How to camp at the Teklanika River Campground in Denali

Wanting to camp at the Teklanika River Campground in Denali National Park? In this guide we’re sharing everything you need to know to camp at the Teklanika River Campground.

While the first 15 miles of Denali National Park are easy and fun to explore, our favorite part of the park lies beyond the paved roads and maintained trails. And the best way to experience it is to camp at the Teklanika River Campground!

This remote campground allows visitors the chance to stay deeper into the park, away from the crowds, and have easier access to miles 15-43. During our three nights at this campground we enjoyed a scenic bus ride, multiple hikes (including one completely off trail!), coffee by the river, and campfire dinners. It was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation!

Watch our experience camping at the Teklanika River Campground and exploring Denali National Park past mile 15!

However, there is a lot to know before camping at the Teklanika River Campground, including some unique rules, and in this guide we’re sharing everything you need to know to camp here, plus things to do while at the campground!

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Before embarking on your adventure, please review the Leave No Trace principles to ensure you leave every place better than you found it, so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!

These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors.

About the Teklanika River Campground

Teklanika River Campground | Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

Located on the Teklanika River at mile 29.1 on the park road in Denali National Park, the Teklanika River Campground is one of 6 campgrounds inside the park. But it is the only one that campers can drive their personal vehicle past mile 15 to get to, which makes it a unique experience! It is only open in the summer, from May 20 until mid September and has a total of 53 sites, which accommodate both tent campers and RVers (under 40 feet), but do not offer hookups.

Want to learn more about Denali National Park? Check out our ultimate guide to Denali National Park, where we share all of the important things you need to know, such as the different areas, where you can and cannot drive, where to stay, and the best things to do in Denali!

Important things to know before staying at the Teklanika River Campground

Staying at the Teklanika River Campground in Denali National Park is a different experience than camping at developed campgrounds at any other national park. There are quite a few rules and things to know before camping here, which may impact if you are able to stay, or even want to stay.

Reservations are highly recommended

With how popular national parks have become, it’s definitely a good idea to reserve a campsite in advance, as most campgrounds do fill up in the summertime. But we’d especially recommend doing so for the Teklanika River Campground, as logistically it will make your trip much easier to know ahead of time if you are going to stay here.

The campground was technically fully booked during our visit, but there were some open sites. To book your campsite, you will need to make reservations in advance on reservedenali.com. However, even though you reserve a site in advance, your exact site will be chosen when you arrive at the campground.

You must stay a minimum of three nights

The Teklanika River Campground requires a minimum three night stay, if arriving in a personal vehicle. This may seem like a long time to be at the campground, especially because there isn’t that much to do nearby, but we personally found it to be perfect! It gave us the chance to truly enjoy the camping experience and not have to rush everyday.

If you plan to tent camp and do not need a vehicle, you are able to book a camper transit bus (which you can do by calling 800-622-7275) to take you to the Teklanika River Campground and are not required to stay three nights. This bus is specially configured to transport campers, including back seats that have been taken out to store backpacks. Similar to the Tek Pass we will mention below, you’ll be able to ride the bus as much as you’d like as a tent camper.

You are not allowed to leave in your vehicle

This rule is probably the one that scares the most people away. Once you get to the Teklanika River Campground your vehicle cannot move until after your three night minimum is over. This is because they want to keep traffic off of the park road. To get around, you will have to utilize the park bus system and will get a special Tek Pass (more on that next!).

You may worry that you’ll feel trapped and we were a bit worried about it at first, but it ended up being totally fine. By utilizing the buses, you’re able to still get around and it’s kind of nice to not worry about driving or parking!

Denali Bus | Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

You will get a Tek Pass to ride the bus

To get around while staying at the Teklanika River Campground you will need a Tek Pass, which gives you access to the transit buses (green buses).

The Tek Pass costs $32.75 per person, for anyone 16 years and older, which is the same price as a transit bus ticket. You will choose a pickup time for the first day you want to use the bus, which will likely be your first full day at the campground, and then after that, you will be able to just hop on the bus as many times as you’d like the remainder of your stay at the Teklanika River Campground (as long as there is space on the bus).

