Denali Park road crews start plowing

It’s that time of year again. The Denali National Park road crews start plowing the Park road next week to prepare it for summer traffic.

The 95-mile long road takes up to 8 weeks to plow. Road opening also includes steaming culverts filled with ice and controlling overflow across the road.

Winter activities such as skiing and mushing will remain available on the Spring Trail which parallels the park road. The trailhead is located at the dog kennels at headquarters. Visitors using the park road should expect to encounter snow removal equipment.

According to pilots flying over the road corridor, there is more snow and drifting than in recent years. Last year at this time, Toklat station, at milepost 53, reported 4 inches of snow. This year, they are reporting 19 inches. Kantishna is reporting 6 inches more than last year.

Visitors to the Park can expect the road to be open to Savage River around the end of March or early April and the Teklanika River Rest Stop at milepost 30 of the park road to open mid to late April.