Denali / Riley Creek

Riley Creek Campground is what we expected of a National Park campground. There were no hookups but the sites were wooded with vegetation between sites to offer privacy. The ground is covered with spongy moss and berries. Fall was in full swing at the first of September and the trees were golden with beautiful white trunks of the Aspen and the ground vegetation mainly red. Berries were in abundance. Each site had a table and fire pit. We registered on arrival at the Mercantile where we found that there were showers available for $4.00 for unlimited hot shower and Wi-Fi along with cell phone coverage. You paid for the shower in the Mercantile and were given a towel and key to enter your shower. They had benches for convenience in storing supplies separate from the shower area. We chose Riley Creek due to its location near the entrance and near the bus access for our tour to Kantishna which is 92 miles on gravel road into the park. I would highly recommend the trip as we saw all the "big five" and others on numerous occasions. Our driver/interpreter truly loved the park and accommodated both sides of the bus being able to see the many sightings of wildlife. There is complimentary transportation for campers within the first 15 miles of the paved park road. A visit to the kennels is a must to view the dog sledding demonstration. The visitor's center with its film and displays is informative. We enjoyed the campfire program on raptors in the park. My only complaint is the plane and helicopter noise near the entrance but we were aware of that before choosing the campground. There was not a kiosk for collecting fees for the park but we were charged in our reservation. There are so many well maintained hiking trails within the campground leading to all of the facilities. There was no need to crank up the RV during the entire 3 night visit. I would recommend if coming from Anchorage stopping in Talkeetna and flying over Mt. Denali with K2 Aviation. I strongly recommend it and also a glacier landing. The view of Mt. Denali from land or air is just breathtaking! I have now completed visiting in 49 states and camping in the last of most of the national parks set aside in this beautiful country. I will never forget the inspiring visit to Denali National Park. We camped here in a Motorhome.