You are able to book your Tek Pass online on reservedenali.com. You will book your bus pass just like if you were to book an East Fork Transit ticket, but under the ticket option you will be able to choose a Tek Pass and also select your pickup location as the Teklanika River Campground. You will also be able to see what time the bus will come get you from the campground, but we suggest checking the schedule outside of the campground as well.

The only stipulation for the Tek Pass is that you can only go westbound (so from mile 29.1 to 43). However, during our visit the bus drivers did allow us to go to mile 17 for an off trail hike and we were told we just could not go from mile 15 to the entrance using a Tek Pass. So we’d suggest asking the bus driver if they’ll take you, as this conflicts a bit with what is stated online.

Your RV must be 40 feet or less

The maximum length for a RV or a trailer is 40 feet or less. You can have a truck and trailer that exceeds 40 feet, but no one component can be over 40 feet on its own. When at the campsite, the sites are basically all the same, although some seem wider and longer than others, so if you have a larger set up, make sure to arrive early for the best chance to snag the perfect spot for you!

Dogs are allowed

Although dogs are not allowed on trails in Denali National Park they are allowed at campgrounds and on paved roads. Which means that Kona was able to camp with us at the Teklanika River Campground!

While she was not allowed to visit the river by the campground, she did get to enjoy nights by the fire and walks on the park road. We were glad we were able to have her with us!

To learn how we travel full time with a dog, especially when visiting national parks, check out this blog post where we share our tips!

Why should you stay at the Teklanika River Campground?

Teklanika River Campground Denali | Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

So with all these rules and restrictions why would you want to stay here? For us, staying at the Teklanika River Campground was the perfect way to have a wilderness-like experience inside of a national park and it made exploring the back part of the park much more convenient.

While staying at the Teklanika River Campground we were able to go to the end of the road (mile 43, due to a landslide) and get back to the campground within just a few hours. If we had been staying at the Riley Creek Campground at the front of the park, we would have spent 4.5 hours just on the bus alone, not including time to explore once off the bus.

And with our Tek Pass we were able to ride the bus multiple times for the same price as one trip!

Beyond the convenience, it was just a really peaceful, relaxing experience. It wasn’t overly crowded or loud and as we mentioned above, we felt that we had the perfect amount of time to explore, enjoy the campsite, and also just rest a bit. Usually when we camp we barely spend any time at the actual campsite, but this experience forced us to slow down a bit and really soak up the camping experience as a whole.

When miles 43 to 92 reopen in the park, the Teklanika River Campground will be an even better place to stay, as you’ll cut out many, many hours on the bus (it’s 8-12 hours round trip depending on where you go)!

How to check in to your campsite at the Teklanika River Campground

Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

Where to get your passes

Every camper at Denali National Park will check in to their campsite, regardless of the campground, at the Riley Creek Mercantile.

Do NOT go to the mile 15 checkpoint thinking you can check in there for the Teklanika River Campground. You will be told to turn around and drive 15 miles back to the front of the park. Don’t ask us how we know this 😜…oops!

At the Riley Creek Mercantile they will give you the rundown of the rules and give you your camping pass. While you’re there be sure to purchase any firewood you’ll need and stock up on any last minute snacks or items. Also, if you need to dump your tanks or fill up your water tanks you can do that here, as there are no dump stations or RV water fill up stations at the Teklanika River Campground.

Once you get all your supplies and are checked in, head to the mile 15 check station to continue on to the Teklanika River Campground!

What to expect at the mile 15 checkpoint

When we made it back to the mile 15 checkpoint, for the second time, the very friendly and fun ranger welcomed us back and gave us a quick little quiz about what we had just learned.

We aren’t sure if they always do this, or if she thought maybe we were slightly stupid since we didn’t know where to go initially, but we passed with flying colors and she even gave us a Junior Ranger badge…score!

From there we were given some final information and we were on our way to the Teklanika River Campground!

