Eielson Shuttle

We woke to a windy morning, grey and cold. Good thing that most of our sight seeing today was going to be out of the windows of a bus.
It was a brisk walk down to the Wilderness Access Centre arriving with enough time to enjoy a cup of coffee before leaving on our shuttle.
There are several options for getting into Denali National Park - self-driving to Mile 15 (that is as far as a private car can go), various guided tours, or the shuttle bus that has options to how far you go into the park. It was a toss up but we chose the shuttle bus to Eielson Centre, at mile 66, as it was an nine hour return trip with time at the centre before returning. It was a good choice for us as it was enough time sitting on a bus. Most of the tours are longer and there are two shuttle bus options that go further into the park.
We were extremely lucky to have a very friendly driver who loved to talk about the park and her experiences while working as a driver. She would stop at points of interest and, although we didn’t spot a lot of animals, whenever we did she would stop and give us time to take photos. We also had two comfort stops along the way which are also pick up points on the way back if there is room for extra passengers. On the shuttle system you can get on and off along the way up to your destination.
For me the highlight along the way would be seeing Denali. Yes it was cloudy and the distinction between the top of Denali and the sky was not crisp but we saw it. We joined the 33 and a 1/3 club! The entirety of Denali can only be seen 1 day out of three. The whole area is magnificent but seeing all of Denali was the cream on the cake.
Along the way we saw a grizzly walking along the river bank about 150 metres away, a mother grossly and her cubs digging for something up on tthe side of a hill, Ptarmigan by the side of the road, dall sheep way up on the mountains (there were a lot but they were mere specks) and a lone caribou.
By the time we arrived at the Eielson Centre the wind speed had picked up and it was not pleasant to spend a lot of time outside. The centre itself is a proper centre not just a tent like the earlier stops and it had an informative display about the Park and the Centre itself.
On our return to the access centre it was raining and we joined the crew from the Princess Lodge to get back to town on their shuttle. We would have copped a drenching if we had walked.Read more