Do I Need a Parks Pass for Denali National Park?
One of the most common questions people ask when they’re coming to Denali National Park is, “Do I need a parks pass to enter the National Park?”
The short answer is yes, you do. But it’s quite that simple. For one thing, many people believe you don’t since the NPS doesn’t have a booth to collect fees on the road. It’s on the honor system, and you should be honorable. There are also several caveats, so read this article before you go out and buy your pass.
Quick Info
Pass Price: $15 for adults sixteen or older. Free for anyone fifteen years old or younger.
Days With Free Entry: February 16, May 25, June 14, July 3–5, August 25, September 17, October 27, November 11.
Buses With Included Parks Pass: Tundra Wilderness Tour, Denali Natural History Tour.
Buses Without Included Parks Pass: Non-Narrated Transit Buses (East Fork Transit Bus).
Included Passes
The first caveat is that you may already have a pass! Even if you don’t have an America The Beautiful pass or one of the other passes already. If you’re taking a bus tour into Denali National Park, I have good news for you! The price of your ticket included your pass. So if you’re on a bus tour, you do not need to buy another pass.
With that said, the Non-Narrated Bus Tours do not include a Park Pass in the price, so you’ll need to purchase one separately. Fortunately, you can purchase one at the Denali Bus Depot, so the process should be pretty easy. Just know that the price will be $15 more than it appears for the Non-Narrated Bus Tours.
Let’s say you’re not taking a bus tour, but you are taking a different tour that goes inside the National Park boundaries. What then? Well, that’s going to depend on the tour company you’re going with. All tour companies that operate inside the Denali National Park boundaries are required to make sure that you have a Parks Pass in order to run your tour. Even if they don’t advertise this, it is a requirement.
Different companies handle this in different ways. For our hiking tour company (Northern Epics, the website you’re on right now), we buy a bunch of parks passes before the season so you don’t have to go through the hassle. If you don’t already have a pass and didn’t go on one of the bus tours, we’ll be happy to provide you with a pass for free.
Many other companies will expect you to buy it yourself if you don’t already have one (as we’ve already discussed, knowing whether or not you already have one can be difficult). Either way, the Parks Service officially requires the guide to visually confirm that you have a Denali National Park pass, unless you’re on one of a few tour groups operated by certain multi-day tour operators where everyone is guaranteed to have a pass.
When you’re booking a tour that goes into the National Park, keep an eye out for what they say about the pass. If they say it’s included in your tour, fantastic! If they don’t, it probably isn’t, and you should reach out to them and double check. It’s definitely better to find out before your trip than at the trailhead.
How do I get a Denali National Park pass online?
You can also buy a Denali National Park pass online from recreation.gov. Click the button below to go to the site and purchase your pass! Go to the section titled “Standard Entrance Pass” and click the button titled “Buy Pass”. You’ll then see this screen:
Both “Buy Pass” buttons lead to this screen.
Doing this myself, I got confused when I clicked the “Help Me Choose a Site Pass” button, so I’d recommend just clicking “View All Site Passes” instead. There are only two.
Unless you’re planning on being in Denali for months, choose the 7-Day Entry Pass.
Click “Add Pass” under whichever pass better fits your time in Denali (for most people, this will be the 7-Day Entry Pass). Once you’ve done that, click to continue to the order details and sign into recreation.gov.
The online process can be a little bit confusing, but if you’re not going on a tour that includes a Park Pass, it will be the easiest option for most people. To visit the NPS website and buy your pass, click the button below. If you can’t figure that out, or prefer good ol’ in person over the interwebs, your next option is below.
How do I buy my Denali National Park pass in person?
There are a few places that you can purchase a pass in person. Unlike most National Parks, there isn’t a kiosk on the road for you to buy a pass at. Instead, you’ll need to go to one of these locations:
Click any of the locations above to open a link to their location on Google Maps. Go to any of these places to buy your pass!
For most people in the Denali National Park area, the Denali Bus Depot or Denali Visitor Center will be the easiest places to purchase a pass. However, if it’s winter, you’ll need to go to the Murie Science and Learning Center, as that is the only winter visitor center.
Also, if you’re located in Talkeetna and flying into Denali, you’ll need to buy your pass from the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station.
How long is my Denali National Park pass good for?
Despite all the confusion around the Denali National Park pass, this is one bright spot. Any way you get your Parks Pass, whether that’s online, through the Ranger Station, or through an included tour like a bus tour or a Northern Epics hiking tour, your pass is good for an entire week. That’s seven full days, not a work week.
That means that you could go on a Northern Epics hiking tour on your first day in Denali, for the next 7 days, you can take as many other tours inside the Park as you want or drive yourself into the Park yourself for free.
