Driving Denali on your own in the shoulder season

[SuzCruise]

There was a discussion as part of a thread that posted a lot of misinformation about the park roads and the safety/ability to do it on your own. Having just spent the last two days doing just that, I wanted to clear out the hogwash.

 

During the shoulder season, the few days in May before the park is fully open, this year about 5/16-5/29, the road is open only to the Teklanika river at mile 29. At that time the company that runs the tour buses in the park runs a Teklanika tour that does this drive. At that same time, the road is also open to private vehicles. So, you can do the drive on a school bus run by a tour company, or you can drive it yourself in your own car.

 

Can you do it in a rental car? Of course! We rented a car through Alamo and were able to take the car along the park roads without restrictions.

 

Is the road dangerous or narrow with pure drop offs? Should this be left only to a professional driver? No! The road is wide, extremely well maintained, graded and relatively flat with gentle inclines and declines. We drove this a few hours after a serious snow storm with white out conditions that lasted for over 24 hours had just ended. The dirt road in the park was in better shape than the highway to the park. It had been insinuated by someone on CC that this was a dangerous road. That was a lie. I am so glad that we didn't believe it. It would have ruined out trip to have been on a bus packed with people when we could have been doing our own thing.

 

The nitty gritty. The cost for a ticket for the tour bus was $89 per person. We spent less than that for the 3 day rental of an SUV. The tour company was unwilling to let us have a pick up time instead of a pick up location. We told them we were driving in to Denali and weren't sure what time we would be their but that we would get ourselves to wherever they told us we needed to be for the last pick up of the day. They refused to accommodate us and said we had to pick a location to be picked up at and they would let us know later what time we would be picked up at. I'm so glad they refused to be reasonable or we might not have done our research and found that we could drive the park ourselves. We went into the park at 5 PM the day we arrived and spent a few hours in the park. The next day we drove and hiked for hours. It was a blast. Go where you want, when you want, stop when you want for however long you want. Different strokes for different folks, but I am so glad I wasn't on a bus!

[frugaltravel]

Thanks for the update, but I also want to clear up some misunderstandings in your post.

 

Can you do it in a rental car? Of course! We rented a car through Alamo and were able to take the car along the park roads without restrictions.

 

I have rented from Alamo in ANC airport and in the past their contract says "no gravel roads." I don't consider any road construction on the Parks Highway or the Park Road in the same league as roads like the Denali Highway/McCarthy Road, etc. But I am interested to know if you received in writing that it was OK to drive on the Park Road and/or if the fine print on the back of the contract mentions gravel roads (I will be able to answer the second question next month when I rent from Alamo).

 

During the shoulder season, the few days in May before the park is fully open, this year about 5/16-5/29, the road is open only to the Teklanika river at mile 29.

 

The opening date to Tek really depends on the weather. One year when I did it, the road was open to Tek by about April 10th. This year with so much late snow, it was only open by mid May, and even then it closed to Savage one morning after a snowfall.

 

The drop-offs on the Park Road are at Polychrome, not between Savage River and Tek. In fact, the road to Tek is wide enough for two cars the entire way (or wider!). So yes, it can be a "dangerous" road but for drivers only during the Road Lottery when they can drive further (though I don't find the road dangerous at all, but it is all subjective).

 

All tours (I think with the exception of the Kantishna tour since there is only one a day) operate as you stated - you choose a pickup location and they choose the time. Plain and simple. Same with tours when the road is open further. The main reason is that they fill the buses (nearly 100% with cruisetour passengers) before they depart. So they can't guarantee a departure time, just a range.

 

In any case, thanks for the report!

[laughing husky]

The road is clesed to people driving a private car past mile 13 (savage river) as soon as the tour buses start. That starts today. I also think that people confuse the Denali Highway. ... Gravel road...usually not allowed to drive on with a rental car....with the Denali road that goes into the park. There are a couple of car rentals that do allow you to take their cars on some of the gravel roads....

[Northern Aurora]

There was a discussion as part of a thread that posted a lot of misinformation about the park roads and the safety/ability to do it on your own. Having just spent the last two days doing just that, I wanted to clear out the hogwash.

 

......

