The campground at Mile 85, with Denali across the tundra. Closed through 2026 for the Pretty Rocks construction.
“The campground at Mile 85 with the reflection of Denali in it: closed through 2026, and unreachable anyway with the Park Road shut at Mile 43.”
Plan your Denali National Park trip here, then get your permit from the agency.
Plan your trip
Wonder Lake Campground is closed through 2026 for the Pretty Rocks construction, and the Park Road is shut well short of it at Mile 43. Book Denali's open campgrounds through the park's concessioner.
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More on Wonder Lake: Live availability activityWhen Wonder Lake permits open up
Wonder Lake permit fee: Campground fees vary across the park, with sites around $25 to $50 per night and 50% off for Senior and Access Pass holders.
At the far western end of the park road, well beyond the Mile 43 closure. NPS names moose as often seen here. There is no road or bus access to it in 2026.
Closed for 2026, per NPS Current Conditions.
About 5 miles from Wonder Lake. The only place NPS names that an authorized air taxi can fly you into for access to this area.
Where transit and tour buses now stop. Everything west of it, including Wonder Lake, is beyond bus service for the 2026 season.
Closed for 2026. It sits between the closure and Wonder Lake, and it appears on the park's food-caching list, which means that list cannot be followed as written this season.
The campground at Mile 85 with the reflection of Denali in it: closed through 2026, and unreachable anyway with the Park Road shut at Mile 43.
Wonder Lake Campground is closed for 2026. The park's current conditions page, which states plainly that it supersedes all other trip-planning information, says transit and tour buses travel no further than the East Fork Bridge at mile 43 of the Denali Park Road, the Eielson Visitor Center is closed, and Wonder Lake Campground is closed. The campgrounds page gives the reason: closed through 2026, due to the Pretty Rocks Construction project.
The Pretty Rocks Landslide at mile 45.4 had been slowly displacing the road for decades when its movement suddenly intensified in late summer 2021, from inches per day to inches per hour, making safe passage impossible. The park is building a 475-foot long, 50-foot tall, 24-foot wide steel truss bridge to span it. As of the May 2026 update the contractors were back for their final construction season and the project was still on track for mid-summer 2026 completion, with the bridge and the road west of it expected to open to pedestrians and bikers in late summer 2026 and full bus service expected to resume in 2027.
When the campground does reopen, here is what the park publishes about it. It sits at Mile 85 of the Park Road and is one of three Denali campgrounds open only to tent campers and accessible by bus. The others are Sanctuary River and Igloo Creek. Party size is unusual: most Denali campsites are limited to no more than three tents and eight people per site, but Wonder Lake, Igloo Creek and Sanctuary River are exceptions at no more than three tents and four people per site. Fires are not permitted in Wonder Lake Campground; you must use a camping stove. Campers must use the food storage facilities in the campground for all food and scented items, including toothpaste. There is no electricity, but potable water is available. Pets are not permitted on camper buses. There is a 14-night maximum for all visitors in any summer season.
Reservations do not go through Recreation.gov. The park uses a concessioner, Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture, on 1-800-622-7275, with bookings opening as early as December 1 of the year before your visit. Campground sites across the park run around $25 to $50 per night.
The status is unambiguous and comes from the park's own current-conditions page, which states that it supersedes all other trip-planning information: transit buses and tour buses travel no further than the East Fork Bridge at mile 43 of the Denali Park Road, Eielson Visitor Center is closed, and Wonder Lake Campground is closed. The campgrounds page repeats it: Wonder Lake Campground is closed through 2026, due to the Pretty Rocks Construction project.
The fix is well advanced. The park's May 2026 update reports contractors back for their final Polychrome construction season, still on track for a mid-summer 2026 project completion, building a 475-foot long, 50-foot tall, 24-foot wide steel truss bridge across the slide. The Pretty Rocks bridge and the Park Road west of it are expected to open to pedestrians and bikers in late summer 2026, date to be confirmed, with the full length of the road and full bus service expected to resume in 2027. Until then buses run to the East Fork area at Mile 43 between May 20 and September 17, 2026.
Check the park's current-conditions page for the latest status: it overrides every other page.
