Denali National Park and Preserve - Day 2

Today is the day that we embark on our adventures in Denali National Park. First stop, ATV tour!

ATV-ing on its own is fun. But ATV-ing around Denali? That’s even more fun.

We went on a 2.5 hour ATV tour around the Denali area. It was amazing. The terrain is very rough. It’s extremely rocky and bumpy. There are holes, mud, and puddles every where. But that’s what made it so fun. With a good group of people on the tour with us, our guides were able to let us go pretty damn fast at points. Speeding through the forest with the wind blowing around you is definitely an exhilarating experience. 

Along the tour, they took us to 4 different stops. The first was an overlook onto the town of Healy and Otto Lake, where we saw a juvenile bald eagle flying. The second two being along the dried up river bed full of cool rocks. The area is well known for having been the dig site of mammoth fossils in the past, as well as the potential to find gold within the granite rocks. Unfortunately, we didn’t strike any lucky that day, and no gold was found that could help pay off my student loans. The last stop was an overlook that was surrounded on three sides by Denali National Park and Preserve, and facing north was pure wilderness for over 200 miles. Nature in its truest form.  

The views were stunningly beautiful, but the camera is simply incapable of capturing it in its entirety. 

We were able to check out a few restaurants in the area, and I stand by the fact that the 49th State Brewery has some of the best food I have ever had in my life. It looks like a shack from the outside, and like it will be nothing special, but once you step inside you are surrounded by eclectic decor and the aroma of delicious food. Coming from a self-proclaimed cheese connoisseur, I 10/10 recommend the macaroni and cheese! The restaurant has a variety of beers, and for those underage like myself, they also brew their own root beer, which was phenomenal!

If you are looking for a great place near the park to grab breakfast with the family, the Creekside Cafe is a phenomenal little restaurant to get a bite to eat. Well more than just a bite. What I've learned from my time in Alaska is that they don't mess around with how much food they give you. When you order a meal, you get what you paid for! Everything at the Creekside was homemade and tasted delicious. The restaurant feels very rustic, but we felt welcomed the second we walked in the door, and that carried throughout our time there.