Mt. Healy Overlook Trail
Denali National Park
Epic Overview
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5/7
The Northern Epics Quality Score is our trail rating system. We only list and review trails that we personally have hiked. Fortunately, as a guided hiking outfit, we hike a lot.
Why is the Northern Epics Quality Score out of 7 instead of 5 or 10? Because we wanted to. 7 is a fun number!
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~1,700 ft.
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~5.4 miles round trip
Mount Healy Overlook Trail Description
Mt. Healy Overlook is one of Denali’s steepest front-country hikes — it’s close to the Visitor Center and delivers a big payoff without needing to drive out to Savage. If you want a solid workout and a sweeping view of the Denali National Park entrance area, this is the go-to trail.
Mt. Healy Overlook Trail starts gently but gets progressively steeper as you go, climbing through quiet spruce forest before breaking above treeline. Once you’re up high, the terrain opens into alpine tundra and a string of switchbacks that ease the final push to the overlook. Those switchbacks are there for a reason — cutting them accelerates erosion and makes the trail harder to maintain. The National Parks Service has enough on their plate as it is.
At the top, you’ll find a rocky outcrop with panoramic views over the Nenana River Valley, the park entrance, and surrounding ridgelines. On clear days you may get a glimpse of Denali itself, though it’ll probably only be a partial view.
One important expectation-setter: the maintained trail ends well before the true summit of Mt. Healy. You can continue higher if you’re experienced with off-trail travel, but it’s a long additional push with no established route — definitely an all-day, route-finding kind of add-on. For most hikers, the overlook is the perfect turnaround point.
Mt. Healy Overlook Trail Map
Start as for the Rock Creek Trail, then take a right where Rock Creek Trail proper begins to stay on the Taiga Trail. Cross a small road, then take a left onto the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail shortly afterwards.
Getting to Mt. Healy Overlook Trail
Make it a Tour!
Hiking in Denali on your own is beautiful; hiking with Northern Epics is meaningful. We’ll help you notice what most people walk right past—wildlife signs, edible plants and berries, glacial scars, and the living story of this place.
Similar to Mt. Healy Trail: 5-Hour Into the Mountains Hike
The Into the Mountains Hike combines jaw-dropping views, strenuous hiking, and fascinating insights about the land. As with all Northern Epics tours, you’re guided by an expert naturalist — someone who can not only navigate the trail, but paint a picture of it as you hike. Learn the similarities and differences between the boreal forest ecosystems you start in, and the sub-alpine tundra you hike into above the treeline. How the ground squirrels, marmots, and ravens live in this harsh environment, and what makes these ecosystems so unique. While we won’t be on the Mt. Healy Overlook Trail for one of our Into the Mountains Hikes, the alpine feeling and strenuous exercise will be the same for both.
This is a strenuous hike. Want something easier or off-trail? Click here