Best month to view wild life in Denali.

[tabbycat1]

Trying to plan a cruise for 2008, but so confused regarding the best time to go for viewing the most wildlife. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Chenega]

Trying to plan a cruise for 2008, but so confused regarding the best time to go for viewing the most wildlife. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

As Budget Queen has suggested in previous posts, the further you can go into the park the better. Visitors in May and September often find the road is still closed due to snow, mud, etc. The shuttles begin running the full route in early June to Wonder Lake and continue until Labor Day. After that, they are cut back. The park tours usually go to Stoney Hill and back while the favorite trip for the shuttle is to Fish Creek and back. Some love to do the entire route to Wonder Lake but it does make for a long day. As for any particular month, very hard to say since the wildlife are on no particular schedule but their own. We've had excellent sightings throughout the summer in all months we have visited. One recommendation is to go as early in the morning as your body clock allows. We've found later shuttles in the day have fewer wildlife viewings than the morning trips; however, this is not necessarily a rule that holds all the time.