Peaks & Parks

Travel Dates: July 13th-25th, 2025

Day 9

(Tundra Wilderness Tour of Denali National Park & Sled Dog Demonstration)

Our morning of Day 9 of our Alaskan adventure started bright and early. We were going to have a full day exploring Denali National Park, and it was starting with a 6:00 am bus tour.

We got picked up at our lodge and drove for almost half an hour before officially entering the park. Despite being a 6 million acre wilderness preserve with a 92-mile road, only the first 15 miles of the road is actually open to private vehicles in the summer. Anything last this requires travel on a park buses. Certain bus colors have different purposes as well.

The green buses are transit buses and camper buses. They are used for hop-on and hop-off transit, which are perfect for hikers and campers. Tan buses are the narrated tour buses, which are used for guided tours with a certified driver-naturalist. If it isn’t apparent, this is the bus we were on.

About 30 minutes into the park, we caught our first glimpse of wildlife! Scuttling around in the brush by the road, we got to see the Alaska state bird, the Willow Ptarmigan. The ptarmigan is known for its seasonal camouflage. Since it was summer, it was in its summer plumage to blend in better with the tundra. In the winter, it turns pure white to blend in with the snow.

Less than 10 minutes later, our tour guide informed us that there was something much bigger in the horizon, a large bull moose! When I say on the horizon, I mean very far out and barely visible to the naked eye. Fortunately, the bus was equipped with an onboard video system that includes a long-range camera so that the driver can find and zoom in on animals that are in the distance to give us great views on the bus screens.

Unfortunately, after that, it was over an hour before we spotted any more wildlife. We got to see two more moose and a golden eagle. They were once again quite a ways away and on the opposite side of the bus from where we were sitting, se we had to rely on the bus screens to get to see them.

Fortunately, the views of the landscape and mountains was stunning, so even when we weren’t gazing on the animals do the park, we still had some breath-taking nature to take in!

We got to make a bus stop at around 9:00 to stretch our legs, walk around, and take in the lovely greenery up close and personal. The field outstretching in front of us was covered with fireweed, a famous and iconic Alaska flower. It made for sum fun, vibrant, pink in our photos.

Even the cloud coverage set the scene beautifully! The rising sun would manage to bleed through parts of the cloud-painted sky and cause the sky to glow. Every once in a while, we would also be able to catch glimpses of the very blue sky hiding behind the clouds. We were able to get some very nice pictures and even made a little gopher friend that was running around near us.

Then it was time to hop back on the nas and start making the way back down the road and to the lodge. Since we were going back the same way we came, we got to be on the other side of the bus, so we were on the side all the wildlife seemed to be hanging out! The golden eagle was still perched on his rock when we came back, so we got a good view of him through our window! He was still pretty far away, but I managed to snag a semi-decent photo using my phone’s zoom.

We also passed the two moose again. They were also in the same place, but this time, they were lying down, which made them a touch more challenging to spot. Just as with the golden eagle, they were quite a ways in the distance, but I did get a zoomed in picture of them. Since they were lying in a completely open field, even though the photo is grainy, it is still easy enough to tell they are there. Their antlers are pretty big.

That ended up being the last of our wildlife spotting, so the rest of the journey was taking in the mountains, trees, bushes, and flowers as we bounced down the gravel road.

During the summer, there are sled dog demonstrations with the canine park rangers at 10:00, 2:00, and 4:00 with free buses taking groups to the kennels from the Denali Visitor Center about 40 minutes before the demonstration.

Because our wilderness tour was 6:00 to 11:30, we weren’t able to catch the 10:00 demonstration, so we planned to catch the 2:00 one instead. People were already lined up to hop on the buses before the buses even arrived. Buses filled up quickly, but fortunately, they continued sending buses until everyone was able to get a ride to the kennels.

By the time we got there, all the seated spots were taken, so we found a standing location to view the demonstration. To start, the ranger leading the demonstration told us to howl to let the dogs know it was time. We howled, and the kennels erupted with dog barking.

If it were a real winter sled expedition, they would use 8-12 dogs, depending on the weight of the load. Each dog can pull about 100 pounds, so with heavy gear, camp supplies, and food being pulled into the park’s designated wilderness, they match the number of dogs to the total load’s weight. For recreational hauling or short trips, they might use 4-8 dogs, but for the summer demonstrations, they use 4-5 dogs to pull a wheeled sled around a short loop for visitors.

For our demonstration, they used 4 dogs. Firstly, there was Matrix, an 8-year-old female, in the Lead position. Then, there was Mike, a 3-year-old male in the Swing position. For the back two Wheel positions, there was Spark, a 2-year-old female, and Jack, a 6-year-old male.

