Photo Credit: Denali Rafting Tours

Denali National Park Rafting Tours

Rafting is one of the most popular activities in the Denali area, for several reasons. First, it's one of the easiest ways to feel like you're immersed in the wilderness, even though on some portions of the river, you're just below the highway.

There are also tours ranging from 2 hrs to full-day, so you can always find a trip to fit your schedule. If you're spending just two nights in Denali (the most common length of stay) you can easily fit in an evening raft trip on the day you arrive or a morning trip before you depart. If you're staying multiple days, opt for a half or full-day trip.

Most tours take place on the Nenana River, a very typically Alaskan glacially fed river that's brownish in color due to the heavy concentration of glacial silt. You can opt for a mild-trip that traverses the calmer parts of the river, or a whitewater trip where you'll encounter heart-pounding rapids with names like Coffee Grinder and Ice Worm. See our recommended guides below.

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Rafting Tours

Season: May 20 to Sep 10 $125+ 3 - 5.5 hrs

Just out­side Denali Nation­al Park, the Nenana Riv­er offers a unique raft­ing expe­ri­ence: The riv­er is big and icy cold, with glacial­ly fed waters. But this raft­ing out­fit­ter based near the Park Entrance offers a soul-warm­ing expe­ri­ence on the riv­er, which makes an excel­lent coun­ter­part to a bus tour through the nation­al park. Choose a quick 3‑hour trip on mild water or splash through some rapids. Or opt for a longer 5.5‑hour run. 

Season: Year Round Custom pricing, contact for rates Half, Full Day & Multi-Day

Raft the pris­tine and scenic rivers in the Denali area with an expert, local guide. The most pop­u­lar water activ­i­ty is riv­er raft­ing, which can range from a scenic float to a more white­wa­ter expe­ri­ence on a class III+ riv­er. For a full day of adven­ture, you can com­bine a trip on the riv­er with hik­ing. Tra­verse Alas­ka also offers pack­raft­ing (each per­son is pad­dling their own small boat), which is a day-and-a-half class, tran­si­tion­ing from  ...more

Season: May - Sept $125+ 3.5 - 5.5 hrs

Feel the thrill of crush­ing through white­wa­ter on the Nenana Riv­er just out­side the icon­ic Denali Nation­al Park. Do it with New Wave Adven­tures and you’ll have your choice of raft­ing trips — you can even decide whether to pad­dle or just take in the beau­ti­ful scenery — as well as oth­er excit­ing options like hik­ing and pack­raft­ing, all great options for fam­i­ly fun.

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