Spring Road Opening

Science Summary (2014) - Many areas in Denali are prone to debris slides because they contain steep slopes and frozen sediment or soil layers that can thaw. Sometimes movements are gradual (months or years) and sometimes massive blocks of material can detach and fall from a hillside quickly (minutes or seconds). Thanks to past and ongoing science and engineering efforts to ensure the safety of visitors and staff, relatively few events like a major 2013 slide have occurred.

Science Summary (2017) - The Denali Park Road facilitates a unique wilderness experience for visitors. But this 92 mile road crosses through difficult terrain and extreme weather, and needs a hardy, remarkable group of individuals to maintain it.

To reduce road dust created by vehicular traffic, maintenance crews apply an aqueous solution of calcium chloride (CaCl2) to the surface of the Denali Park Road. This application reduces visually displeasing dust clouds and the subsequent need to replace fine materials lost from the road as dust, but also has the potential to adversely affect ecosystems adjacent to the road. Learn how botany program staff assess and monitor the possible effects of CaCl2 applications.

Annual Research Update (2015) - In June 2013, the NPS approved a winter plowing plan to open the Denali Park Road about one month earlier than the traditional opening date. As part of the plan, the road is opened to the Mountain Vista Rest Area by mid-February. During the trial, park staff is monitoring soundscapes, wildlife sightings and behavior, and visitor use levels.

Science Summary (2017) - The Denali park road presents park managers with a complicated web of intersecting ambitions. To some they might see a solitary dirt road winding through the wilderness but to park managers they have to consider much more including visitor expectations, protecting wildlife populations in an unaltered natural ecosystem, and how the park road may affect wildlife viewability.

How do hundreds of thousands of people visit a park with just one road and still have a wilderness experience, full of solitude and, hopefully, wildlife? Denali's Vehicle Management Plan (VMP) aims to provide that experience, and park scientists monitor the interactions of buses, visitors, and wildlife to assess how well the plan is being implemented. Read the most recent year's monitoring results.

Being able to view wildlife is a main draw for visitors to venture to Denali. But how may growing number of visitors influence wildlife viewing along the park road?