Denali National Park & Preserve · seasonal road
Denali Park Road: when it opens, year by year
Last verified NPS page updated September 24, 2026
The 92-mile Park Road; since the Pretty Rocks landslide closure (mile 45.4, August 2021) buses can travel no farther than mile 43 (East Fork); access to Kantishna is only by air Typically opens: Spring: for most of the winter the road is plowed only to Park Headquarters (Mile 3); mid-February to Mountain Vista (Mile 13); then sometime in April or early May it opens to Savage River (Mile 15) and Teklanika River (Mile 30). Transit buses start May 20 each year; the road never opens farther than Mile 30 to private vehicles. Closes: Fall: open to Teklanika (Mile 30), weather permitting, through October 15 or when snow or ice closes the road at Park Headquarters; bus service ends the second Thursday after Labor Day.
- 2026 opening
- Apr 28
- scheduled
In the park's words
What Denali says about Denali Park Road
“Due to the continuing road closure, buses can travel no farther than mile 43 of the 92-mile Park Road and access to Kantishna is only by air.” source
“The Pretty Rocks Landslide (mile 45.4) has been slowly displacing a portion of the Denali Park Road near Polychrome for decades” source
“marking a major milestone in restoring access to the west end of Denali Park Road following the Pretty Rocks landslide and road closure in August 2021.” source
“For most of the winter, the road is only plowed to Park Headquarters (Mile 3). In mid-February, the road opens to Mountain Vista (Mile 13).” source
“Depending largely on snow conditions and the weather, the road will open to Savage River (Mile 15) and then Teklanika River (Mile 30) sometime in April or early May.” source
“Transit bus service traveling along the Denali Park Road does not begin until May 20 each year.” source
Worth knowing
- No official year-by-year opening/closing history table was found for this road in the captured NPS pages.
- Summer season: mid-May to mid-September (conditions page, Sept 24, 2026); bus and campground reservations for summer 2027 open December 1, 2026.
- 2026 spring: the April 27 release credits 'Recent warm weather and below average snow levels' for letting spring road crews open the road to Teklanika on April 28 (inside the usual 'sometime in April or early May' window).
About this page
Dates are the park’s and WSDOT’s own, captured on 2026-10-05 and re-checked at every build. Medians and extremes are arithmetic on the published rows; we do not forecast. Weather closes passes without notice, so check live alerts for Denali before you drive.
Sources · 2
- 1.Denali National Park & Preserve — Denali Park Road (official page) · National Park Service
- 2.Seasonal road pages and historical opening-date tables on nps.gov and wsdot.wa.gov, read and quoted · National Park Service; Washington State DOT
FAQ
Denali Park Road questions
- When does Denali Park Road open?
- Denali says: Spring: for most of the winter the road is plowed only to Park Headquarters (Mile 3); mid-February to Mountain Vista (Mile 13); then sometime in April or early May it opens to Savage River (Mile 15) and Teklanika River (Mile 30). Transit buses start May 20 each year; the road never opens farther than Mile 30 to private vehicles. For 2026 the stated date was April 28, 2026.
- When does Denali Park Road close for the season?
- Denali says: Fall: open to Teklanika (Mile 30), weather permitting, through October 15 or when snow or ice closes the road at Park Headquarters; bus service ends the second Thursday after Labor Day. For 2026: Fall 2026: open to private vehicles to Teklanika (mile 30) beginning Friday, Sept. 18, weather and road conditions permitting; fall access continues as conditions allow through Oct. 15; may close at park headquarters (mile 3.4), Mountain Vista (mile 13) or earlier at any time because of winter weather
- Is Denali Park Road open right now?
- Check the park's road-status page (linked under Sources) or its alerts: our “Is Denali open?” page shows the live NPS alerts.
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