Looking for the best Denali National Park and Preserve tent camping? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Wonder Lake Campground is closed until further notice.
With up-close views of North America’s tallest peak, Denali National Park Wonder Lake Campground is the closest campground to the mountain, providing visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is located in a remote area, surrounded by pristine wilderness and offering visitors a chance to connect with nature in a way that is becoming increasingly rare. The campground offers a range of activities nearby such as fishing and wildlife viewing. It is also the starting point for many popular hiking trails, including the 20-mile McKinley Trail. Denali National Park Wonder Lake Campground is a special destination that offers visitors an unforgettable glimpse of Alaska's natural beauty.
Visitors may not drive to this campground. It is only accessible for campers via specialized park buses. Be sure to book a camper bus ticket in addition to paying your campground fees.
$16 / night
$50 - $90 / night
Igloo Creek Campground is a seven-site backcountry campground. Sites can only be booked upon arriving in the park. This campground is surrounded by low mountains. The area is thickly forested, with the Denali Park Road about one hundred yards away from the campsites. Food lockers are available for campers to store all scented items, not just food. Campers reach the campground by bike or by using the park camper bus.
ScoutI really love this place, its very nice and calm place. unitedmods
ScoutI ended up doing car camping here on a whim because it was super rainy and I wanted somewhere I could comfortably car camp without running into the risk of being disturbed and let me tell you this was such a beautiful and safe space to be camping. The best part of it all, if you have AT&T you get full 5g service in the mountains. It was great 10/10 will be camping when I pass through here again.
Guide
Super clean toilets that are located close to every site. Water and sump sink located convenient to every site. You might have to look for a site that fits your tent or Rv. Reserve for 3 nights ,drive in , set up, and then let the Green Bus Drivers do the driving for 3 days. Get on and off any time. We went in August and the mosquitoes were minimal.
Guide
Stayed in caribou loop for 5 days. Had a great spot (lot of them). Location was excellent for exploring the entire park. Campsite was roomy and had the illusion of seclusion based on space between sites and nature separating sites. Well within walking distance to store, visitor center. Just outside park we rented ATV and had a great time in the open lands. So much so I went back with my jeep the next day and 4-wheeled in the same area.
Traveler
Over 10 free campsites, no electric, no water. Pit toilets available. Sites have tables and fire rings. This is a gem of a find! When Denali closed due to wildfires my family and I found this spot which saved our vacation. Some sites are overgrown, mosquitoes are bad so bring spray.
RangerShowers are at the mercantile, $5 for 5 min. They have washers and dryers too. $2 wash/$2 dry. The campground is quiet and the sites are all well designed and level.
GuideThis campsite is right off the highway and has bathrooms, fire rings, and picnic tables. There was still a lot of snow in late May so not all of the sites were accessible. Not many people there but a fine site if you want a free campground in the Denali area.
GuideIn the wilderness but still close enough to civilization to buy things if needed or have cell service
LegendLoved this NP campground. Quiet and convenient spot to park a tent/camper. Easy walk/drive to bus depot/visitors center/town. They have a mercantile store open to book buses, pay for camping, get beer, ice cream, some goodies. They have laundry and showers (need quarters). Level spots! They do not have electric etc but have a dump station and water.
Denali is awesome. Beautiful hikes, go see the sled dog demo, took a bus tour into the park past the point where no personal vehicles are allowed. 30% chance of seeing Denali. Rainy and foggy when we were there so we saw a small glimpse behind the clouds but you would never know it's this huge mountain. Also beautiful fall colors at this time. Weather changing quickly!!
There was a bear that has destroyed a tent so they had part of campground blocked off. They have three loops: bear, wolf or caribou and no soft sided tents were allowed at this time.
TravelerNice place in between Denali state park and Denali national park. There are toilets and trash cans only. Although, it is infested by mosquitoes and not very well maintained but clean. There are about 10 RV sites, and a few tent sites. You'll have to make your own path to the river, grass is high. Watch out for bears.
Legend“Did you get your Denali reservations, yet?” For months we heard this common refrain from my mother each time we called. We were planning a visit to the park during the first week of August, and here it was April and there was still plenty of availability for the furthest campground into the park that you can take a trailer, camper, RV or motorhome. Still, there’s a reason why it’s so in demand. Not only is the campground beautiful, nestled in between the foothills and the banks of the braided Teklanika river, but it greatly reduces your travel time into the rest of the park by bus.
The campground offers medium-sized sites, some back-in, some pull-through, picnic tables, fire rings, fresh potable water and vault-style toilets like many other national park campgrounds. None of the campsites offered electrical hook ups, so bring your solar panels. We were able to charge our system by simply putting our portable solar panel out into the open.
If you’re driving your personal vehicle, you can make your reservation between 3 minimum required nights or 14 maximum nights. (If you take the bus, you only need to make a reservation for 1 night – but why would you only stay 1 night?– this is Denali, people!) The purpose for the stay requirement of drivers is to minimize vehicle traffic on the gravel park road. You get to drive in once on the first day of your reservation, and out once on the last day– any other day in-between you’re taking the bus.
Once you get to the campground, the sites are first-come, first-served. There will be enough sites for everyone with a reservation, but your choices might be limited if you arrive later in the day.