In case you are unfamiliar with the sled dog positions, the Lead Dog is responsible for steering and setting the pace and is positioned at the front. Swing/Point Dogs help turn the team and are positioned immediately behind the leader(s). Because it was a smaller team, we didn’t have any dogs in the Team Dogs position, but these dogs would be the engine of the sled and are positioned in the middle. Finally, Wheel Dogs are responsible for pulling the heaviest weight closest to the sled and are typically the largest, strongest, and steadiest dogs.

We watched the team pull its musher around the tree loop in front of us before they came to a stop in front of the ranger presenter. They then released each dog, and we watched the pups sprint back to the kennels, where they were put a way by a member of the kennel staff. Some of the dogs needed an incentive, like a toy or a treat, which was adorable. Spark needed her favorite toy, so she ran past with a big, happy smile full of her chew toy.

After the demonstration, we had some time to explore the kennels and interact with the dogs. Excited was an understatement for how I was feeling. First of all, I love animals, especially dogs. Secondly, I’ve always been fascinated by the Iditarod and sled dogs. This was quite literally, a dream come true.

To start, one of the kennel workers brought out one of the season’s litter’s puppies for us to pet. The puppy very quickly got surrounded by everyone because everyone wanted to pet it. However, I was willing to wait because I also very much wanted to pet the puppy. She was very adorable and so sweet and seemed very comfortable with all the people and interactions. She even gave out a few kisses!

After I got my puppy pets in, I made my way around the rest of the kennels. Some dogs were in pens and others were houses in the open yard, with ropes blocking off where they didn’t want visitors just traipsing through. Depending on changing needs of the dogs, they are rotated between pens and the open yard. Pens are a good option for the females in heat, newborn puppies, and the very special dogs that occasionally eat rocks.

While walking around, I befriended a dog in a pen named Munchkin. He was a very large boy that had plopped down at the very front of his pen and was open to receiving all the pets I gave him. I fortunately have very small hands and wrists for a grown woman, so I was able to fit them through the holes in the fence to give him my best deep and sincere pets, which he seemed appreciative of. While I, of course, made my way around the entire kennel to see all the dogs, I definitely kept coming back to Munchkin.

Just before they announced the buses would be boarding to take us back, we had to pay one last visit to the puppies. The kennel workers had been rotating which puppies they had grabbed and taken out to meet visitors. The rest of the puppies were being so lively and playful and just goofing around with each other in the pen. Despite only being about 2 months old, the puppies were HUGE, already indicating how big these dogs would be when they were fully grown.

What’s cool about these canine rangers is that they retire them at around 9 years old since they have physically demanding and arduous jobs. This way, they get to live out their golden years enjoying retirement as household pets. What’s even better? Dogs that are retired are actually adopted out to vetted families that meet the dog’s climate requirements! This means that you can actually adopt a retired Denali canine ranger! Well, as long as you live in a cool or northern environment you can. These dogs are built for the cold and would not be happy in a tropical or desert environment.

There is a long application list for retirees, but you can always fill out an application, mark that you are open to adopting any of the dogs, and they keep the application on file for 8 years. However, after the 8 years are expired, you are still welcome to resubmit an application.

They post the Canine Rangers on the National Park Service page, so you can always see who is currently working. We got to check it out this summer and see the puppies we had interacted with last summer grown up and officially working rangers! Check out the website, and if you want to see our 2025 puppy friends, scroll down to The Weather Litter. Storm is pictured above as the puppy they pulled out first that I waited in line to pet. Fog is the other puppy pictured above being held by the kennel worker. If nothing else, check out the video below of the little puppies playing around!

For supper, we decided to eat at a restaurant inside the Holland America Denali Lodge called Karstens Public House. I got the Seafood Queso Dip, and Luke got the Karstens Cheeseburger. It was a very warm and quiet meal. As far as our meals went, it’s not one I remember very well. It was a meal meant to fill our bellies and enjoy each other’s company, and it did just that.

To end our evening, we walked back over and up to the area we’d had dinner the night before to get our shopping in. We walked through all the gift shops and checked out some of the various other artisan shops and whatnot. We were able to successfully pick out the Denali souvenirs we wanted.

To end the evening, all the walking around had allowed us to make room for some ice cream, so we stopped into Denali Glacier Scoops and Gifts to pick out our scoop. Luke went with a coffee scoop, and in honor of the flower we had seen covering the tundra, I decided to try their Fireweed flavor. It was very unique and unlike any other flavor I’d had before, which makes it difficult to describe, but it was very good! It was a nice way to end our very full day, and since we’d had such an early morning, we were ready to retire to our cabins and call it a night at around 8:00pm.

We would be saying goodbye to Denali National Park and departing our cabins the next morning as we made our way to our final scheduled excursion and last full day before preparing to end our adventure and fly back home.