Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Denali National Park

Savage 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

Savage River is an amazing location in Denali National Park offering details of the river during the winter period. The river does not completely freeze leaving cracks that provide a new perception to the pristine conditions. Drive across the bridge and take a photo opportunity with the jaw-dropping scene.

requires a road permit and you to park your car or rv and stay until stay complete. near a glacial river and one hour into Denali National park. has pit toilets and water. ranger talks posted. great for families. near bus stop to take camper bus farther into park. no marked trails but you can hike along river or road.

This 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.

Riley creek is near the Denali National Park entrance. It’s also a short walk to the merchant store where you can shower or get basic essentials. Try to shower earlier in the day for cleanest showers. Showers coat $4. You must get a token from the cashier. The campground is very nice. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. Tons of trees for shade and hammocks.

This campsite is stunning. It’s easily accessible, the last campground in Denali National Park by motor vehicle (the others you need to take a bus from the station at the visitors center near the entrance.) Make sure you book your tours in advance, the earlier the better! You could spend a day hiking around the savage river which is located at the end of the camp site. The site is walkable, quiet, and clean.

Denali National Park and Preserve allows for backcountry camping. With that comes extreme risks as it is one of the most remote places that you can be. The National Park service does a wonderful job making sure that only a certain amount of people are allowed in each unit within the park. In this particular unit (north side of the Toklat river into the polychrome mountains) I saw the most wildlife I have ever seen while out backpacking. We found an animal spine, saw a moose, got turned around by 3 bears chilling in our potential camp location, and then at the end of the trip also saw 2 more grizzlies less than 30 feet away. Note; do not go here looking for bears, they are dangerous creatures and should not be harassed/seeked out in the wild.

If you do not trust your river crossing skills to the highest level, do NOT cross the rivers. My friend and I got stuck on the other side of the river with those aforementioned grizzly bears and had to camp an extra night in order to be able to cross the rivers as the water levels had risen. Backcountry adventures are inherently risky. Do not try them unless you are prepared. Bring bear spray, leave no trace, and ultimately experience the vast beauty that is Denali National Park.

This is the front country campground in Denali National Park. It's really big and has a few stores and most facilities. The campsites are assigned and we found them clean with a little teeny bit of foliage between some sites. Bathrooms were clean. However, there were people driving in/out setting up, cooking, talking all hours of the night. The sun doesn't really set during the summer and it throws off A LOT of people and they forget that they don't realize that it's late at night/early morning.

We were in a tent. It may be quieter in an RV.

Unit 34 is another backcountry site in Denali National Park. It is plagued by marsh and thousands of mosquitos, but if you have mosquito gear and get up the mountain as quickly as possible you should be fine. You only have to hike a mile or two to get out of site of the park road. You will need to hike more to get out of the mosquitos and near a water source though. The mountains nearby make a perfect camping spot as you can climb your way out of mosquito hangouts and into the beautiful view of the mountain.

Wonder Lake campground is the furthest campground in Denali National Park. About 85 miles from the entrance. It is only accessible by bus which takes about 4.5 hours to get there but definitely worth it. The bus ride alone has some of the most spectacular scenery around. Not to mention you get views of North America's highest peak. The campground has everything you will need but be sure to use the HUGE bear storage room where everyone has to store their food both day and night. The bears are everywhere so use it. Overall, it's absolutely beautiful and if you plan to camp I highly recommend this one.

Backpacking in Denali National Park and Preserve in the wintertime is rough. Do not try it unless you know what you are doing. Everything in the area pretty much shuts down during the winter months! Do not expect a warm Irish coffee after the backpacking trek through the snow. On the plus side, everything is free! If you can get yourself out there you can go as far as you would like. I only got 1-2 miles from the sled dog kennels as my toes thought it was too cold to venture further. There are limited water supply areas and if you do want them you must be willing to trek a few miles in deep snow to get to them. I should mention that there’s lots of snow during the wintertime just one more time. Be prepared! i visited in October but for some reason can not change it to the proper month.

BUT you also get the chance to see the northern lights so it’s a win.

P.s. these units are very very different during the summer months and very accessible to tourists!

Denali National Park is truly the pristine wilderness setting for a National Park. It has only one road in and that road is only paved the first 14 miles. You can only get past mile 14 by buying a ticket for a bus ride in. There are different busses you can take but if you want to get to Wonder Lake Campground, you'll need to go to mile 85 of 90. It is worth the ride! See "The Mountain" as close as you can get by road. Camp under the Midnight sun. Catch the alpenglow and possibly the northern lights. Watch out for mosquitoes. Above all, enjoy your stay at the end of the Park Road.

