$16 / night

Camper submitted image from Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park - 1

Camper submitted image from Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park - 3

People

Camper submitted image from Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park - 4

Camping

Camper submitted image from Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park - 5

Activities

Established Camping

Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park

16 Reviews

Do you own or manage this property?

Claim Your Listing

About

National Park Service

Denali National Park and Preserve

Wonder Lake Campground is closed until further notice.

With up-close views of North America’s tallest peak, Denali National Park Wonder Lake Campground is the closest campground to the mountain, providing visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is located in a remote area, surrounded by pristine wilderness and offering visitors a chance to connect with nature in a way that is becoming increasingly rare. The campground offers a range of activities nearby such as fishing and wildlife viewing. It is also the starting point for many popular hiking trails, including the 20-mile McKinley Trail. Denali National Park Wonder Lake Campground is a special destination that offers visitors an unforgettable glimpse of Alaska's natural beauty.

Visitors may not drive to this campground. It is only accessible for campers via specialized park buses. Be sure to book a camper bus ticket in addition to paying your campground fees.

Fee Info

Reservation Fee

This is a one-time reservation fee. It applies whether you stay one night or fourteen (or a number in between) at this campground. Park passes do not waive this fee, as it is charged by our concessionaire.

$8.00

Nightly Fee

This is the cost, per night, to stay at Wonder Lake Campground. Please note that your total cost for the campground is $6 (the one-time reservation fee) + the total nightly cost of your stay. Up to four people may use a single site.

$16.00

Suggest an Edit

Location

Wonder Lake Campground — Denali National Park is located in Alaska

Coordinates

63.45439689 N
150.86068581 W

Open in Google Maps

The Dyrt Alerts

Get reservations at sold-out campgrounds.

Learn More

Access

Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites

Features

For Campers

Market
ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Reservable
Drinking Water
Toilets
Fires

$16

/ night

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

The Dyrt Alerts

Get reservations at sold-out campgrounds.

Learn More

Contact

General Info

Reservations

Make reservation

Christian D.

Legend

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2021

Amazing view of Denali

Camping there with a clear view is an amazing experience. Private sites with great views. Friendly and careful hosts. It will make you forget the mosquitos. I would definitely do it again!

Month of VisitJuly

(8) View All

Cody M.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 24, 2021

Million Dollar Views

Yes, the mosquitoes are bad, but I honestly didn’t find them to be that much worse than elsewhere in Alaska. Liberal use of bug dope and I was able to stroll around and even sit outside and read without a head net. Excellent drinking water and, surprisingly, flush toilets. Two shelters for cooking afford social time with fellow campers. The first day I hid from the rain in my tent, the second was all clouds and fog, but the third morning… well, you simply have to go experience it yourself. Humbling to say the least.

Site17

Month of VisitJuly

Holly P.

Scout

Reviewed Apr. 8, 2021

Wonder Lake

Wonder Lake far the most amazing campground I have ever been to. We visited at the end of August and lucked out with beautiful weather. Denali was out with barely any clouds. It was a great start to our trip in Denali. It did rain one evening but very lightly and there was a beautiful rainbow. By far the best experience camping!

George A.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 24, 2018

breathtaking and awesome

It has great fishing and hiking and just out of this world

Stacey C.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 24, 2018

Super busy campground with gorgeous views!

The mosquitos are INSANE. Just unreal. Be sure to bring a headnet, it'll help with your sanity. We enjoy taking the camper bus out and back, less excited tourists everywhere and less narration, although the drivers still look for and stop for wildlife.

The campsites are nice, but all of the tents are in view of each other so no real privacy from others. The nightly ranger programs were a really nice touch. The weather is quite variable. We had sunny days with AMAZING mountain views and driving rain downpours that felt like they'd never end and bring a chill. Glad we spent 3 days so we could see Denali. Bathrooms are nice and even flush.

Month of VisitAugust

Dori S.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2018

AMAZING!!

There is nothing like it!!! The views and wildlife are incredible!! The sites are private, all with views of Denali. The bear locker is huge! Bring as much as you are willing to lug out there! We were having Turkey patty melts with all the fixings while others were just eating pb&js. dont limit yourself! The bathrooms are pretty luxurious for being so remote. Rained quite a bit, so rain gear is a must. No showers, but running water for drinking sinks for washing dishes. Amazing overall!!!

Gillian H.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 9, 2018

Mosquitos and Mountains

There will definitely be lots of mosquitos there, but this campground will probably be the best chance to see Denali up close. The long bus ride to the campground allows for animal sightings and different views of the mountain. Bring bug spray no matter what!

Kayla A.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 5, 2018

Busy backcountry campground

This campground is worth the work of getting there (backpacking on a bus for two hours!). It isn’t convenient for sight seeing but is a well maintained place with great views. Be prepared before coming here!

(6) View All

SwitchbackKids

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 27, 2017

Perfect end to our year in the national parks

Camping at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, close by the tallest peak in North America, seemed like the perfect way to end our trip to all 59 national parks. It was even more than we expected.

Our first two days in the park (first day shuttling out to Wonder Lake, and second day exploring the Eielson area) were completely cloudy and rainy with no visibility of Denali. We were losing hope that we would ever see the mountain until we woke up on our third morning. We opened our tent at 4 a.m. to use the bathroom and saw Denali in all its glory. We hadn’t even known how amazing of a view we had from our tent until that final morning.

