Bus to Denali

August 13th, 2022

The ship docked last night into Whittier. We had to have our suitcases outside our doors by 4:00am. Yuck! that is too early. We put our bags out when we went to bed. This is is necessary to make sure everyone luggage makes it to their destination correctly. For some people, the trip is over and they are taking a bus to Anchorage to catch a flight home. For us, we opted for the land portion Princess offered that will take us to Denali National Park for two days.

For those of us going to Denali, we were split into tow groups. One group took the train to Denali, the rest of us will be taking a bus. The bus ride is 11 hours long wit a few stops for lunch and other breaks. Our bus left at 5:00am, that will get us into Denali around 4:00pm.

Me , Steve and Bob on the bus.

About an hour into the trip, the bus stopped at Moose Flats Wetlands Trail. It is part of the Chugach National Forest area and offers opportunities for wildlife viewing, particularly moose and waterfowl. We did not see much, other than a few birds.

Moose Flats Wetlands

We stayed at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. This is a large resort-style Princess hotel located one mile from the entrance to Denali National Park, on the banks of the Nenana River. After checking into our room, Sandy and I took a hotel shuttle to Denali National Park. We were able to catch the last bus going into the park.

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge

The park limits traffic into the park and provides bus services. These area hop-on/hop-off type service. The bus driver will stop anywhere you ask and will point out any wildlife along the drive. Some private traffic is allowed for the first 15 miles for campers and hikers.

Park Bus

Since it was the end of the day, there were only two other people on our bus. Our Bus driver’s name was Elvis. He was quite the character. He handed out tootsie pops to any hiker along the road. He also shared with us that he had a stroke recently and that his right side of his body was not working very well. He would ask us to hand out tootsie pops to people on the right side of the bus. I also noted that he had to lift his leg with his hand to move his foot from the gas to the brake. (not feeling very safe now!) He did point out moose and dall sheep along the way.

Inside the Park

Caribou

We wanted to be back to the Lynx Creek Pizza to get some dinner before they closed, so we asked to exit the bus after about two and half hours. Elvis flagged down a bus returning to the entrance for us to get on.

The new bus driver was not very friendly when we got on. She had just dropped off a bus full of hikers, so it was empty. Elvis had sent over some tootsie pops to give her, and then she was in a better mood. She had been driving the busses in the park since 1993. That was the year we first came to Denali National Park while on our honeymoon. There is a good chance that she drove one of the busses we were on back then. She picked up two more hikers on the way back. The weather also changed dramatically. It was clear and sunny when we left and big storm clouds rolled in as we were approaching the pack entrance. We did not have rain gear and were planning on walking the one mile back to the Lodge. Our driver dropped us off at a shelter at the entrance so we could stay dry. I called the Lodge and convinced them to send a shuttle to pick us up (they stop shuttle service after 9:00pm, it was 10:00).

The Lodge shuttle driver dropped us off at the Lynx Creek Pizza. This restaurant was here 28 years ago when we were here on our honeymoon. Back then, it was a small hole in the wall place filled with hikers. Now it is big and mainstreamed like the rest of the area.

Lynx Creek Pizza

The last bus leaves the Denali Welcome Center at 4:30. It will be tight, but we can make it if we move fast. The sun sets at 10:00, so we have time to get into Denali before it gets dark.