Denali National Park is the most popular of the eight national parks in Alaska—it’s home to the tallest mountain in all of North America, after all! But, despite the mountain’s massive size, you might be surprised how difficult it is to actually see Denali within the park, even on a clear day, due to the surrounding Alaska Mountains.
Mount Healy Overlook Trail is one of the best hikes in the park to see Denali’s famous snowy peak, as well as stunning views of the rest of the national park. If you want to hike this trail for yourself, here’s everything you need to know about the Mount Healy Overlook Trail in Denali National Park.
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About the Mount Healy Overlook Trail
There are only a handful of hikes in the park where you can see Mount Denali, like the Savage Alpine Trail or the Mount Healy Overlook Trail.
This is a relatively short, but steep trail, climbing up to the a rocky outcropping about halfway to the summit of its namesake mountain. From the top of the trail you’ll be able to see the impossibly white summit of Mount Denali, peeking out behind layers of the Alaska Mountains, making this a great option if you just have one day in the park.
My husband, Justin, and I spent several days exploring the area and this trail was absolutely one of our favorite things to do in Denali National Park!
Here are some quick stats about this trail:
- Length: 4.9 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,725 feet
- Difficulty: Hard
- Dog friendly? Like most national park trails, you’ll unfortunately have to leave your pup at home for this one.
- Trail map
How to get to the Mount Healy Overlook Trail
Denali National Park is located here, near the town of Healy in the interior of Alaska.
It’s about a four hour and 15 minute drive north of Anchorage or a two hour and 15 minute drive south of Fairbanks, along paved and well-maintained roads.
Most visitors drive here, but it’s also possible to get here via:
- Train: Alaska Railways’ Denali Star route, which departs from Anchorage or Fairbanks daily from June through mid-September, or
- Private shuttles: There are private operators that offer shuttles between the major cities to Denali, like this option from Fairbanks or this option from Anchorage.
Each visitor needs to pay a $15 entrance fee, which is valid for up to a week in the park. Alternatively, you can use a valid interagency pass, like America the Beautiful, to get up to four visitors in for free.
The Mount Healy Overlook trailhead is located here, about a two minute walk from the Denali Visitor Center. There’s a massive parking lot that can hold hundreds of cars, so you should have no problem finding a spot here, even if you come during a busier timeframe.
I’d suggest using the restroom and filling up your water bottle at the visitor, before making the short walk over to the trailhead.
What to expect on the Mount Healy Overlook Trail
From the visitors center, you’ll start your hike on the Taiga Loop, which is a flat and wide trail that winds through a dense pine tree forest. It’s hard to spot wildlife (like bears!) through the dense tree coverage, so I’d suggest making noise so that any critters around you are aware of your presence.
After 0.3 miles, you’ll reach a fork in the trail and head to your left, where you’re officially branching off onto the Mount Healy Overlook Trail. From here, the pathway gets noticeably steeper as you start ascending up a dirt pathway, carved into the mountain slope.
This portion is also densely forested. We didn’t see any wildlife in this section, but it’s not unusual to see moose along this portion—so stay aware of your surroundings! And, if nothing else, you’ll have epic mountain views in short order.
About 1.5 miles into your hike, the pathway, which has been slowly curving around the mountain, noticeably narrows and transitions to tight switchbacks, with an even steeper grade. Shortly thereafter, the trees will become more sparse, allowing you to finally see the spectacular views surrounding you, from the slopes covered with wildflower-dotted tundra to the layers upon layers of the surrounding Alaska Mountains.
The last push up the mountain is above the treeline, with panoramic views over the Neana River Valley.
Once you reach the endpoint, face the northwest to see if you can spot Denali’s snowy peaks. Even if they’re hiding behind clouds (which they are the majority of the time), the vistas of Denali National Park, sprawling some 1,700 feet at your feet below, are well worth the climb.