Driving to the Teklanika River Campground

If you are driving your own vehicle to the Teklanika River Campground (vs. taking the bus), you’ll have about a 14.1 mile drive to the campground, which is at mile 29.1. This entire stretch of road is not paved, but rather a smooth gravel road, wide enough for two park buses to pass each other.

We had read online that you could stop along this stretch if you’d like, but the ranger at the checkpoint told us that they prefer you don’t. And after driving it we can see why, there really isn’t anywhere to pull over. However, if you do see wildlife and want to quickly pull over, make sure you don’t pull off the road too far, as the shoulders are soft and you could risk getting stuck or damaging your vehicle.

One other thing to be mindful of on this drive is a “sheep crossing,” which is basically a section of the road where they stop vehicles at specific times so that wildlife can safely cross.

You’ll know you’re at one of these sections when you see a sign (like the one above) on the road. On this sign you’ll see a time frame blocked off and if you reach this part of the road during this time (for us it was the first 10 minutes of the hour), you are required to stop and wait until that time frame is over.

But besides that, the drive is pretty straightforward! And despite being gravel, the road is suitable for any vehicle and you can expect for the drive to take about 1-1.5 hours. You are not allowed to drive fast on this road and due to the gravel, you may want to go a bit slower anyways. The scenery is beautiful the entire way and you’ll likely want to go slow so you can soak it in!

What to expect at the Teklanika River Campground

Alright, you’ve made it to the Teklanika River Campground! Here is what to expect once you arrive and while you’re there!

There are two loops

When arriving at the Teklanika River Campground you’ll notice that there are two different loops with campsites.

As we mentioned earlier, although you need to reserve a campsite in advance, you don’t actually pick your site until you get to the Teklanika River Campground. We suggest driving both loops to see which spots are open and make note of them before picking your final spot! You can change spots if you’d like during your stay if another one opens up.

The campsites

There are 53 sites total, including a handful that back up to the riverbed (but still require a walk to the water), some that back up to other sites, and some that back up to trees. All of these sites are dry sites, meaning they do not offer any hookups.

All of the campsites have a picnic table and fire ring and we found that they all were well spaced out and offered a good amount of privacy, with lots of trees on the sides. We camped at site #25 and LOVED it! It had a very large area behind where we parked our van with the fire pit, picnic table, plus just some open space.

Our site backed up to the road into the park, right by the entrance, but had a lot of trees so it felt private in the back. We did have a campsite on either side of us, but we didn’t have any neighbors arrive for the first day or two, so we got to enjoy some nice solitude!

Facilities

The campground itself is very basic! You won’t find any showers or laundry facilities (they have these at the Riley Creek Mercantile), but you will find some pit toilets, which are pretty nice.

There is also potable water for filling water jugs, so although you cannot fill up your RV at the campground, you can get water to drink!

Fires are allowed in the campground in the provided fire rings, but firewood is not available for purchase at the campground. You can buy firewood at the Riley Creek Mercantile and you can also collect dead wood from the ground. But please make sure to check fire restrictions beforehand! During our visit, fires were allowed, but shortly after we left they banned them for a bit due to wildfires in Alaska.

Cell service

There is NO cell service at the Teklanika River Campground. We had great cell service by the Denali Visitor Center, but as you inch closer to mile 15 it disappears and doesn’t come back. Our Garmin inReach Mini was very helpful, as it allowed us to keep in touch with family and let them know that we were doing okay!

Things to do while staying at the Teklanika River Campground

While there isn’t a ton to do while staying at the Teklanika River Campground, especially with half of the park currently closed, we still found there to be enough to keep us busy!

Explore the riverbed

Just steps from the campground is the Teklanika River, which is a braided river with a pretty epic mountain backdrop! We loved coming down here around sunset or in the mornings with our coffee and just walking around. It’s super peaceful and you can walk quite a ways along the riverbed!

Ride the bus

With your Tek Pass you’ll be able to ride the transit bus as much as you’d like! We’d highly recommend doing this at least one day and riding it all the way to East Fork, which is as far as the bus currently goes, due to a landslide.

