Customer Reviews

Denali National Park Guide to Hiking, Photography & Camping

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This book is worth the entire price of the book if you just take in one piece of advice from the author - Get off the bus! The author gives over 40 options for getting off the bus and truly experiencing the park. There is a suggestion for every situation from a leisurely stroll to a back-breaking, multi-day, circuit around glaciers and passes. But don't forget that there are thousands of other options in the park that are beyond the scope of this book.

Also, the author shares a lot of photography advice that is often as specific as which bus to catch and which side to sit on to improve your chances of getting the shots you want. In general, the photography advice is not overly technical, but his intimate knowledge gained over the years comes through well. All in all, a very good book.

Denali National Park is different from the majority of US parks, as most of the area has no developed trail system (as opposed to Yosemite or Olympic which have very well-established trails). You are encouraged to hike around and explore on your own, which can be a bit daunting. Hence, a lot of visitors stay on the shuttle buses, content to just watch the scenery flash by.

Ike Waits brings your attention to how beautiful this park can be with just a bit of exploration off the bus stop. With the low-lying vegetation (most of the park is tundra, not forest), it is hard to get lost, and the rewards in terms of natural splendor and wildlife viewing grow exponentially.

This book brings dozens of easy-to-understand trail areas and maps to the Denali visitor. Informative, well-researched, these descriptions come with a background of decades of hiking and exploring Denali. You couldn't be in better hands, so step off the bus and go explore the park!

We took our family (2 adults, 5 kids aged 5-16) to Denali and found this book very helpful. It supplements the information found at the park and helps you plan your days. We wanted to day hike and it helped us choose where to go. As other reviewers noted, there are not a lot of established trails in Denali; There is only one road in the park and it is closed to private vehicles after the first 14 miles; the National Park provides relatively inexpensive shuttlebus service along the next 65 miles; you can get off the bus, hike around and catch another bus home. The other (more expensive) option is to pay for a bus "tour" which travels into the park and out without giving you the option of getting off and doing anything- if you prefer the latter experience, this book has nothing to offer you, however, if you are looking to plan your day yourself and explore the park on your own, rather than go on guided "tours" all day, this is the book for you. It assumes a fair amount of experience with trail finding and hiking. All the hikes are rated easy moderate and difficult both for the level of exertion and for the level of trail finding- while the level of exertion were quite accurate, anything marked "moderate" or greater in trail finding was daunting with instructions like "follow the ridge line". Having limited experience we stuck with easy trails and had no problems. The book gives very limited advice about places to stay or eat near or in the park so you will need another source for that kind of information- we found the Denali chamber of commerce website helpful.

This book is absolutely necessary if you are hiking in Denali which has no trails. The book discusses different hikes and gives you pointers to find your way around. Highly recommended.