To ride the bus, you must purchase a separate “Tek” bus pass which is a one-time fee and good for the entire length of your stay. You can go in either direction on the bus, hop-on/ hop-off any place you want between the end of the road and Park Headquarters. The buses can accommodate 3 bikes, so if you want to ride one way and take the bus back like we did, that's a great option! One note on the Tek Pass, if you go all the way back to the Visitor’s Center you will need to purchase an additional bus pass to get back to camp. So, do your VC stuff before and after you camp within the park.
Groceries are best purchased at the Three Bears in nearby Healy, around 15 miles from the park entrance, they have better prices and a wider selection than in Denali town, including a full liquor store. There are bars, restaurants, hotels and t-shirt shops aplenty there too.
Scout
I was staying there with some friends for 2 nights, the RV Park was full, everything was beautiful, you have an amazing view to appreciate, you can go with your family also because it is a quiet place.
ScoutThe spaces are very small. I have a 24’ trailer and there were not many spots I would fit. The spots were narrow, and most were perpendicular to the road, making it difficult to back it.
On the up side, the spaces weee very secluded, and the campground was very quiet.
It was nice being so far into the park, but with the road closed at around mile 41, there weren’t many hikes.
Legend
Drive through the site going into denali. As soon as we get there we spot caribou right at the river. It was very Smokey due to wildfires so we couldn’t really see much
GuideWe spent 2 nights and used the Savage River Campground as a jumping off point to travel further into the park. We had a our best hikes from the campground. We enjoyed hiking along the river. We were lucky to have a grouse pair come into our campsite. We also took advantage of the ranger talk that was given in the evening. The bathrooms were clean.
GuideThis camp ground has the best of both worlds- secluded, wooded campsites while being close to a mercantile store and the visitor center. We stayed 2 nights and then came back for a third. Both times, we were able to get a site on the Caribou loop with the creek running behind the site. The sites in this part of the campground are more private and there is a trail that connects it to the visitor center. The bathroom was clean.
RangerThis campsite was in the Savage River Campground in Denali National Park, just outside the bus station for the park transit and close to the bathrooms. We had a great tent site and firepit with a large picnic table. You can hear the river flowing and it can lull you to sleep despite the near constant daylight. This site was peaceful and the Mountain Vista Trail was a short walk away.
RangerMy dad and I camped in B-20 for 2 nights. It’s was a great site, close walk to bathrooms, close to the water supply to refill water containers, the Mountain Vista Trailhead, and just perfectly placed. We camped in a tent under constant daylight and got down to 40s between 3-5am. You can pick up whatever wood you see on the ground but can’t cut fresh stuff. It was my first time staying in this campground.
Scout
Nice bathrooms, you need special tokens from the office for showers. Not crowded in early June.
RangerWe got there first day of the season and there was a ton more snow than normal. Made the sites a little trickier to get into. There are 2 pull through site options at the end of each of the loops. I think one is site #14. Site #13 has the best view but it’s all first come first serve. Clean bathrooms
LegendWe stayed here twice (each time for 1 night) on our way to and from Fairbanks. We visited in March 2022 so since it was winter camping season, it was first come, first serve and camping is free. There’s no water or electricity but the bathrooms were open at the campsite across from us.
You can fill up water bottles at the winter information center a little bit up the road if needed.
They only plow certain campsites so you have to drive all around the loop to find a spot. It’s so quiet and peaceful at night, I could’ve stayed there forever!
During our first visit, some kind campers flying back home gave us some of their leftover fresh caught salmon so we cooked it over our fire pit that a previous camper was so nice to dig out for us! Not all the campsites had the fire pits dug out but the one we were in was.
The sky is beautiful and lights up with stars when the sky is clear. I’m sure it’s just as beautiful in the summertime but it was definitely magical in the winter.
TravelerI've only ever stayed the night during the shoulder seasons, and not during the prime tourist rush. The spots are decently sized and the tent spots have a tent pad that is level and root free! In the height of the tourist season it will fill up completely and feel kind of closterphobic with how tightly packed the spots are.
ScoutWe were visiting Denali from California and was our first time in Alaska. We were not only blown away by the beauty of Denali, but the campground was stunning as well. Most campers had RVs which made for a very quiet campground during days and nights. That's not something we are used to in California. It was so relaxing. The only downside was that thr bathroom near our site was basically an outhouse and there was no running water anywhere. Made it difficult to do dishes, wash hands, etc. I would rent an RV next time.
GuideWe were lucky enough to get a day of reservation for a night in the park. The campsite we got was perfect. Had a spot for our tent a nice campfire area, and a picnic table. The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. And the camp host was super friendly and nice.
TravelerSavage river is a nice campsite that you can drive to in Denali National Park. It is also possible to see Denali from here. Mixture of tents and RVs
Traveler
Igloo campground is located a decent ways into the park. We were told mosquitoes were the national bird of Alaska haha. It is no joke at this campground. Be prepared for me. Only 7 campsites but pretty close together. No campfires or communal fire pit.
GuideTake your bikes or buy a bus pass. Only some spots had a view. The camping is close. Pets are not allowed on trails in the park- only roads. The camp was kind of noisy. Come here for the Denali experience but know it does not start with this campground.
Tent camping near Denali National Park and Preserve offers breathtaking views and a chance to immerse yourself in Alaska's stunning wilderness. With a variety of campgrounds to choose from, outdoor enthusiasts can find the perfect spot to pitch their tent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Denali National Park and Preserve?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Denali National Park and Preserve is Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park with a 4.8-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Denali National Park and Preserve?
TheDyrt.com has all 10 tent camping locations near Denali National Park and Preserve, with real photos and reviews from campers.