A perfect Campground for your stay in Denali National Park. Beautifully wooded sites allow for you to hear nature and feel like part of the wilderness. Nightly Ranger talks add to your experience and education of the park. Walking trails help you explore the area and also connect you with the Mercantile, showers, and laundry. Picnic table and firepit with little leveling required in our site. Limited generator times but we didnt mind as it helped keep things quieter and let us hear the nature around us. Shuttle bus service is available to help get around the park. Treated as a first come first serve for site choice, check in then go select the site you like best. You are able to reserve online and it is highly recommended as they fill up quick during the summer months.

Camping at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, close by the tallest peak in North America, seemed like the perfect way to end our trip to all 59 national parks. It was even more than we expected.

Our first two days in the park (first day shuttling out to Wonder Lake, and second day exploring the Eielson area) were completely cloudy and rainy with no visibility of Denali. We were losing hope that we would ever see the mountain until we woke up on our third morning. We opened our tent at 4 a.m. to use the bathroom and saw Denali in all its glory. We hadn’t even known how amazing of a view we had from our tent until that final morning.

At the campground, we enjoyed walking around Wonder Lake at sunrise (around 4 a.m. in July!), cooking in the nice pavilion areas, seeing moose ramble around the campsites, and attending evening ranger programs. We also were able to catch the park shuttle to other areas of the park. (I’d recommend Eielson Visitor Center & its surrounding trails!)

You can read much more about our two days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Denali)

Take 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.

Wonder Lake Campground is one of those campgrounds that you may be surprised by. We were! First Wonder Lake is the last campground on the long and only road in Denali National Park. The bus stops by several campgrounds during the long 5.5 - 6 hours bus ride to wonder lake, but don't be tempted by a shorter bus ride. Wonder Lake is the only campground that you can actually see Denali from and is well worth the extra bumpy few hours on the bus to get there.

Once we arrived we were surprised to see bathrooms with flush toilets, potable water easily accessible and large walk-in bear storage areas along with picnic tables in a common area and at each campsite. All of the campsites face Denali and will have a view of the Alaskan Mountain range as long as it is not clouded in. Unfortunately for campers, we were told the mountain is only visible about 20% of the time. We were lucky enough to be the 20%, but I would recommend reserving a few days to give yourself a better chance of seeing the great views the campground has to offer.

There is a short path behind the common area that leads to Wonder Lake. The lake is also a great spot to view wildlife and if you are into fishing i recommend bringing a fishing pole. The fish in the lake are very active and will bite on anything since there are very few people who actually fish in the lake. The nice thing about fishing in Denali is that you do not need a permit or license to actually fish. There is also a great, and one of the few, hiking trail called the McKinley Bar Trail that is well worth the hike is the mountain is out. It is a pretty flat and well marked trail that is only about a quarter mile from the campground entrance.

The entire area is very buggy and you will want to bring mosquito nets or very strong bug spray at the very least.

One of the other things that we wish we would have known is that with the large bear lockers and picnic tables you don't have to skimp on the food packing. There were a couple of campers that actually brought an entire large yeti cooler with them and they ate like kings the few days they were there We had packed light, but wish we would have known about the ample storage area so we could of had at least one nice dinner instead of a couple of Clif Bars.

All in all I would rate Wonder Lake my favorite non back country campsite that I have visited as long as you can see the mountain. If you can't it is still a great spot just not as awe inspiring.

I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you have pets, as they’re not allowed on most of the trails.

Super wooded area & not the best if you’re looking for amazing views.

We came in June, the first week they were officially opened & we paid $30 and none of the bathrooms were open yet. Definitely wait until later in June if you plan to go!

Jake from the Dyrt here! This unique stay in Alaska trains dogs for sledding.  Check them out and make sure to leave a review on the Dyrt!

We got here when it was dark and on a Wednesday night in mid September we thought it would be empty -WRONG. It was pretty full. Most likely due to all the hunting. I liked the campground but there is a dog kennel on the other side of the river and the dogs bark and howl all night. And that I could have gotten used to but since I camp with my dogs they had a really hard time settling down for the night. This is a well maintained campground. But the Denali Highway you have to take to get there and we o lay went 37 miles was rough and really slow.

This is a great campsite near the entrance of Denali Park. Stubby taiga trees and brush separate sites but it's a busy place so be prepared for noise from traffic and other campers. No hookups. Make reservations online up to 6 months in advance to secure your spot. The Denali Visitors Center is a must see, and sign up for a bus tour if you have a whole day to spare. It's a long ride but you can get off and day hike if you're so inclined. The kennels are a fun way to pass a few hours, checking out the pups that pull the dog sleds for the National Park Service in winter.

Loved 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.

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.

Every winter we travel to unit 13 to camp, fill our caribou tag and ride our sleds. This country is so big that you can have your own private playground and campground. Winter camping is limited to the parking lot unless you have appropriate gear to winter tent camp but summer camping is endless. Like any place in Alaska, be BearAware and protect yourself but understand you are in their country out here so take all the necessary precautions.

We 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.