The first time I saw Denali (otherwise known as Mt. McKinley), I was just awestruck.
Mt. McKinley isn't just the highest mountain in North America, it's one of the most spectacular mountains in the world.
Perhaps the most amazing thing I find about visiting Alaska is that the sights and scenery never seem to stop surprising and inspiring me.
On my first trip, having traveled up the incredibly beautiful Inside Passage and witnessed the magnificence of Glacier Bay National Park, I was pretty sure that nothing could top the natural beauty of that area.
But when I arrived in Anchorage on a particularly clear September day, I saw the massive snow-covered outline of Denali in the distance, and I realized that the best was yet to come.
You can get to Denali National Park from Anchorage by car, bus, or train.
The train tours are very popular amongst cruise ship passengers, and the trip is an incredibly scenic one.
The tours are often 3 days long and include stays at one of the many wonderful Denali lodging options.
One of the best of these lodges is the Princess Wilderness Lodge, operated by the Princess Cruise Line and located just one mile from the entrance to the park.
The park itself is absolutely huge, encompassing some six million acres, larger than the state of Massachusetts and three times bigger than the enormous Yellowstone.
Therefore, you could easily spend a week in this park and barely scrape the surface.
One of the best ways to see Denali National Park is on a bus, and you can learn about some of the best bus tours by clicking here.
And as for Mt. McKinley, it has a mass larger than that of Mt. Everest, and as it rises from a plateau of only 2,000 feet elevation, there is an astounding 18,000 foot vertical rise from base to summit.
For comparison's sake, the vertical rise of Everest is only 12,000 feet from its base on the Tibetan Plateau.
McKinley is simply an amazing, magnificent mountain.
The incredible wildlife in the park includes gray wolves, caribou, moose, Dall sheep and grizzly bears.
In my experience, the amount of wildlife you see in Alaska is truly astounding.
Most places you go, you might be lucky to spot an occasional bear or coyote, but in Alaska, they are literally around every bend.
So bring plenty of extra film or cards for your camera, because you are going to be taking LOTS of pictures.
For anyone looking to explore off the beaten path, the Denali Highway is a great choice, running 133 miles east of the park, through some of the must untamed wilderness in North America.
For those on a budget, it is possible to save money by avoiding cruise company tours and renting a car in Anchorage for a day trip or overnight trip to Denali, staying in one of the area's bed and breakfasts or small hotels.
I have seen some B&Bs which run only around $80 a night, but it is important to book well in advance as they tend to fill up quickly in the summer.
