Denali is largely wilderness without trails, designated by Congress to remain a "primitive" area in many respects. The National Park Service strives to make the park as universally accessible as possible. However, extra obstacles will be encountered because of the remote, wilderness nature of this special place.

If your questions concerning accessibility are unanswered after reading the below information, please contact us at 907 683-2294 [TDD users call 907 683-9649] or email us.

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Facilities	Trails
Service Animals	Park Road Accessibility
Buses	Elevation Concerns
Information for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	Information for the Sight Impaired

Facilities

New accessibility symbols are becoming familiar sights at the entrances to visitor centers in Denali. The park has greatly improved capacity to make public presentations, events and exhibits more available to visitors who are sight- or hearing-impaired.

The two main facilities in the park entrance area - the Denali Visitor Center and Wilderness Access Center - offer handicap parking and paved walkways. Restrooms at both centers are wheelchair accessible. The Murie Science & Learning Center also offers a paved walkway, as of summer 2009.

The Denali Visitor Center features a wide staircase and elevator for access between its two floors. You may borrow a wheelchair free of charge from the center.

The Wilderness Access Center and Murie Science & Learning Center are one level.

Farther in the park are Eielson Visitor Center and the Toklat Rest area. Both are single level, and Eielson offers paved walkways from the bus parking lot to the facility.

Various rest stops along the Park Road are wheelchair accessible.

Located at mile 3 on the Park Road, the sled dog kennels can also be accessed by wheelchair via a 50 yard (meter) long path. However, the trail surface in the kennels is compacted gravel - not pavement. If you need assistance moving around the kennels, please let us know. Rangers working in the kennels are happy to help.

The Talkeetna Ranger Station is one level, offers handicap parking, a ramp and accessible rest rooms.

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Trails

Denali's small trail network is primarily centered around the Denali Visitor Center. Segways and wheelchairs (motorized and non-motorized) are permitted on park trails, even where signs prohibit other non-foot traffic such as bicycles or motorized vehicles.

The Bike Trail / Path serves as the main pedestrian artery, connecting the park entrance with the Denali Visitor Center. It parallels the Park Road for 1.6 miles, is gravel surfaced, has a 5% maximum grade and is 10 feet wide. As it turns north and parallels the George Parks Highway 3, for another 1.5 miles, the surface is paved.

A 1.5 mile scenic hike through diverse taiga forest, the McKinley Station Trail connects Riley Creek Campground with the Denali Visitor Center. The trail offers great views of cultural sites, Hines Creek, and the Alaska Railroad Trestle over Riley Creek. The trail is gravel surfaced, has an 8-10% maximum grade, and is 6 feet wide.

Farther out along the Park Road is the Savage Cabin Trail. It is 0.3 miles long, 8 feet wide and has interpretive signs at its terminus, the historic Savage Patrol Cabin. This cabin is still used in winter by park dog teams while on patrol.

Other trails may offer sections of reasonably easy access for the mobility-impaired. Please stop by the Denali Visitor Center for more suggestions.

Click here to learn more about hiking in Denali

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Buses

Many tour and shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible. Please be sure to note the need for such a bus when making advance reservations or when buying tickets in person at the Wilderness Access Center. Drivers also save the front seat of each bus to facilitate easy access for those with mobility issues, but who do not require a wheelchair.

Courtesy buses, such as the Savage River Shuttle and the Riley Creek Loop are also wheelchair accessible. All courtesy buses load at the Denali Visitor Center bus stop. For each sled dog demonstration, up to four buses may be used, and at least one bus for each demonstration is wheelchair accessible. If you see dog sled demonstration buses loading but are waiting for the accessible bus, you may check with the driver to find out when the accessible bus will arrive for loading. 

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Road Travel For People With Special Needs

The National Park Service and our concessioner make every effort to accommodate visitors with special needs. In rare circumstances, however, an individual's needs may not be met by the accommodations that are available on our shuttle and tour buses. Those individuals may apply for a road travel permit, which would allow them to drive part or all of the Park Road in their own vehicle.

Click here to download the application. Feel free to continue your responses in a separate word processing document.

Click here to contact us with specific questions about this process

Applicants must be able to explain to park managers why accommodations on the bus system are insufficient to meet personal needs. Adequate time is needed to go through this process, so we appreciate hearing from you well in advance of your visit.

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For The Deaf and Hard of Hearing

All park films are open-captioned. Three park films are now available with Audio Description.

Two types of Assistive Listening services are available free for hearing-impaired visitors who attend sled dog demonstrations at the historic Park Kennels, as well as films, ranger programs, and public events at the Denali Vistor Center, Eielson Visitor Center, Talkeetna Ranger Station, and the Wilderness Access Center. Visitors may borrow an electronic device with a conventional ear piece to amplify public programs. Visitors who wear hearing aids that are outfitted with a special T-Coil or similar Induction Loop Receiver may borrow a device with a wire neck loop rather than headphones. Visitors to a screening room at the Eielson Visitor Center, where an induction loop system has been installed above the ceiling, may hear amplified programs directly in T-coil-equipped hearing aids without need to borrow another device.

If you are riding a bus during your visit, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters can be provided through the bus concessioner. Due to our remote location (120 miles from the nearest large town, Fairbanks), please give the concessioner notice of your needs two or more days in advance. Contact them via reservedenali@aramark.com or mention your needs when making reservations via 1-800-622-7275.

If you need an ASL interpreter for purposes other than a bus trip into the park, please email or call us 907-683-2294 / 907-683-9649 (TDD).

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Information for the Sight Impaired

Sight-impaired visitors may borrow an electronic device that plays a simultaneous narrated description of what appears on screen. This free service is available for "Heartbeats of Denali" at the Denali Visitor Center, "Across Time and Tundra" at the Wilderness Access Center, and "Mount McKinley: Climbing North America's Icy Crown" at the Talkeetna Ranger Station.

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Elevation Concerns

The Denali Park Road travels through low valleys and up tall mountainsides, and some visitors need to know just how high in elevation the road rises.

The highest point on the Park Road is called Highway Pass, and it is almost 4,000' above sea level (1,220 meters).

Click on the profile map of the Park Road (below) to view a larger version of it.

Service Animals

Qualified service animals are welcome throughout the park, when accompanying persons with disabilities per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They may enter visitor centers and other facilities, ride on park buses and accompany their owner on all park trails and in the backcountry.

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