Alaska's parks
Driving Denali in autumn
Annual fall lottery allows lucky few to motor down the scenic park road
By Elizabeth Manning / Anchorage Daily News
EIELSON VISITOR CENTER -- Back at the Polychrome Pass overlook, where we had huddled against a bitter wind in winter coats and hats, the park visitor in Hawaiian shorts seemed crazy, stupid or both.
But at a visitor center 20 miles deeper into Denali National Park, we were the ones overdressed.
The sun was out, as was 20,320-foot Mount McKinley. Inside, the center felt luxuriously warm, like a greenhouse. Outside, the parking lot buzzed like a beach party. People stood outside their cars -- yes cars, not buses -- stretching and chatting. Some picnicked or took short hikes; others snapped photos and pressed on. A few dogs ran around on leashes.
Meanwhile, one of the most spectacular vistas in the world loomed behind.
Not everyone who drives into Denali is lucky enough to see the mountain, but on a mid-September Saturday this year, McKinley was mostly clear -- unobscured except for a mysterious drape of clouds swirling around both summits.
It doesn't get much better than this.
To win the road lottery that annually lets 1,600 people drive their vehicles into the park over four days in September is luck enough. But if your day to drive into the park happens to come when the weather is good and the mountain is out, well, you feel blessed.
Dr. Nicholas Deely, a pediatrician from Fairbanks, was basking in that good luck this year. With his rented Ford Traveler van parked along the road, he and his family stood transfixed with binoculars at a pond's edge, watching two beavers glide across the water as they hauled sticks to build a lodge.
Each year since the lottery has started, he has sent in an application. And each year, he waits expectantly to see whether he or anyone in his family has been drawn. ''We keep our fingers crossed,'' he said.
Deely, his granddaughter and her boyfriend spotted the beavers first. Soon several cars had stopped and a ranger ambled over. Deely pointed out the beavers to other bystanders.
''Look, there's one now in its condominium,'' he said, eyes crinkling in amusement.
Deely said he loves the road lottery because it offers a chance for his family to poke through the park in the comfort of their own vehicle, stopping wherever they choose. Later that day, they planned a cookout at Wonder Lake.
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