ranger welcomes everyone / The moose antlers are heavy! / I’m a caribou!
See Denali? It was hazy due to smoke from area fires. Denali is usually obscured by clouds. Just 10-30% of summer visitors get to see it. Would our view get better or worse?
The Polychrome Cliffs looked like a water color painting
It was windy at the Polychrome Overlook and the clouds were getting thicker
The only Dall Sheep we saw were far away / A gyrfalcon waiting to spot a meal
We saw lots of caribou
We had a great view of this grizzly bear. It foraged for goodies and gave itself a vigorous scratch behind the ears.
The view got better! Denali, “The High One”, looked like a dream through the hazy smoke. This iconic view is from Stony Hill. See the tour bus in the lower right corner?
The Visitor Center and Mount Healy…
We started the day at the Denali visitor center so Arleen could buy a park sticker for her passport book.
Next, we went to the interpretive center where we watched a Denali cinema photography movie and then a film for wilderness hikers.
Then, we wandered around the center checking out the excellent displays. We really enjoyed the wildlife displays such as the animal foot prints in the snow. They also had some excellent displays depicting how difficult life was for the early settlers.
It was time to get outside! We set out from the visitor center to hike up Mount Healy. We got to the trailhead by walking Taiga Trail.
“Mount Healy Trail travels part-way up Mount Healy, a small mountain overlooking the entrance area of the park. The trail starts with a steady, mild uphill grade, eventually becoming quite steep near its finish.” The 2.7 mile trail gains 1,700 feet.
The steady uphill part was in trees and shrubbery. We did not see any signs of bears, such as scat or hair, but we kept alert all the same. Once we broke out of the trees, the trail became rockier, but the views opened up all around!
We could see the Alaska Range south, the deep valley cut by the Nenana River, and the snake-like Parks Highway. At the same time, the wind picked up and we fought to stay on top of the exposed ridge.
There were several other hikers enjoying the view at the first knob. The maintained trail ends here but you can follow the ridge to the top of Mount Healy, 2,200 feet higher. We followed the ridge far enough to take shelter from the wind behind some rocks. After a break, we joined a group of hikers to get some impressive pictures from the shoulder.
Though we could not see Denali, the hike was a great way to wrap up our visit to Denali National Park.
A replica cabin of an early settler / Interesting display about animal feet and snow
“Squirrels are the fast food of the tundra” / Lynx primarily eat snowshoe hares / Routes of two migrating golden eagles. One went to Montana and the other went to southern New Mexico!
Hike route to the Mount Healy Overlook / The trail was well maintained and well marked. Watch for bears!
We climbed nearly 2,000 feet to reach our goal / A sweet rest spot
The view just kept getting better
Nearing the high point of our hike. Mount Healy (in the upper right), at 5,700 feet, is still 2,200 feet higher than we are!
View from the Mount Healy Overlook of the Nenana River Valley and the Alaska Range
Hold onto that rock!
Next…
We are in Palmer. Tomorrow we head to Anchorage and then Soldotna, Homer, and Ninilchik.
Parting shots…
Entering Denali National Park / Another stamp and sticker in Arleen’s park passport book
(203,900)