Along the way you’ll stop at the Teklanika River rest stop, which has a great view point, and as you drive you’ll have amazing views from the bus windows. And if the driver (or passengers) spot wildlife, they’ll stop so you can see it! Although this is not a narrated bus tour, the drivers are all very knowledgeable and share facts and stories along the way, so you still gain a lot of insight into the park!

Walk the road closure

As we mentioned above, the Transit bus can take you all the way to East Fork, which is where the road is closed due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. However, there is still about 2 miles of road that you are able to walk once getting off the bus!

While you will be walking on a gravel road, which doesn’t sound too exciting, the views are phenomenal! We could see tons of mountains, including some that had an orange hue to them, plus we saw a bunch of caribou down below.

The walk along the road ends right where the official road closure is, which is marked by signs and orange barriers. From here, you can see the actual landslide, which is pretty wild to see.

After walking the entire road, we went down to the river, right by the bus stop and enjoyed wandering around for a bit down there. It is a braided river, with many different streams of water and places to hop across the river. We saw another caribou enjoying the riverbed as well!

Go for an off trail hike!

Off Trail Hiking at Denali | Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

Unlike many national parks, which require you to stay on trail, Denali is a bit different, as off trail hiking is not only allowed, but encouraged.

As avid Leave No Trace followers, this was a weird concept to us, as we always try to stick to existing routes, but after talking with many rangers we did confirm that yes, it’s totally okay to go off trail! The reason for this is that since the park is so vast, having off trail routes helps eliminate the same areas being constantly worn down by hikers.

We will say though, off trail hiking is daunting and we struggled to find much information about where to even hike off trail! They say you can go almost anywhere, but how do you even know where to start?

While you can do a Discovery Hike with a park ranger, this wouldn’t be possible while staying at the Teklanika River Campground, as you have to take a bus with a group from the visitor center. So you’ll have to go on your own instead and below is some insight into how we did an off trail hike on our own!

Our experience off trail hiking in Denali

Hiking off trail turned out to be our favorite experience in the park! However, we had quite a bit of anxiety about the experience beforehand.

We had read about some routes online, but still felt pretty clueless about where to go. So we talked to several rangers both in the visitor center, on the bus, and at mile 43 road closure trying to get a grasp of a good starting point for us.

We wanted a medium challenging experience that wouldn’t take all day (as Kona was going to be in our van at the Teklanika River Campground) and would be relatively easy to follow. And we ultimately decided to hike up to Mount Margaret, which we loved! You can view our AllTrails activity if you’d like to replicate it and you can also watch our experience in this video.

We used our Tek Pass to head east (back towards the front of the park) and let our bus driver know where we wanted to hike and he dropped us off alongside the road, right where there was a slight opening in the brush. Although there was a short section of thick brush to get through before we got above the treeline (we made LOTS of noise here to hopefully scare off bears!), it was very open after that, which made it easy to see where to go. We also had a slightly beaten down path to follow, which almost made it feel like it was an actual trail.

Along the hike we walked along the tundra, with amazing mountain views and we even saw about 22 Dall Sheep off in the distance! Minus a small group of people at the beginning, we also had the entire trail to ourselves, which made the experience extra special for us.

The beauty of off trail hiking is that you can go as little or as far as you’d like. We hiked up to a ridgeline, which was like another world! It was such a vast and open area with crazy rock formations and plenty of rocks to sit on and enjoy lunch. It also started to get really foggy, which added a moody element to the hike!

Turning around and heading back was straightforward, as we could see the road the entire time and we had also tracked our route on AllTrails, making us feel confident that we wouldn’t get lost. We safely made it back down to the road and waited alongside the road for the next green hiker bus going west, waving down the first one that we saw. We hopped on and enjoyed an easy ride back to the Teklanika River Campground, feeling super accomplished for what we achieved on our own!

