Camp Denali Reopens in Denali National Park with Fly-In Access, and Announces Summer Speaker Series and Inbound Flightseeing Experience
Denali National Park, Alaska (May 23, 2023): Camp Denali, nestled at the 89-mile marker in Denali National Park will reopen June 02 to adventure travelers eager to access Denali’s backcountry. While the park’s road remains closed for another summer at mile 43, Camp Denali will welcome guests back offering new fly-in access with flightseeing of Denali. The family-owned and operated lodge since 1952 is pleased to announce its 2023 summer speaker series, wildlife observation, and guided nature excursions in the wilderness heart of Denali.
With nineteen private, rustically elegant cabins each with direct views of Denali and adjacent peaks of the Alaska Range mountains, Camp Denali’s historic operator status with the National Park Service gives them the exclusive ability to travel through the park and lead naturalist-guided hikes. It is also the only lodge allowed to moor canoes at Wonder Lake, an iconic 2.5 mile long lake near the foot of Denali. The absence of tour buses beyond mile marker 43, affords guests the rare opportunity to experience the park with virtually no traffic, and more opportunities to look for Denali’s charismatic megafauna on walking or driving safaris including grizzly bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and wolves.
Accessible this summer only by private charter, Camp Denali’s guests will enjoy a flightseeing tour of Denali viewing glaciers, mountains, and tundra lowlands from the air upon arrival. Weather permitting, the flight will also include a close-up fly-by of Denali and Alaska Range glaciers and high peaks.
Summer Speaker Series: With the goal of helping guests learn and care about Denali – its sub-arctic ecology, geology, history, indigenous peoples, and changing landscape, Camp Denali hosts a Special Emphasis Series that allows specialists such as biologists, ornithologists, conservationists, photographers, and others, to share their expertise on field excursions, guided outings, and evening programming. This season’s 2023 experts include:
JUNE 9 - 15
Bird Identification & The Art of Observation
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David Sibley,
Ornithologist, Author & Illustrator
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David is looking forward to exploring the birds and the environment of Denali and hopes that all participants, birders, and non-birders, will come away with heightened curiosity and a deeper understanding of the natural world.
JULY 7 - 9
Indigenous Stewardship and Land Conservation in Alaska
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Danielle Stickman,
Arctic Landscape Director,
The Wilderness Society
Danielle’s passion for sustainable science and policy and working with Indigenous Alaskan communities is rooted in her cultural upbringing and ancient values of respect for all living beings and the earth. In the role of Arctic Landscape Director, she aims to share her experience and knowledge to protect public lands for future generations.
JULY 28 - AUG 3
Entering the Conversation of Nature: The Art & Science of Animal Language
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George Bumann,
Sculptor, Wildlife Biologist
& Author
George’s evening programs will combine art, science, and tens of thousands of hours of field observations with cutting edge science from across the globe to help you experience the more than human world in Denali, at home, or anywhere you travel in a deeper way.
AUG 28 - 31
Autumn Photography
Workshop
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David Shaw,
Conservation Photographer
Programs will discuss how to create compelling images of Alaska’s landscapes and wildlife. Moving quickly beyond classic composition and camera settings, Dave will emphasize a creative and thoughtful approach to outdoor photography, focusing on how to tell the stories of the places, wildlife, and people we encounter.
Each day guests can partake in guided off-trail hikes organized by physical ability, offering options from 2000-ft ridges to casual walks of the lowland tundra scouting for wildflowers and birdlife. Every guide is an experienced backcountry traveler, a naturalist, and an educator with tremendous depth of natural history knowledge. Guests can also fill their days with canoeing, biking, fishing, berry picking, touring the onsite greenhouse, or photographing the fascinating micro-flora or awe-inspiring macro landscape. The onsite natural history resource room has museum-quality collections of animal pelts, skulls, insect collections, herbarium, maps, a resource library, and a dissecting microscope-- a quiet refuge for learning on a rainy day.
Camp Denali’s Commitment to Sustainability: A new member of Regenerative Travel, Camp Denali is firmly committed to fostering stewardship of Denali National Park. Located 90 miles from the nearest power grid, Camp Denali has harnessed the benefits of renewable energy for most of its history. From its first hydroelectric system, developed in 1981, to subsequent passive-solar hot water and a new 90 Kilowatt photovoltaic system, Camp Denali now sources nearly all of its electrical energy needs from the sun. Camp Denali contributes direct and in-kind support to local and in-state organizations that focus on land conservation, education, environmental stewardship, advocacy, and community. 100% of the meat and seafood served at Camp Denali is Alaskan. The on-site, off-grid greenhouse and gardens provide nearly all of the salad greens, cooking greens, sandwich lettuce, herbs, radishes, peas, and edible flowers.
The 2023 summer season at Camp Denali extends from June 2 - September 11. Rates are $1,250 per night per person with a 3-night minimum inclusive of accommodations, Denali National Park entrance fee, meals, lodging, naturalist-guided hiking, evening programs, use of canoes, bikes, fishing equipment, and outdoor gear. Camp Denali is accessible from Anchorage International or Fairbanks International airports followed by a car, bus, or train to Denali Park. A required private charter from the park entrance to Camp Denali is $600 per person round trip and includes a 55-minute inbound flightseeing excursion, weather-permitting. For reservations visit www.campdenali.com or call 907-683-2290 or email info@campdenali.com.
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About Camp Denali: Since 1952, Camp Denali has been providing guests with active learning experiences and authentic Alaskan hospitality in the heart of Denali National Park. Nineteen tastefully appointed, rusticly elegant guest cabins are privately nestled along a tundra ridgeline, each with a picture-window view of Denali. Daily naturalist-led hikes immerse guests in the wilderness and wildlife of the park’s magnificent sub-arctic landscape, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. After three generations of family ownership, Camp Denali remains what its founders envisioned, a place that doesn’t insulate you from the wilderness you came to explore. Residing year-round in the Denali National Park area, the Cole and Hamm family brings a lifetime of experience to running Camp Denali, fostering stewardship of the natural world through a tradition of excellence, community, and place.
