Denali

Wild Denali Bus Ride

Imagine yourself sitting on a bus with a bunch of strangers who have cameras and phones in hand ready to capture the perfect picture of a bear, a big moose or a caribou. The driver is also the guide who narrates the tour through Denali National Park and announces we will be looking for animals along the road for 13 hours. Yes, I said 13 hours!!!

We made it about 10 mins down the road and all of a sudden a man, from Arkansas, in the front row stood up and yelled “squirrel!” haha!! The bus driver hit the brakes and the man and his wife broke out their cameras and took pictures of this little squirrel. It was pretty funny that they were a little over-excited about a squirrel.

When you are on the Denali bus tour with others, you will need a lot of patience. Those camera phones will be out taking pictures of animals a million miles away. This picture was taken with a Sony Smartshot with a zoom lens.

When going on a Denali bus tour, relax, enjoy the animals, and realize you will probably not get any good pictures because the animals are usually far away. Unless you have a mega camera, just enjoy.

Fishing Denali

Now let talk fishing!!! We did not want to stay at a traditional hotel while visiting Denali. When in Alaska, you have to stay rustic. It’s just more fun. We found an amazing cabin outside the park hosted by Kirk and son Tanner of Adventure Denali.

We stayed in the Beach Cabin (enough room for 2 people) and fished the TROPHY TROUT and GRAYLING lakes located on the property. They offered guided fishing and fish on your own for a fee. It was worth every penny!! Fishing in Denali is priceless!! We fished with fly rods and salmon egg flies of various colors.

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We hired a guide for a half day and also fished the lakes for the remainder of our stay on our own. We caught some beautiful fish. They are all catch and release so don’t plan on having one for dinner.

I recommend you make your reservations to fish at Adventure Denali in advance. They get booked up quickly.

We also fished the river in the back of Kirk’s property. We caught some smaller grayling. Please remember that you are in the wilderness. You need to be able to protect yourself from wildlife. Note: At least carry bear spray and know how to use it.