Mountain Vista Trail
Denali National Park
Epic Overview
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3/7 or 5/7
Depending on whether or not the weather is good enough to see Mt. Denali.
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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None.
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~0.6 miles
Mountain Vista Trail Description
Tucked just off the Denali Park road before Savage River, the Mountain Vista Trail is one of the lesser-known Denali National Park trails. This short, gravel-paved loop delivers outsized rewards—wide-open views of the Savage River valley and the dramatic ridgelines of Mount Healy towering above. Of course, that’s only the case if the weather is decent. But if it is, the views are wonderful.
Winding through the transition zone between boreal forest and tundra, there’s a good mix of local flora. You can spot everything from shrubby tundra willows and dwarf plants to berries and scraggly white and black spruce. It’s a short but good walk for anyone with a love for northern ecosystems.
Wildlife sightings are fairly common this far into the Park, and often up close. Arctic ground squirrels dart through the brush beside the trail, and both caribou and moose are frequently seen moving around this habitat throughout the year.
An unmarked spur adds less than a mile and leads to the edge of the glacially fed Savage River—well worth the short detour for those wanting a closer look.
The crown jewel is the view of Mt. Denali rising to the southwest. On a clear day, Mountain Vista offers one of the most accessible vantage points of The Great One, reachable by personal vehicle or via the park’s free shuttle.
Mountain Vista Trail Map
There are two ways to access the Mountain Vista Trail, depending on if you have a vehicle or not. If you don’t have a vehicle, you can use the free Savage River Shuttle bus to access it. To do this, go to the Denali Park Bus Depot (this is within a couple miles of most of the major hotels, and can be walked), then get on the Savage River Shuttle and ride it until the Mountain Vista Trail stop. Get off here and enjoy the trail!
In a personal vehicle, drive the Denali Park Road to mile 13 and park in the sizable Mountain Vista Trail parking lot. Pretty simple!
Getting to Mountain Vista 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 Horseshoe Lake Trail: 3-Hour Naturalist Walking Tour
Unfortunately, the National Park Service does not permit hiking tour companies to run tours on the Mountain Vista Trail. With that said, the feel of Mountain Vista is very similar to the trails we do our Naturalist Walking Tour on. The Naturalist Walking Tour is a slow-down-and-notice-everything kind of Denali hike. Along a beautiful, approachable trail, your Northern Epics guide will bring the landscape to life—reading wildlife signs, spotlighting edible tundra and forest plants, and sharing the natural and human stories that shaped this land. You’ll leave not just having seen Denali, but having understood it.
This is an easy walk. Want something harder or off-trail? Click here