Denali Backcountry Adventure - Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Aryelle Dall

Greatest 4th of July with Sherri (best tour guide) in our 92 mile adventure /13 hours of amazing scenery and wildlife.
It was a very long day but def worth every penny and second! Once in a lifetime experience and a lifetime of great memories. Sherri was an amazing guide and bus driver!
We were lucky enough to join the 30%!
“The 30% club is made up of the people who were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. The weather changes constantly in Denali National Park, and we often recommend to guests that they dress for sun, rain, wind, and sometimes even snow all in the same day.”

Carlton Wyatt

Since the road closure at mile 43, we took the bus tour there and back. Mickey K and Nan were super hosts. So informative, fun and kind. They provided lots of sodas, water, and snacks. The scenery is spectacular. Highly recommend!

Melissa Drymon

Not at all what we expected or had booked and prepaid for. We booked 6-7 months prior and we're never told of any changes until we were already on the bus. Then we were taken down a completely different road not in the national park. Stopped once along the way to use porta potties and get snacks from the driver (cookies, trail mix or granola bars) then continue on. Our driver was good and filled with information, pointing out scenery and stopping for wildlife. Once we reached our destination, Alpine Creek Lodge we were greeted by a large staff of youth who served us lunch (we had 4 choices to pick from, mainly sandwiches with chips and a drink). The area was mostly dry dirt but had nice views. There was a team of sled dogs you could visit, the bar to purchase a drink, a hike if you could find a youth worker to escort you (one of our party couldn't so they didn't go), panning for gold if you brought the packet of dirt. You could also pay an extra $50/ per person for a 30 min guided ATV ride. We sat around this lodge for 2 hours before driving back down to where the bus picked us up. It was definitely a big disappointment for our entire group.

L Perry

Definitely wasted one of our few days in Denali. As soon as we got on the bus, the tour guide said this was a wilderness tour not a Wildlife tour. She was right…we saw nothing. This tour is not we expected. We rode for the 8 hour bus ride on a pot holed road and then had a 2 hour lunch break. Alpine creek folks were nice but we saw nothing of the national park. Very disappointed. Strongly not recommended.

Mary Ann Kilpatrick

Do not go on this adventure. The school bus was jammed pack with people and unfortunately I was on the hump with zero leg room for 10 hours! Guide although nice didn’t know her Alaska history at all. This bus tour does not go into Denali National Park at all. So do not be fooled by the advertisement. It was basically a back road that hunters use. We saw absolutely zero wildlife on the whole trip.

Dirk W

Maybe because of wrong expectations, this tour was completely disappointing. Against the name (Denali wilderness tour), this tour does not visit Denali national park! Instead the tour was an 8 hours bus drive on Denali highway (back and forth) with a 2 hour break at Alpine Creek Lodge. At the Alpine Creek Lodge, some basic tourist food was served and certain activities were provided (gold panning, small hiking trail, information about sled dogs). However, there was not too much wilderness (we have seen 2 moose and some swans). Positive: Our driver got us lot of interesting background information about living in Alaska. I would not recommend this tour unless you have informed yourself detailed what to expect.

Costelo X

Our party of 9 took this tour in late June 2022. We booked the tour in April 2022. At the time we booked, we were unaware of the changes in the tour for 2022. We booked through Viator and were completely unaware that the long history of prior reviews of the tour to that point that described trips though Denali National Park no longer applied. As others more recent travelers in 2022 experienced, we had expected that we would be going into Denali National Park on this tour. We put our trust in the reviews from 2021 and earlier on Viator and weren't aware of information describing the new tour. The company can say it's upfront on its own website, but given the vast difference in the tour compared to what is described in past reviews from 2021 and earlier, it certainly seemed that the company otherwise took advantage of people's confusion. Given that people can book this tour through a third party, I believe the company should have contacted us to inform us of the change in the tour from the past, and at least could have done so when I was on the phone in May with the company to give our party's names and ages. The opportunity was there, and their failure to inform us directly of the change in the tour for 2022 until we were actually on the bus seemed to be intentional.

As for the tour itself, the bus ride was very rough. The scenery was pleasant at times, though we were unlucky with the smoke in the area at the time, limiting our views. We enjoyed some of the activities and the people at the lodge. Overall, given our expectation to see Denali National Park, the tour was disappointing, and we wouldn't have chosen to spend an entire day in that way.

Maureen C

DO NOT WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY OR TIME!!! This so called “experience “ was the worst! As soon as the driver got on board, she said they are now calling it a wilderness tour instead of a wildlife tour. I should have gotten off the bus and demanded a refund then! This is nothing more than a tourist trap…you’ll spend all day on a excruciating uncomfortable bumpy bus ride through the woods. Thats it! We didn’t see one animal. Not one! When you get to Aspen Lodge, there are a few make shift attractions, none of which will hold your attention for more than a few minutes. It’s like looking through a tacky tourist shop. Absolutely going to demand my money back, but no one can give me back my precious time wasted. DON’T TAKE THIS TOUR!!!