Visiting Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights + Denali National Park

Coming to Alaska for a month, we had one main goal on our minds - Denali National Park! We are park people and have enjoyed visiting parks together for many years but Denali always felt too far away to make happen. So living within driving distance made it a MUST visit! 

We booked our Airbnb and decided to spend 2 nights there, before adding one extra night the day before we left to try and catch the northern lights in Fairbanks. We weren’t originally planning to visit Fairbanks, but left for Denali a day early because all the tracker apps for the Northern Lights were saying that we may be able to catch a good show! So we made the 6 hour trip and missed them, haha. We stayed out with our girls until about midnight and decided to call it because we were all so tired. Turns out the lights showed up around 4am, when we were sleeping soundly in our hotel room. Guess we will have to keep trying! 

The next morning we made the drive south for our originally planned trip to Denali! We checked in our Airbnb around 3pm and decided to just drive in the park for an hour or so before dinner. Upon arriving we saw our first moose, right by the road! We were there during rutting season (mid September) so we learned that the moose are VERY active this time of year. We soaked up the experience & Colin shot some beautiful photos and then we headed to dinner. We were visiting Denali during “off season” so most of their restaurants were closed - just be aware! We were lucky because the two most recommended places were still open (49th State Brewing Company & Black Diamond Grill) so the only meal we really needed to be prepared for on our own was breakfast. (Tip: Its always a good idea in Alaska to keep some snacks & water in the trunk! During the long drives from one city to another, there aren’t many options for snacks or gas! So fill up every time you can and keep snacks galore in with you at all times, to keep everyone fed and happy.)

It snowed overnight so we woke up to a winter wonderland. Later that day as the sun started to melt off some of the snow, the colors on display through the landscape and mountains were breathtaking!! We decided for our second day to drive as far into the park as we could. A landslide had occurred that week so the busses stopped running but since it was supposed to be lottery week, (locals can win permits to drive all the way in to Denali) the park opened up to mile 33 just before the landslide as opposed to mile 15. It took us a few hours of slow driving as you eventually end up on dirt roads that are actually relatively smooth and well kept up with much to my surprise. The drive gave us a million gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and we strained our eyes looking for animals all day long, as you do when visiting a National Park. We saw multiple moose off in the distance, but not much else that day! Or so we thought…

We learned from some rangers that bears were likely high in the mountains by this time of year ready to hibernate, so we unfortunately didn’t spot a bear. But we for sure got our moose “fix” by the end of our time there, which I think was due to the rutting season! 

We also heard that you could go visit the DNP Sled Dogs, so we stopped there one afternoon and met their newest litter of pups! The ranger told us that having the sled dogs was honoring the history of how these dogs have been used in the past, while also a very practical way for rangers to get deep into the mountains when needed for research! The dogs are well taken care of and trained exclusively for their work in Denali National Park!

Our final day we drove into the park again, just to see and I am so glad we did! We made it about 15 minutes before I spotted a moose walking close to the road and this ended up being our favorite encounter yet! He crossed the road right next to our car and gave us quite a show. On our way out of the park we spotted a caribou down by the river, which was a treat! And then another mom & baby moose as we drove away. 

Denali definitely delivered when it came to spotting some moose in the wild and if you have the time to make a trip up during your stay, I highly recommend it! Make sure to do some research on what you can expect to see as the seasons change because from our experience, that made a huge difference!