Tips for off trail hiking:

If you have the time, what many people do is get on the green transit bus as early as possible and go as far as the bus can take you, making note of some spots that look like they would interest you to hike to. Then, on the way back, let your driver know where you’d like to be let off and then begin your hike. You can also ask the driver what spot would be good to do an off trail hike and they can take you to a starting point.

If the route that we did seems too daunting to try on your own, one easier option for an off trail hike is to walk along the braided river at East Fork. This is where the transit bus will turn around and you can get off here and walk along the river as far as you’d like.
Once you finish your hike you just hang out along the road and wait for the next green transit bus to come by, which is usually every 30-60 minutes, and wave them down. It would be helpful to have a copy of the bus schedule on your phone so you can have an idea when the next bus will be coming by, as there will be no cell service.

How to have the least amount of impact on your off trail hike and stay safe:

Do not travel in a single file line. Make sure to spread out!
Hike on durable surfaces when possible. The tundra is fragile, so stick to rocks when you can!
Be prepared with plenty of water and food.
Let someone know your plan.
Expect bad weather and be prepared with layers.
Carry a first aid kit and the 10 essentials.
Try to track your hike on AllTrails so that you can follow your route back and not get lost.
We would only recommend off trail hiking to experienced hikers and ones that have the ability to track their route with GPS.

Bike the road!

If you have a bike, make sure to bring it, as you are able to bike the road! We had some fellow campers hop on the bus using their Tek Pass (the bus can carry your bike) and take the bus to mile 43 and then ride their bike back.

We unfortunately don’t have bikes, but this seems like a really fun way to explore the park!

Enjoy some campfire cookin’

Besides seeing more of Denali National Park while staying at the Teklanika River Campground, one of the highlights for us was just enjoying some campfire cookin’ at our campsite! We enjoyed dinners of sausage wraps (super fancy!), grilled veggies, grilled chicken, and hash browns with bacon. It was so fun to just sit around the fire, eat good food, and enjoy the nature around us.

How we spent 4 days/3 nights at the Teklanika River Campground

If you’re curious how we spent our time at the Teklanika River Campground, here is our exact itinerary, which includes almost all of the items listed above!

Day 1

We spent the first part of the day exploring the first 15 miles of the park and then headed to the Teklanika River Campground in the early evening, arriving around 7:30 PM.
We walked around the river a bit and then made an easy dinner and went to bed early!

Day 2

We took an 8:10 AM bus from the Teklanika River Campground to East Fork.
Once arriving at East Fork, we walked the remainder of the open road, admiring all of the mountain views and saw some caribou!
After a couple hours we hopped on a bus back to the Teklanika River Campground.
We worked a bit (on things that didn’t require internet) and napped.
We cooked a delicious campfire meal!

Day 3

We slept in a tiny bit and made a delicious breakfast, before heading on a bus going west towards mile 17 or so, where we did our off trail hike.
We spent a few hours going on an off trail hike to Mount Margaret.
We waited on the side of the road for a bit for another transit bus to come by, going east, and hopped on!
We got back to the Teklanika River Campground, relaxed a bit, and made another campfire meal.

Day 4

We made coffee and breakfast and then headed back to the first 15 miles of the park!

What to bring to the Teklanika River Campground

To see everything we take hiking, check out our hiking and outdoor gear as well as our guide about how to make a 10 essentials kit, but here are a few key items we want to point out that will especially help you when staying at the Teklanika River Campground.

Firewood

Firewood is not sold at the Teklanika River Campground and since you can’t leave once you make it to the Tek campground, you’ll need to buy all the firewood you need for your stay before you head out. In Denali, or anywhere else in the country for that matter, you should not move firewood long distances to avoid transporting invasive species, so we suggest buying it from the Riley Creek Mercantile.

You’re also allowed to collect dead wood that is on the ground, but you cannot saw or cut to harvest wood. And as we mentioned above, make sure to check for fire bans beforehand!

