When we were planning our trip to the Dalton Highway, we decided to spend couple of days in Denali. We were glad we did. Denali is a place of fantastic beauty. Plus, if you want to see wildlife, it is hard to find a better place.

We arrived in Denali on June 26. We had a reservation for the Savage River campground. It's located 13 miles from the park entrance on Denali Park Road, almost as far as you can drive. The elevation there is 2780 ft (847 m). Next morning we took a shuttle bus to Wonder Lake.

This almost 12 hour trip was excellent. The views in Denali are breathtaking. We were lucky to see McKinley very well - most of the time it's hiding in the clouds.

We saw more animals then I could have even imagined seeing in one day: many caribou and Dall sheep, three adult grizzlies (one of them a female with three cubs), moose, two snowshoe hares, many ground squirrels and numerous ducks near Wonder Lake. We even saw a wolf chasing caribou, something few people ever see even in Denali.

This was a real safari tour. The bus driver was very knowledgeable about the park and wildlife, so we learned a lot during our trip.

The weather was very good - mixed clouds, dry and warm. It was pretty cold at night though - down to +2°C. There were some mosquitoes in the campground, but very few, so they didn't bother us.

We left Denali on June 28 and continued our trip to Dalton.

If you are planning to visit Denali, it's a good idea to make some reservations in advance. First, if you are planning to camp, you should reserve your spot. It may be crowded during the peak season. Second, you should reserve your seat in the bus. You can drive only 15 miles on Denali Park Road, then the travel is restricted to general public. To get to the park you need to buy a tour or to take a shuttle bus.

You can find all information about the park and how to make reservations on Denali's websites: http://www.nps.gov/dena/ and http://www.denali.national-park.com/