Photo Credit: Grande Denali Lodge
How to Choose your Denali Hotel  (2:54)

You want to find Denali Park lodging that's right for your needs...and your budget. Here's our insider's advice: First, decide if you want to stay near the Denali Park Entrance or in the remote center of the Park, an area known as Kantishna.

90% of visitors choose a Denali hotel near the park entrance because it’s convenient, less expensive, offers a variety of lodges from luxurious to rustic, is near the national park visitor center, and is within easy access to transportation and interpretive bus trips along Denali Park Road and a variety of recreational activities and Denali excursions.

We recommend 7 hotels near the Denali Park Entrance; McKinley Chalet Resort, Denali Park Village, Tonglen Lake Lodge, Denali Grizzly Bear Resort, Denali Princess Lodge, Grande Denali Lodge, and Denali Bluffs Hotel. They are all scenically situated and among the better-managed Denali lodges at the park entrance.

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If you want a secluded setting (and have a little extra money and time to spend) in the remote center of the park, choose a Kantishna area wilderness lodge.

Back here, a 6-hour drive from the park entrance, near the end of the mostly unpaved, winding 90-mile Denali Park Road, are a few wilderness lodges. (In 2023, lodges will be accessible via a short flight instead of the 6-hour drive due construction on the Denali Park Road) You won’t find restaurant choices or souvenir shops; what you will discover is the quiet solitude of Denali’s backcountry.

Staying in the heart of the Park is not for everyone. Not only are these Denali wilderness lodges far from civilization; they’re also more expensive. Unlike park entrance Denali hotels, though, prices are all-inclusive, per person rates that include transportation, lodging, meals, and activities.

Some lodges require a 2- to 4-night stay, such as Camp Denali Lodge, one of the finest wilderness lodges in the state. Nearby Kantishna Roadhouse is another quality Kantishna area lodge with a deep sense of history and an idyllic setting on the bend of a river. Or, stay at the Denali Backcountry Lodge on the banks of Moose Creek.

Denali Hotels

Denali Park Entrance Area Hotels

HotelTime to Visitor CenterShuttle to Park Entrance
Price Per NightRestaurant On SiteWalk to Nearby RestaurantsPrivate BathTrip Advisor Rating
Denali Park Village11 minsyes$319+noyesyes3
Denali Bluffs Hotel7 minsyes$229+yesno, shuttle availableyes3.5
Denali Grizzly Bear Resort12 minsyes$128+noyesyes3.5
Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge7 minsyes$149+yesyesyes3.5
Grande Denali Lodge7 minsyes$359+yesno, shuttle availableyes3.5
McKinley Chalet Resort7 minsyes$199.95+yesyesyes3.5
Tonglen Lake Lodge15 minsno$815+ (meals all-inclusive)yesnoyes5
Backwoods Lodge35 minsno$139+noyesno4.5

Kantishna Hotels Inside Denali National Park

HotelFlight Time from Visitor Center

All-Inclusive Price / Night

Restaurant on SitePrivate BathTrip Advisor Rating
Camp Denali1 hr$1100 per person, all-inclusive, 3 night minimum + $500 (round-trip flight)yesno5
Denali Backcountry Lodge1 hr$1650+yesyes4.5
Kantishna Roadhouse1 hr$1050+ per person, all-inclusive, 3 night minimum + $550 (round-trip flight)yesyes4

Denali Park Entrance Area

Also encompasses McKinley Village / Carlo Creek area 9 miles south
Season: May 20 to Sep 12 $128+

The fam­i­ly-run Denali Griz­zly Bear Resort offers a vari­ety of accom­mo­da­tions, great ameni­ties, and amaz­ing views of moun­tains and the Nenana Riv­er. And its loca­tion, six miles south of the Denali Nation­al Park Vis­i­tors Cen­ter but out­side the main tourist area, means you’ll have easy park access with­out feel­ing crowd­ed. Choose from their hotel rooms, pri­vate cab­ins, or campground.