Wonder Lake is the classic Denali view, 26 miles from the mountain with nothing in between. It is also the clearest casualty of the Pretty Rocks Landslide: the Park Road has been closed at Mile 43 since the slide accelerated in 2021, and the campground sits 42 miles beyond the closure.
When it is open: tents only, no vehicles, no electricity, a bus ride of several hours to reach it, and a mountain that fills the entire southern horizon on the days it comes out. Four people to a site, three tents maximum, and a food storage building you are required to use.
Best for: Anyone who wants the classic Denali view without walking off-trail. It is a bus-served campground, not a backcountry trip.
Recommended experience: None. The commitment rating reflects the multi-hour bus ride and the total absence of services at Mile 85, not any difficulty on the ground.
Not recommended for: Anyone planning for 2026, and anyone bringing a vehicle: this campground is tent-only and bus-access-only.
Trailhead information
Next to the Denali Bus Depot. NPS says backcountry permits are obtained here, in person, no more than a day before the trip starts.
Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily in summer. NPS says to allow about 45 minutes for the orientation, so arrive by 5 p.m., and all party members must attend. Ask here which Wonder Lake-area units are open.
Trailhead information
NPS puts Kantishna about 5 miles from Wonder Lake and names skiing, hiking, mushing or flying in with an authorized air taxi as the ways to reach the area.
Trailhead information
The end of transit and tour bus service. NPS says buses travel no further than the East Fork Bridge at mile 43 of the Denali Park Road.
NPS says the closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in place through summer 2026 while the Polychrome Area Plan is implemented. A separate NPS page cites mile 42 for the landslide; the Current Conditions page, which states that its details supersede other trip-planning information, says Mile 43.
Not in 2026. The park expects the full length of the Denali Park Road to be open and full bus services to resume in 2027; the Pretty Rocks bridge and the road west of it may open to pedestrians and bikers in late summer 2026, date to be confirmed. When the campground does return, mid-June through August is the operating window, with buses running May 20 to mid-September.
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
Backcountry Tips
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Alaskan summer nights barely darken, so the low warm light around midnight lasts for hours rather than minutes.
Still, clear early mornings, when the lake goes flat enough to hold the mountain's reflection.
Not applicable while the campground is closed. When it reopens, the bus schedule spreads arrivals out and the campground is small.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Wonder Lake.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Wonder Lake · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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No. The park states that Wonder Lake Campground is closed through 2026, due to the Pretty Rocks Construction project, and its current-conditions page, which it says supersedes all other trip-planning information, confirms the campground is closed and that buses travel no further than the East Fork Bridge at mile 43. Check the park's conditions page for the current status.
The park expects the full length of the Denali Park Road to be open and full bus services to resume in 2027. As of its May 2026 update the Polychrome project was on track for mid-summer 2026 completion, with the Pretty Rocks bridge and the road west of it opening to pedestrians and bikers in late summer 2026, date to be confirmed.
The Pretty Rocks Landslide at mile 45.4 had been slowly displacing the road for decades, and in late summer 2021 its movement suddenly intensified from inches per day to inches per hour, making safe passage impossible. The park is building a 475-foot long, 50-foot tall, 24-foot wide steel truss bridge to span it.
Four, with a maximum of three tents. Most Denali campsites take no more than three tents and eight people per site, but Wonder Lake, Igloo Creek and Sanctuary River are the exceptions at four people.
Not through Recreation.gov. Denali's campgrounds are booked through a concessioner, Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture, on 1-800-622-7275, and reservations open as early as December 1 of the year before your visit. The campground is closed for 2026 regardless.
No. Fires are not permitted in Wonder Lake Campground and you must use a camping stove to cook. All food and scented items have to go in the campground's food storage building.
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Free, walk-in-only unit permits for Denali's 87 trailless backcountry units.
Available now, unlike Wonder Lake, but limited in 2026 to units reachable from Mile 43 or below, and it is off-trail travel.
Yellowstone's roadless lake, reachable only on foot or by paddle.
A comparable no-road lake experience in the lower 48, reservable months ahead and open this season.
Thirteen wilderness campgrounds under the peaks of Glacier National Park.
Reachable by car, bookable in a spring lottery, and open, with the same grizzly-country food rules.
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