Alaska.com: Alaska's Travel Website

Denali National Park is taking reservations for seats on its shuttle buses and for campsites for the 2004 visitor season.

It's not absolutely necessary to make reservations far in advance in order to ride the buses. About 35 percent of all shuttle-bus seats are available at the park, first come, first served, for rides scheduled no more than two days in advance.

Visitors may reserve no more than eight bus seats at a time and must provide the names and ages of every person for whom the tickets are purchased.

Campgrounds at Denali

Campgrounds open for reservation are Riley Creek, Savage River, Teklanika and Wonder Lake. Camping at Teklanika must be in hard-sided RVs only; tent camping there has been suspended indefinitely because of the closeness of wildlife.

RV camping is not available at Wonder Lake, even though the campground is along the park road.

Adult prices for single bus seats vary from $17.50 to $33.75, depending on how far into the park the bus is scheduled to ride. Teens 15 to 17 years old ride for half price, while visitors 14 and younger ride free.

The least expensive site costs $9 a night (and there are only seven of them), and a walk-in site near the entrance costs $12. Other campsites range in price from $16 to $18 a night. Additional charges include a one-time reservation fee of $4 and an entrance fee of $5 per person or $10 per family, good for seven days.

Camping and the bus

Campers can use two special bus tickets: the camper pass and the Teklanika pass. Camper passes allow a backpacker to ride to any campground or backcountry unit; the driver will ask to see the pass. The Teklanika pass is good for Teklanika River campground users; it's good for three rides, one of which is arranged when the reservation is made and the other two of which are first come, first served to any destination in the park. Reservation forms for camping and bus rides can be downloaded from the park's Web site. Fax them to the park's concessioner, Doyon/Aramark Joint Venture in Anchorage, at 907-264-4684. They must be accompanied by a credit card number with expiration date and received no later than two days before the desired date of travel.

If paying by check or credit card, mail the form to Doyon/Aramark Joint Venture, Visitor Transportation System, 241 Ship Creek Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501.

Information and help are available at 907-272-7275 in Anchorage, 800-622-7275 outside Anchorage.

Outside the park

If your last-minute attempt at making a reservation fails, there are other campgrounds in the area.