Karla and I signed up for a 4 hour ATV tour with Denali ATV Adventures, based right outside of the entrance to Denali National Park. Despite the presence of ATV in their name, they also offer UTVs (or side by sides) for those wishing for a less physical but no less thrilling adventure. We opted for ATVs because we’re considering purchasing them for use both on our mountain property and throughout the Colorado/Wyoming area. Denali ATV Adventures has done an excellent job of partnering with many other companies in the area, such as Princess Cruises, in addition to the national park itself, and smartly offers shuttle buses to whisk adventure seekers directly to their main office. We apparently were in the minority, at least on this tour, and simply drove to the office from our RV park.
The ATVs they use are Yamaha Kodiak 700s without power steering. In talking with the guides about reliability, they’ve tried all the major brands (Arctic Cat, Polaris, Honda and Yamaha) over the years and found that only the Yamaha could withstand 6-8 hours of daily abuse for an entire summer without breaking something major (like axles or driveshafts). To make things simple they disable the 2WD/4WD lever (it’s permanently set to 4WD), disable the headlight switch and didn’t order a single piece of instrumentation, not even a speedometer. In addition, since 700cc is a pretty large engine for potential first timers, they restrict throttle by 80%! I guess accidental wheelies are not good for business. The resulting top speed is only 35 mph, but given the heavily potholed and rutted conditions of the trail, there is no reason to go any faster.
A shuttle bus picks up from area hotel and campgrounds
There were 12 people in our group, with 6 opting for ATVs and 6 for UTVs. We were assigned 3 guides, one in the front, one in the rear and one in the middle, to keep everything and everyone moving smoothly and ensure no one got lost in the Alaskan bush. We started with a brief orientation of our selected ride type, fitted with the required helmet and optional goggles, and then had to prove our mettle on a safety course before letting us loose. The safety course was amazingly easy even for a newbie like me, consisting of driving in a straight line over a few bumps. I have no idea how someone could fail this, but if they did I agree they should not go on this tour.
Mike on his Yamaha Kodiak
Then we were off, heading down a trail that became progressively rougher and narrower, until it resembled, well, an ATV trail. I marveled at how quickly we moved over uneven terrain, the suspension doing its job of keeping all 4 tires well planted on the ground. A good portion of the tour involved driving across, through and directly in streams, creeks and riverbeds, which was rollicking, splashing fun. A number of times we had to lift our feet well off the footboards to avoid getting them soaked. Then we transitioned into more of a forested setting, with deep mud puddles and heavily rutted trails. Since none of us had to clean these things, a looming mud puddle meant full throttle mayhem, with huge waves of mud flying everywhere.
Karla on her ATV before the mud puddles
ATV’s at our first stop
View of the town of Healy & Otto Lake from our first stop
We had five 10-15 minutes stops throughout the tour, which were well needed breaks for the thumb on the right hand (it does most of the work). The guides also took turns talking about the history, geology and indigenous culture of the local area. We were riding in the area near Stampede Road, made famous by the book, and later movie, Into The Wild, in which Chris McCandless hikes out Stampede Road to experience the adventures of Alaska, sadly never to return.
Our second stop was at Dry Creek
Stop at Dry Creek, which was not so dry after several days of rain
Another view from Dry Creek
A lateral moraine was the star of the third stop
We had fun driving through this stream bed
The same lateral moraine was viewed from our fifth and final stop
We arrived back at the office a little over 4 hours after leaving. We found out that muscling 800 pounds of non-power steering machinery into and out stream beds, ruts and mud pits is a good workout for the upper body. We had a great time and would highly recommend this tour for something a little different than the standard wildlife bus tour in the park. If you’re concerned about the loudness of the ATVs, don’t be. You can’t hear much with a helmet on. And prepare to get dirty, which is at least half the fun.
