There are five major terrain categories in the Denali Backcountry. Some afford fast, efficient travel; others are more difficult and will limit your daily mileage. Here's what you can expect:

Gravel River Bars: these flat, rocky surfaces characterize most major rivers in the park and provide fast, easy travel.  Brush is minimal and therefore visibility is greater.  Most major river bars are located south of the park road, with their headwaters fed by glaciers at the base of the Alaska Range.

Boreal Forest:  this terrain appears at lower elevations and consists of white and black spruce forest and a mixture of birch, aspen and poplar trees.  The ground vegetation is usually mossy and uneven.  While boreal forest is not a good terrain for camping due to a lack of visibility, hiking in boreal forest is usually easy to moderate in difficulty. 

Alpine Tundra:  alpine tundra exists at higher elevations (generally above 3000 ft or 914 m) and affords good solid footing for fast, easy travel.  Even though nearly every backcountry unit has alpine tundra, some units may require an inital extra effort to climb above the brushy tundra.

Brushy Tundra (Kantishna Hills): travel through some backcountry units may require bushwhacking through dense brush.  Willow and alder brush may exceed six feet (two meters) in height, and the thickness often limits visibility.  Extensive bushwhacking makes for slow and often frustrating travel: hikers must yell or talk loudly when bushwhacking to reduce the chances of a surprise encounter with wildfife.  If it has rained recently, the brush can be extremely wet.

Glacier Morraine: glaciers are often denoted on maps by stippled areas, a moraine consists of ice covered with dirt and debris. While no technical gear is needed, this is extremely rough and time-consuming travel.