Campground Review - Denali RV Park & Motel - Healy, Alaska

Description

Denali RV Park & Motel is a big-rig friendly campground just off the scenic Parks Highway and just 8 miles from the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The park is in an area of stunning natural beauty and has sweeping vistas of forested slopes and rugged, snowy mountains. The campground is a great base from which to explore Denali and the surrounding area.

Location

Denali RV Park and Motel
245.1 Parks Hwy
Denali National Park and Preserve, AK 99755
Park: (907) 683-1500
Latitude: 63.821447 N, Longitude: -148.988620 W, Elevation: 1,342 ft (409 m)

Details

We stayed for 5 nights at Denali RV Park & Motel in early June, 2018. This is a full service, clean, and well-maintained park. The park has Good Sam, seniors and military discounts. Staff was very friendly and helpful during our visit.

We made use of the campground’s pet walking service so that we could take a day-long tour into Denali. Well worth it!

Cost

For 5 nights at a 30 amp full hookup pull-thru site we paid about $56 per night, including tax and Good Sam discount. There were no fees for pets or an extra vehicle.

Ratings (1-5)

Accessibility – 4/5

The campground is easily accessible from the scenic Parks Highway. Lanes in the campground are well-maintained gravel. The park has both pull-thru and back-in sites and can accommodate large rigs. The campground facilities have provisions for Universal access.

Facilities/Amenities – 4/5

The campground offers basic amenities, including full and partial hookup sites, RV dump station, restrooms and free showers, coin-op laundry, free WiFi, gift shop and cable TV. Facilities were clean and in good repair.

Site quality – 4/5

RV sites have full or partial (water/electric) hookups, cable TV, and a picnic table. Electric service is 30/20 amp. Sites are gravel with little separation between sites. The campground has back-in and pull-thru sites.

Scenic Value – 5/5

The park is has spectacular views of forested slopes, deep valleys and rugged snowy mountain peaks.

Location/Isolation – 4/5

This quiet park has spectacular mountain views and feels rustic and remote. The closeness of sites, however, detracts from the feeling of isolation.

Paws Friendliness – 5/5

The campground is pet friendly, but does not have an enclosed pet run or cleanup bag stations. The park is large enough for a decent walk with your pet and has large pet walk areas. The park connects to miles of hiking trails for longer walks.

Note: Pets are not allowed on many of the trails, tours and excursions in and around Denali National Park, but no need to worry. The campground offers a pet walking service so that you are confident that your pets are well cared for while you are away on an excursion for the day. We made use of this service one day – it was well worth it to know our pups were well cared for while we took a tour into Denali.

Overall Rating – 4/5

Overall, the Denali RV Park & Motel is a lovely place to stay while exploring the many attractions around Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. We enjoyed our stay here and would love to return another time.

Additional info

Internet access

We only received a weak 3G signal at this campground – not enough for internet access. We used the free campground WiFi service a few times. Internet speeds were variable, though generally slow.

Water Quality

The campground water tested hard – we added our water softener to the water filtration stack.

Bear Advisory

Note: This is bear country. Be alert and do not leave food or trash out which might attract bears. Keep pets on leash and do not leave them unattended outside.

Nearby Amenities

A grocery store, gas stations, restaurants, micro-brewery, and some RV and automotive services are available nearby in Healy, AK (4 miles). More tourist services and outfitters, restaurants and gift stores are nearby around McKinley Chalet Resort (6 miles). A wider variety of shopping and RV services are available in Fairbanks, AK (114 miles), Anchorage, AK (245 miles).