Any food you may need

There will be nowhere to buy food once you leave the Denali Visitor Center area, so make sure to have everything you’ll need for your three nights at the Teklanika River Campground! If you need any last minute items, the Riley Creek Mercantile sells some things and there is a Three Bears Grocery Store in Healy, but beware, a lot of items are sold in bulk (it’s kind of like a mini Costco) and the prices are high, as one would expect in a small Alaskan town!

Denali Wildlife | Visiting Denali National Park | Things to do in Denali National Park

Hiking shoes

If you decide to go hiking off trail you’ll hike on a wide variety of surfaces, so shoes with good traction will make the experience more enjoyable. Kathryn rocks Lowa Women’s Renegade GTX on the trails and she LOVES them! Adam wears the ALTRA Lone Peak 6 Trail Running Shoe, which is a trail running shoe, so they are less bulky than boots, but still great on and off the trail.

Water

While there is water you can fill up with at the campground, make sure your water tank in your RV is filled before you go. As for hiking, we like to carry our 3L Camelbak bladders while on any hike, which makes it easy to store a lot of water and drink while on the go.

Layers

Weather in Alaska can be extremely unpredictable. One minute it feels like a cold, windy winter day and the next the clouds part, the sun is beaming, and it feels like summer. Carrying some layers with you helps you be prepared for a day in Alaska.

Rain Jacket

Similar to above, it can rain or snow any day of the year so having rain gear is recommended. Kathryn wears the Patagonia Torrentshell jacket and Adam wears a Columbia rain jacket.

Trekking Poles

Trekking poles can really be a big help for off trail hiking. We have the Black Diamond Equipment Distance Z poles and highly recommend them!

AllTrails Maps

Cell service is very sparse in the park and we highly suggest downloading the offline AllTrails maps for any areas you may want to do an off trail hike. We were able to use AllTrails to help track our hike while hiking to Mount Margaret, which helped us ensure we went back down the right way.

Want to get 30% off an AllTrails+ membership? Click this link or use our code aplusk30 (you must redeem this code on the website, not the app)!

We use AllTrails+ on every single hike and it is the most helpful hiking tool out there! Some of the features we love are offline maps (so we can navigate even without cell service), wrong-turn alerts, and its 3D maps feature, so we can get a feel for trails before we hike.

Bear Spray

Denali National Park and Alaska are home to a variety of wildlife, including bears. Specifically, both black bears and grizzly bears, with grizzlies being the more aggressive of the two.

Although we didn’t see any bears in Denali National Park, you have a good chance of seeing one and carrying bear spray is highly recommended. We always had our bear spray strapped to our hip or chest when we were hiking on trails and even walking along the roadside trail with Kona.

Not only is it important to have bear spray on you, but you need to have it readily available and know how to use it. We’d recommend watching this video that explains how to use bear spray, if you aren’t familiar.

Mosquito Repellent

If you haven’t heard, the common joke is that the state bird of Alaska is the mosquito. Inland Alaska is definitely where they can be the worst and Denali National Park was one of the few areas in Alaska where we noticed mosquitoes. Make sure to bring bug spray with DEET! We also brought a Thermacell for when we were sitting outside at the campsite and we think it did help!

Sun Protection

A lot of Denali National Park is in the tundra, which means there are no trees, and even on cloudy days in the park you’ll want to have sun protection. Sunscreen and a hat will be very helpful!

Binoculars

The vastness of Denali National Park is truly remarkable. You’ll be able to see very long distances, so carrying binoculars is a great way to get a closer look! We have the Bushnell H20 Roof Prism binoculars and we love them! Without these, we wouldn’t have gotten as close of a look at the many caribou we saw around mile 43!

Entertainment

Since you’ll be without any cell service, make sure to bring some entertainment! We downloaded podcasts and movies from Netflix before we left the visitor center and we are so glad we did!

Bike

If you have a bike and can bring it with you, we’d highly recommend it so you can explore a bit more freely!

Looking for more things to do in Alaska? Check out these guides and vlogs!

Ready to camp at the Teklanika River Campground in Denali National Park?

Pin this guide about the Teklanika River Campground to help plan your trip!