At the campground, we enjoyed walking around Wonder Lake at sunrise (around 4 a.m. in July!), cooking in the nice pavilion areas, seeing moose ramble around the campsites, and attending evening ranger programs. We also were able to catch the park shuttle to other areas of the park. (I’d recommend Eielson Visitor Center & its surrounding trails!)

You can read much more about our two days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Denali)

Month of VisitAugust

(7) View All

Alison G.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 26, 2016

Nothing Compares

There's not much that can compare to waking up in campground. Well worth the long drive in, the sites are large with plenty of space around you so that feel almost as if you're out there alone. A nice reminder that you aren't is the common area with picnic tables and large walk in bear storage room. There are ranger programs in the evening but by far the best part is soaking in the views.

(6) View All

Carly S.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 3, 2016

Best View Ever

I absolutely love Denali and the view from top to bottom is incredible 😍 Best wildlife spotting and incredible landscape photography opportunities. Especially since the lighting changes so frequently because of the mountains creating their own weather.

(9) View All

Eric N.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 1, 2016

The most amazing views

It was a beautiful place to camp. Misquotes were very thick and hungry. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked. A short walk to an amazing view of Denali. The bus ride out is a great place to see wildlife. The inside of the visitor center has great information on denali and different routes the climbers take to summit. I always enjoy my camping trips here!

(6) View All

Shannon C.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 31, 2016

The most secluded campsite you will ever find

Wonder Lake campground is the furthest campground in Denali National Park. About 85 miles from the entrance. It is only accessible by bus which takes about 4.5 hours to get there but definitely worth it. The bus ride alone has some of the most spectacular scenery around. Not to mention you get views of North America's highest peak. The campground has everything you will need but be sure to use the HUGE bear storage room where everyone has to store their food both day and night. The bears are everywhere so use it. Overall, it's absolutely beautiful and if you plan to camp I highly recommend this one.

(14) View All

Amber A.

Ranger

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2016

Surreal experience, National Park perfection!

Drive alllll the way to the end of the road in Denali. As if you weren't already rewarded by the trip through the park, this campground is incredible. You can't choose a bad site, almost all of them have a view of Denali (assuming it doesn't hide in the clouds). So much wildlife! We saw bears along the road but no evidence of them near the campsite thanks to the rules in place (store food in lockers). Camp sites weren't close together, "neighbors" are from all over the world and fun to talk with.

Facilities are clean and among the best I've encountered in the National Park system. Tents only!! Make reservations far in advance.

Lots of hiking in the area or just bushwhack (check with rangers for policies). Once in a lifetime adventure, stay a few days!

(6) View All

Jenna W.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 18, 2016

Wonder Lake Campground, Denali National Park

Denali National Park is truly the pristine wilderness setting for a National Park. It has only one road in and that road is only paved the first 14 miles. You can only get past mile 14 by buying a ticket for a bus ride in. There are different busses you can take but if you want to get to Wonder Lake Campground, you'll need to go to mile 85 of 90. It is worth the ride! See "The Mountain" as close as you can get by road. Camp under the Midnight sun. Catch the alpenglow and possibly the northern lights. Watch out for mosquitoes. Above all, enjoy your stay at the end of the Park Road.

Dan G.

Ranger

Reviewed Jun. 14, 2016

Wonder Lake, was wonder-ful

Wonder Lake Campground is one of those campgrounds that you may be surprised by. We were! First Wonder Lake is the last campground on the long and only road in Denali National Park. The bus stops by several campgrounds during the long 5.5 - 6 hours bus ride to wonder lake, but don't be tempted by a shorter bus ride. Wonder Lake is the only campground that you can actually see Denali from and is well worth the extra bumpy few hours on the bus to get there.

Once we arrived we were surprised to see bathrooms with flush toilets, potable water easily accessible and large walk-in bear storage areas along with picnic tables in a common area and at each campsite. All of the campsites face Denali and will have a view of the Alaskan Mountain range as long as it is not clouded in. Unfortunately for campers, we were told the mountain is only visible about 20% of the time. We were lucky enough to be the 20%, but I would recommend reserving a few days to give yourself a better chance of seeing the great views the campground has to offer.

There is a short path behind the common area that leads to Wonder Lake. The lake is also a great spot to view wildlife and if you are into fishing i recommend bringing a fishing pole. The fish in the lake are very active and will bite on anything since there are very few people who actually fish in the lake. The nice thing about fishing in Denali is that you do not need a permit or license to actually fish. There is also a great, and one of the few, hiking trail called the McKinley Bar Trail that is well worth the hike is the mountain is out. It is a pretty flat and well marked trail that is only about a quarter mile from the campground entrance.

The entire area is very buggy and you will want to bring mosquito nets or very strong bug spray at the very least.

One of the other things that we wish we would have known is that with the large bear lockers and picnic tables you don't have to skimp on the food packing. There were a couple of campers that actually brought an entire large yeti cooler with them and they ate like kings the few days they were there We had packed light, but wish we would have known about the ample storage area so we could of had at least one nice dinner instead of a couple of Clif Bars.

All in all I would rate Wonder Lake my favorite non back country campsite that I have visited as long as you can see the mountain. If you can't it is still a great spot just not as awe inspiring.

(7) View All