When my husband, Justin, and I hiked this trail, we could see a system of clouds slowly approaching Denali’s peaks as we were climbing up the mountain. We raced to reach the top before Denali was covered and was able to enjoy about 15 minutes at the top of the trail, with unencumbered views of the tallest mountain on the continent, before it was swallowed up by the moody clouds.
To return, simply retrace your steps back to the trailhead. This trail is STEEP, so I’d definitely recommend bringing along some trekking poles to make the descent a bit easier on your knees!
When to visit the Mount Healy Overlook Trail
The best time to hike the Mount Healy Overlook Trail is from May through September, when the trail will be mostly ice- and snow-free. We hiked this trail on July 19 and had absolutely beautiful conditions, with a pleasantly warm temperature and clear, sunny skies to see The Great One.
Most of the park is inaccessible outside of this timeframe, due to heavy snowfall, but the national park maintains the road up to Mile 3 of the Park Road year-round. Accordingly, you can theoretically access the Mount Healy Overlook Trail during any season, but you should expect to run into ice and snowpack along the pathway, if you decide to hike it from October through April.
If you decide to hike it during this timeframe, I’d strongly suggest downloading an offline map of the trail on AllTrails ahead of time, as the pathway will be obscured and you might have to routefind along the way. Additionally, the trail is not regularly maintained, so it’s not uncommon for their to be downed trees or overgrowth, making the trail even harder to navigate.
Additionally, be sure to bring along a pair of microspikes and snowshoes with you to provide traction on the steep and icy trail. I’ve had this pair of snowshoes for years and my husband has had this pair.
While you should be prepared for snowy and blustery conditions, I have to imagine the park would be absolutely STUNNING in the wintertime, with the entire Alaska Mountain range covered with snow!
Tips for the Mount Healy Overlook Trail
Bring bear spray
It’s not unusual to see bears (usually black, but occasionally grizzlies) along the trail. Bears usually don’t want anything to do with humans, but can become aggressive if they’re protecting their young or they’re caught off guard.
Accordingly, I’d strongly recommend hiking with bear spray, which temporarily deters a bear in the unlikely event it acts aggressive, giving you enough time to get away.
Go on a clear day
This one might be obvious, but if you can swing it, I’d highly recommend trying to time your hike on a clear day (or even a clear few hours, if that’s in the forecast), so you have a better chance of catching a glimpse of Denali.
It’s tough to do so, thanks to the park’s famously cloudy skies. We actually camped in our RV outside of the park while it rained for a week straight, just waiting for a sunny day. Thankfully, we eventually lucked out with two clear days in a row to explore the park and we got to see Denali both days!
Pack the essentials
One of our favorite things about hiking is that you don’t really need too much gear to do it—usually, just some hiking boots and a water bottle and you’re good to go! Here’s what I’d bring:
Water bottle
We each have one of these comically enormous Nalgene bottles that we take on every hike and love them! You can fill up water at the Denali Visitor Center.
Trekking poles
As mentioned above, most of this hike is pretty darn steep. Using trekking poles helps provide extra traction and support for your knees along the trail.
Bugspray
You know that old joke about mosquitoes being the state bird of Alaska? We really didn’t have too much of an issue with them during our three months exploring Alaska, but Denali was a WHOLE different story—it was SO buggy along the trail! So be sure to pack along plenty of bugspray and wear long pants and sleeves to minimize bites.
Sun protection
Most of the trail is through dense forest, but you’ll be exposed for the last mile or so during the final climb to and from the endpoint. The sun in Alaska can be surprisingly intense, so I’d suggest bringing along a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.
Layers
The weather in Alaska is unpredictable, so be sure to bring some warm and waterproof layers to throw over something a bit lighter.
As we were hiking up to the top, we got SO hot from climbing up the steep slope and stripped off our warmer layers, but immediately got cold again once we reached the windy ridgeline.
I hope you enjoy the Mount Healy Overlook Trail—it was one of our favorite hikes in Denali National Park! Do you have any questions about this trail? Let us know in the comments below!
