Talkeetna is an adorable town just south of Denali National Park, and home to the starting place for Denali climbers. From town, climbers are flown into the park to start their journey at base camp before attempting summits. This year, Alaska had some particularly cold, rainy weather, so summits seemed to be less likely than other years. I really felt for those climbers who must have been waiting out the weather in their tents, and wished them all good weather for the remainder of the short season!

A flight-seeing tour of Denali National Park

After dropping our car off in Anchorage, Spencer and I took a bus up to Talkeetna for our last day alone before meeting up with our friends. We were excited to book a flight-seeing tour around Denali National Park with K2 Aviation. Unfortunately, weather was not on our side and our Denali Grand Experience tour with a glacier landing was downgraded to the Denali Experience tour. In essence, we only had a 1-hour flight (instead of 2.5 hours) and all of Denali was hidden within the clouds for the entirety of the flight. No matter, we climbed into our 1958 beaver plane with our pilot named Tom and witnessed the spectacular Ruth and Tokositna glaciers from above, reveling in their grandeur. Despite the weather, it was an incredible experience and one of the best ways to see the beauty of such a remote national park.

Hiking through Denali National Park

A 2.5 hour drive north of Talkeetna, we joined up with our friends to explore the park by land. The park is accessible through one main road, which private cars can only travel 15 miles out. You can also take tour buses further through to mile 43, until where the road is washed out from a mudslide and inaccessible through 2024. After landing at the visitor’s center, we took off to explore the Mount Healy Overlook (4 miles, 1,000’ gain). A beautiful hike, we were still a little disappointed to have clouds hanging over the infamous mountains of the park, obscuring our view of some of the grandeur it’s known for. Nevertheless, we took our time driving through the park and experiencing the pure ruggedness of the landscape.

Hiking through Denali State Park

Ironically, the best views of Denali are actually found in the state park, instead of the national park. Just west of the Alaska range, Denali State Park is home to the famous Kesugi Ridge Trail, a 30-mile backpacking trail that affords some of the best views of Denali. Without the time to properly backpack the entire trail, we started off at the Cascade Lakes trail that would lead us up to the ridge so we could get that famous overlook. After arriving, we quickly took in the views of a cloud-covered range and soaked up the warmth of the sun before heading back down. Sadly, we were skunked again on our last opportunity to see the majestic mountain range!

While the weather didn’t cooperate for the three days we spent in Talkeetna, I’d recommend visiting the town regardless. Even without the spectacular views of Denali, I fell in love with the charming town and its quiet hikes nearby. In between our adventures, we tasted the famous fireweed ice cream at Shirley’s Northern Lights Gourmet Ice Cream (pricey, but a do-not-miss), enjoyed an afternoon at Conscious Coffee, picked up pastries at the Flying Squirrel Bakery Cafe, and relished in the peace of Nana’s Cabin, our home for the few days. The peace and hominess of the area made me wish I had a few more days to laze around and live the quiet lifestyle that locals enjoy daily.