 

The dirt road in the park was in better shape than the highway to the park. It had been insinuated by someone on CC that this was a dangerous road. That was a lie. I am so glad that we didn't believe it. It would have ruined out trip to have been on a bus packed with people when we could have been doing our own thing.

 

 

I am so sorry that the OP feels that someone lied on Cruise Critic. I have been reading this forum for some time, and as someone who lives in Alaska, while I've read differing opinions, I've never felt I read a lie.

 

The entire road into Denali is very different than the first thirty or so miles. Without reading the post that the OP is referencing, I suspect the discussion was about the Polychrome Pass area, where the park road is indeed about a lane and a half wide, with dramatic drop offs. I was born in Alaska and when I was a child private cars could be driven all the way into Kantishna. My mother (who has some problems with heights -- she can fly but is miserable in an airplane window seat) always had her eyes firmly closed and was terrified as my father drove through Polychrome.

[PennyAgain]

I am so sorry that the OP feels that someone lied on Cruise Critic. I have been reading this forum for some time, and as someone who lives in Alaska, while I've read differing opinions, I've never felt I read a lie.

 

The entire road into Denali is very different than the first thirty or so miles. Without reading the post that the OP is referencing, I suspect the discussion was about the Polychrome Pass area, where the park road is indeed about a lane and a half wide, with dramatic drop offs. I was born in Alaska and when I was a child private cars could be driven all the way into Kantishna. My mother (who has some problems with heights -- she can fly but is miserable in an airplane window seat) always had her eyes firmly closed and was terrified as my father drove through Polychrome.

 

Yes, I recall those days of being able to drive the park road and then it was cut down to a few days each year and then finally to the current lottery system.

 

Judging the entire road by just the first few miles is misleading to all concerned. I have walked (yes on my own 2 feet) a great deal of the park road so likely know it about as well as most people. I don't feel that anyone lied.

[donaldsc]

I have been on Polychrome Pass several times by bus. I would have no problems driving it if they let me. However, the drop offs are steep and the road is not wide so I can see why someone who is not used to roads of that type might feel uncomfortable or even panic.

 

Maybe 50 years ago, our family took a trip from NJ out west which included driving up Pikes Peak. No railing, unpaved and very sharp dropoffs. When we got to the top, my mother told my father that there was no way that she was going down THAT road in the car. Dad said "no problem", you can ride the cog railroad down and we will meet you at the bottom. Unfortunately for mom however, the cog railroad was fully booked and there was no space for her. What she did was get in the back seat in the floor, covered her head with a blanket, and did not come up until we were at the bottom.

 

My brother and I certainly razzed her but she coped. I suspect that she might so the same thing on Polychrome Pass.

 

DON

[pdmlynek]

I have rented from Alamo in ANC airport and in the past their contract says "no gravel roads." I don't consider any road construction on the Parks Highway or the Park Road in the same league as roads like the Denali Highway/McCarthy Road, etc. But I am interested to know if you received in writing that it was OK to drive on the Park Road and/or if the fine print on the back of the contract mentions gravel roads (I will be able to answer the second question next month when I rent from Alamo).

...

 

It boggles my mind to think that a person would go to Alaska and NOT drive on gravel roads. What is the point of having a car? Drive around Anchorage shopping malls?

 

If a car rental contract has something about "no gravel roads", then I seriously doubt that anyone pays attention to that. I drove on gravel roads pretty much every day that we were in Alaska.

[SuzCruise]

We are back and I am happy to answer any questions I can for anyone.

 

pdmlynek, I laughed out loud about your comment about it being mind boggling to think of not driving on gravel or dirt roads in Alaska! I don't think we would have been able to get to a single hotel or B&B we stayed in if we avoided dirt and gravel roads. And we stayed in some very nice places!

 

And the original discussion in which I was lied to about the dangerous condition of the Denali park road was not about any pass, but about the stretch of road up to mile 29 which is open to private car traffic during the shoulder season. And I will clarify again that the road was wide, well maintained and a very easy drive. I've go photos if anyone is considering doing the drive and on the fence. Do it, you'll really regret it if you don't, we certainly would have!

[greatam]

Thanks for the update, but I also want to clear up some misunderstandings in your post.

