North America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 201

The view across to Mount
McKinley from Camp Denali

267 Room wiTh A View AT cAmp
denALi, ALASkA

led by visiting experts) to see the park's animals,
such as grizzly bears, caribou and moose. The
emphasis of the walking, cycling and canoeing
tours is on observing rather than just spotting
wildlife, which is reinforced by fireside evening
lectures on natural and cultural history.
While there are several other lodges in the
park, Camp Denali is the only one with views
of the mountain, though you do have to pay for
the privilege (a minimum three nights costs
Can$1425, including transfers, meals, guided
outings and park entry fee). Though you might
argue that views like this are priceless.

Looking out from the cosy wood-fired cabin
across the still waters of Nugget Pond and the
rolling green tundra of Denali National Park,
you can see all the way to the ice-capped peaks
of Alaska's iconic Mount McKinley (6193m), the
highest peak in North America. Whereas many
of the tallest mountains in the world protrude
from a high plateau of other towering peaks,
Mount McKinley looms all the way up from the
tundra at just 610m above sea level, so from
base to peak it is a clear 5583m. As vertical rises
go, this is as impressive as it gets.
All seventeen cabins at Camp Denali, in the
heart of the park by Nugget Pond, are spaced out
over a sweeping ridgeline so that every guest has
this view. The camp, which in 1951 became the
first lodge in Denali National Park, has a strong
ecological ethos, from the home-grown salad,
vegetables and bread served in the restaurant to
naturalist tours with trained guides (sometimes

Need to know Camp Denali is open from early
June to early September. The “Denali Star” train
from Anchorage to Denali Park station takes 7hr
40min ( W www.alaskarailroad.com; T +1 907 265
2494). Staff will collect you by minibus at the
station and take you to the camp (approximately
7hr, including a stop for a picnic dinner). For
details of accommodation, prices and reservations
see W www.campdenali.com; T [phone].