Season: Mid-May to Mid-Sept $499+

One of the rea­sons Princess has risen to be the largest cruise and tour com­pa­ny in Alas­ka is the huge invest­ment they’ve made in their lodges. The spa­cious new main build­ing of the Denali Princess Lodge is a prime exam­ple with a 50-foot mur­al of Mount McKin­ley, grand stair­cas­es, and a 65-foot fire­place. The resort offers casu­al and fine din­ing, an expan­sive deck over­look­ing the Nenana Riv­er and Denali Nation­al Park, and a long list of amenities.  ...more

Season: May 13 to Sep 13 $399+

Locat­ed sev­en miles from the park entrance, the com­fort­able accom­mo­da­tions at Denali Park Vil­lage are far enough from the park’s hus­tle and bus­tle that you can focus on Alaska’s nat­ur­al treasures.

$319+

Set on a hill, this 166-room hotel offers a bright, con­tem­po­rary ver­sion on the clas­sic rus­tic lodge style with native Alas­ka art in the lob­bies. The lodge fea­tures a vault­ed ceil­ing, com­fort­able lounges fac­ing a stone fire­place, gift shop, tour desk, guest laun­dry, cour­tesy shut­tle ser­vice and the Alpen­glow Restau­rant. The rooms fea­ture col­or­ful Alaskan décor and, at about 300 square feet, are some of the largest in the area. For even more  ...more

Season: Mid-May to Mid-Sept $199+

Over­look the Nenana Riv­er in rus­tic ele­gance at the McKin­ley Chalet Resort, a recent­ly remod­eled upscale hotel just one mile from the Denali Park entrance. Heavy on cedar, the lodge has sev­er­al build­ings tucked into for­est, all con­nect­ed by board­walks, and this Swiss chalet feel makes it more inti­mate than its 478 rooms sug­gest. Choose from deluxe rooms or upscale, cedar-lodge mini-sites. The upper” rooms at the McKin­ley Chalet have great views  ...more

Season: Year Round Winter $139+ | Summer $200+

12-room, local­ly owned lodge 30 min­utes south of Denali Nation­al Park at the inter­sec­tion of the Parks and Denali High­ways. This year-round accom­mo­da­tion pro­vides sim­ple but well-appoint­ed rooms away from the main activ­i­ty of the park entrance.

$895+ per night, meals all-inclusive

An exclu­sive lake­side oasis with hide­away cab­ins acces­si­ble by car and only 7 miles south of Denali Nation­al Park entrance. In addi­tion to lux­u­ri­ous accom­mo­da­tions, you can enjoy the art gallery, arti­san bak­ery, and spa­cious lawn with a camp­fire cir­cle and a love­ly view of the Alas­ka Range.

$289+

The Denali Bluffs is the clos­est to park entrance. The lob­by greets you with a warm fire­place and large win­dows that look out onto the patio. If it’s a nice day, sit out­side and enjoy a meal at the Moun­taineer Grill & Bar. The 112 orig­i­nal Hill­side Rooms and the new 64 room addi­tion, the RiverView Pre­mi­um Rooms, are nes­tled in to the shoul­der of Sug­ar­loaf Moun­tain, above the Denali Nation­al Park entrance. The hotel is designed to make  ...more

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Kantishna Area (Inside the Park)

At the end of the Park Road, 90 miles inside the park
Season: Jun 04 to Sep 14 $1,450 + tax per person, per night - all inclusive & flight

The Kan­tish­na Road­house is an indige­nous owned and oper­at­ed, all-inclu­sive back­coun­try lodge in the heart of Denali Nation­al Park. Acces­si­ble only by air, expe­ri­ence the wilds of Kan­tish­na with just a hand­ful of oth­er guests and expe­ri­enced staff. They lim­it the num­ber of guests on prop­er­ty in order to pro­vide you with a unique, inti­mate experience.

Season: June 3 - Sept 9 $1325/night + flight, all-inclusive packages 3+ nights

At Camp Denali, you’ll immerse your­self in a remote back­coun­try, but with a cozy bed to set­tle into each night. Take in the qui­et of the sur­round­ing wilder­ness and enjoy the sim­ple, sus­tain­able ameni­ties for around 38 guests. Here, the bal­ance of light touch on the land” and pro­vid­ing a com­fort­able stay is per­fect­ed. Refined rus­tic guest cab­ins, each of which claims a unique view of Denali, sleep from two to six people.

Season: June 7 - Sept 12 $1650+ per person

For a lot of trav­el­ers, explor­ing deep into Denali Nation­al Park, far from the crowds, sounds like the ide­al way to expe­ri­ence the famous park. But not every­one wants to rough it out there — which is why this lodge is the per­fect bal­ance, a com­fort­able perch in seri­ous­ly remote wilderness.

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