 

 

 

I have rented from Alamo in ANC airport and in the past their contract says "no gravel roads." I don't consider any road construction on the Parks Highway or the Park Road in the same league as roads like the Denali Highway/McCarthy Road, etc. But I am interested to know if you received in writing that it was OK to drive on the Park Road and/or if the fine print on the back of the contract mentions gravel roads (I will be able to answer the second question next month when I rent from Alamo).

 

 

 

 

 

From the fine print on the back of an Alamo car rental contract from April 2013 in California. This was an employee rental done through Priceline.

 

DRIVING AREAS

 

Vehicles can be driven in any state in the United States, but must be returned to the location from which they were rented or drop-off charges may apply. Vehicles may not be driven into Mexico. Vehicles rented in Alaska must be returned to Alaska. Vehicles can be driven into Canada but must be returned to the United States unless a prearranged drop off at one of the approved locations has been made. Canadian residents renting vehicles in the United States may not drive vehicles into Canada. Driving on unpaved roads voids Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage.

 

 

Sure looks to me like there is a prohibition on driving the Park road in a rental. Or maybe that only applies to Priceline rentals although that would be hard to sort out legally because the rental contract is from Alamo (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, etc. etc) when you rent through Priceline.

 

Will be interesting to see what the Alaska rental car contract states.

[SuzCruise]

From the fine print on the back of an Alamo car rental contract from April 2013 in California. This was an employee rental done through Priceline.

 

DRIVING AREAS

 

Vehicles can be driven in any state in the United States, but must be returned to the location from which they were rented or drop-off charges may apply. Vehicles may not be driven into Mexico. Vehicles rented in Alaska must be returned to Alaska. Vehicles can be driven into Canada but must be returned to the United States unless a prearranged drop off at one of the approved locations has been made. Canadian residents renting vehicles in the United States may not drive vehicles into Canada. Driving on unpaved roads voids Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) coverage.

 

 

Sure looks to me like there is a prohibition on driving the Park road in a rental. Or maybe that only applies to Priceline rentals although that would be hard to sort out legally because the rental contract is from Alamo (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, etc. etc) when you rent through Priceline.

 

Will be interesting to see what the Alaska rental car contract states.

 

How do you get that driving unsaved roads is prohibited? It clearly says that it voids your CDW coverage. In other words, if you have a wreck while on an unpaved road, the rent car company insurance isn't going to cover it. I don't buy the rental car additional insurance as I am covered many times over (my insurance and credit card). Considering the prevalence of dirt roads in Alaska, if you don't have your own insurance coverage and you are worried about the small print, i would suggest you not rent a car.

 

Greatam, when are you going to Denali and have you looked into other options to get there? Clearly you aren't planning on driving in the park, but maybe driving there isn't a good idea for you either. Many of the locations you may want to visit on the way may be filled with unpaved roads.

[PennyAgain]

How serious are the rental car companies about the terms and conditions of their contracts? Well, you can't fool them as the have GPS tracking systems in the cars!

 

Yes, you will find all sorts of people who say they've driven on the gravel and dirt roads of Alaska, but have you heard from any who had huge repair costs due to a broken windshield which is a very common thing to happen in Alaska? I had a rear window fall out of my own vehicle in Alaska.

 

You may do the quick car return at the airport and think you have gotten away with it all but the cars are very carefully checked over and you might get a big charge against your credit card.

 

It's much the same if you rent an RV in Alaska.

 

I have much experience driving in Alaska as does greatam. I make my car rental choices wisely and am careful where I drive with a rental.

[Glaciers]

Yes, you will find all sorts of people who say they've driven on the gravel and dirt roads of Alaska, but have you heard from any who had huge repair costs due to a broken windshield which is a very common thing to happen in Alaska? I had a rear window fall out of my own vehicle in Alaska.

 

Yeah, you certainly don't hear about all the times there was damage by someone driving a rental on gravel roads, just from those who got away with it and seem to be proud. Nobody wants to air their ignorance.

[PennyAgain]

Glaciers, so true! My old Subaru stayed loyal and kept going and going but finally just started falling to pieces.

 

The rental cars are not so tough. I take iPhone photos of the car from all sides and especially the windows before driving off from the airport. I point out every ding and dent to the rental car folks. I advise people to do the same with RV's.

[epixx]

Greatam, when are you going to Denali and have you looked into other options to get there? Clearly you aren't planning on driving in the park, but maybe driving there isn't a good idea for you either. Many of the locations you may want to visit on the way may be filled with unpaved roads.

 

Suz: Although it's very nice of you to try to assist, Greatam lives in Alaska (part time, at least), so I think she's well aware of the locations of the unpaved roads.

[greatam]

How do you get that driving unsaved roads is prohibited? It clearly says that it voids your CDW coverage. In other words, if you have a wreck while on an unpaved road, the rent car company insurance isn't going to cover it. I don't buy the rental car additional insurance as I am covered many times over (my insurance and credit card). Considering the prevalence of dirt roads in Alaska, if you don't have your own insurance coverage and you are worried about the small print, i would suggest you not rent a car.

 

Greatam, when are you going to Denali and have you looked into other options to get there? Clearly you aren't planning on driving in the park, but maybe driving there isn't a good idea for you either. Many of the locations you may want to visit on the way may be filled with unpaved roads.

 

I am sitting here in Homer rolling on the floor laughing.

 

Thanks for all the pointers about driving dirt roads. Next time you want to venture onto a dirt road in Alaska, try a REAL dirt road-the haul road or Dalton Hwy all the way to Prudhoe. Driven it quite a few times myself in everything from a semi to a BP white van being sent south for trade in to a rental car that is outfitted SPECIFICALLY for driving the haul road.

 

And I will bet money that your personal insurance and definitely your credit card insurance WILL NOT cover driving on unpaved roads in Alaska IF the rental car company CDW SPECIFICALLY disclaims coverage for driving on unpaved roads.

 

I own a trucking company. Even our very high dollar commercial insurance WILL NOT cover driving a rental car on roads or areas that are PROHIBITED by any provision in a rental car contract. Found out the hard way when we went joy riding on beaches and drove the entire Hana Rd in Hawaii. DH BURIED the jeep in a sandy wash and as mechanical as the two of us are, we still ended up having to get a tow truck. We ended up paying a chunk of change out of our pocket because the tow truck pulled out and dented the quarter panel when he was getting us out of the sand. NO AMOUNT of fighting with our commercial insurance company was going to pay for the damage.

 

Unless Frugaltravel's upcoming Alamo car rental contract has substantial changes over the California contract from April 2013, you got away with driving your standard rental car on the Park Rd.

[greatam]

Suz: Although it's very nice of you to try to assist, Greatam lives in Alaska (part time, at least), so I think she's well aware of the locations of the unpaved roads.

 

AS I posted, I am rolling on the floor laughing in HOMER ALASKA. Just about finished with my business for this trip.

 

So glad for the assistance from SuzCruise. I'll stick with the old beat up Chevy pickup we have up here. Almost indestructible-but even as indestructible and ugly as this pickup is, we still average about one broken windshield a summer.

 

But no worries with the old beater driving into Denali. I just need to win the road lottery one more time. The last time was really a great trip. Otherwise, I enjoy other parts of Alaska much more.

[PennyAgain]

greatam, we need to meet up and compare ugly Alaska trucks.

 

I remember when driving from Anchorage to Homer required at least 2 spare tires as the road was that lumpy.

 

I know that I won't ever drive the Haul Road as my old bones will hurt too much to do so. I respect you for doing it again and again.

 

Me.....I fly.

[SuzCruise]

Suz: Although it's very nice of you to try to assist, Greatam lives in Alaska (part time, at least), so I think she's well aware of the locations of the unpaved roads.

 

That explains it! DH and I were discussing why anyone who has no intention of driving Denali on their own would even click on this thread, much less wasting time posting horror stories of car rentals gone bad and confessing your OCD and paranoia with renting a car. Now I get it. Because you live in Alaska and don't want a bunch of tourist clogging up the park road during the rare times you get to get out and enjoy it in your POV! Totally understand. I might even try to scare off a few tourist myself if I had that kind of beauty in my back yard. I'll pipe down and keep it our little secret.

 

And Greatam, thanks for your concern over my insurance coverage, but since we are playing show and tell, I'm a lawyer. I'm very well versed in the difference in a prohibition and an exclusion of coverage. I'm covered. But thanks for your concern and drive safe!