The name Savage River is deceptive. Rather than a wildly cascading raging river, we found a bubbling stream inside Alaska’s Denali National Park. The river was named for Tom Savage. The park is one of nature’s masterpieces painted across six million acres of wild land.
Private vehicles can only access the first 15 miles of the park’s only road. The trailhead marker for the 3.2 km Savage River Loop Trail sits at mile marker 15, accounting for its popularity.
We opted to leisurely explore one side of the river, and return along the opposite bank, all the while in awe of the Alaska Range as a backdrop.
Away from the trailhead, we enter the true wilderness of Denali National Park.
It is an easy tundra hike hugging the river most of the time, while a few areas are just above river level.
Hiking off-trail in this area is allowed, and our girls scampered up a few of the rock formations.
The weather seemed to change quite a bit while we hiked and we were glad we had been told to bring jackets.
We called this “Lion Rock.” Can you see it?
The bridge built to allow hikers to explore both sides of the Savage River is at the halfway point.
Some of the oldest rock formations on the North American continent surround Savage River. Some estimated to be 600 million to a billion years old.
In some areas, it was easy to see where the river had carved a canyon between Mount Margaret, to the west, and Healy Ridge, to the east.
We were surprised to see what looks to me like a seafaring bird so far from any ocean. More typical wildlife would include Dall sheep, marmots, caribou and, if you hike off trail to the north, even bears.
A family shot while we waited for the return bus back to the Visitor’s Center.
Wild animal sightings are always special. This moose crossed right in front of our bus.
More Information:
- Denali is in the south-central portion of Alaska, and accessible via train, bus, or private vehicle. The Alaska Railroad from Anchorage rewarded us with eight hours of spectacular views.
- Access into the park beyond the 15-mile mark is by bus booked either in advance or at the Visitor’s Center. There is an hourly free shuttle bus making several stops during a 2-hour loop from the Visitor’s Center. This is how we accessed Savage River.
- If you want to see more wildlife and wilderness, it is recommended to take one of the buses further into the park.
- Denali National Park is home to North America’s tallest peak. Unfortunately, clouds and weather prevented us from seeing Mount McKinley while we were there. Mount McKinley can be seen on clear days from a short walk below the nearby Savage River campground, but not on the loop trail.
- Aside from our time in Denali, our Alaska visit included nearly a week in Anchorage and also visited Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan sailed past the Hubbard Glacier and went whale watching in Hoonah.
- PRO -TIP: If we were to do this trip again, we would have flown to Fairbanks and taken the train to Denali from there, continuing to Anchorage, rather than a return trip from Anchorage. We would have seen more for the same expense.
- This post is a continuation of my throwback series encouraged by moving 40,000 photos to Lightroom, and an injury in the family preventing us from travelling. I republished it with additional images and information. We visited Alaska in 2013.
Don’t Miss Our Images from the Denali Star:
Panoramic Views as we Ride the Alaska Railroad from Denali to Anchorage
Have you hiked the Savage River Trail? Have you been to Alaska?
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Amazing scenery. The rocks look volcanic.
Some of them probably are, they are quite old.
One of these days we’re going to Alaska. One of these day. Too fun.
Have a fabulous day. 🙂
I am sure you will get there. It’s just a few states to the north.
I love the second shot because you can see for miles. Eastern NC is so flat and I miss a grand view.
Thanks Diane. We could see for miles.
I have never been to Denali and it is very hard to choose which of these beautiful pictures I like the best.
Thanks Carol.
wow that looks amazing! great they have a free shuttle and don’t exploit the tourists
Ai @ Sakura Haruka
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The free shuttle only goes to mile mark 15, it you want to go beyond that, it is not free, and a bit pricey.
I would love to hike this area.
It is amazing.
Wow! That is some lovely hiking scenery!!
Hugs!
Valerie
Live, the scenery is even better.
Fab pictures with amazing scenery, I like the one of you all too 🙂
Thanks. We were lucky that there was another person waiting for the bus who could take our photo.
yes, I have been to Denali..and got some perfect, cloudless pics of the mountain, a rare thing. beautiful place..
Wow, how lucky. I would love to be in Denali on a stunning day. We had a moment of nice weather.
Such amazing scenery!
You should see it in real life, it’s so big and vast.
Beautiful area, great shots, thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sean. Denali is incredible.
I love number three. I’ve always had a thing for scrambling over rocky areas like that one.
I love the rocks too, but not too high for me.
Such beautiful photos! I’d love to go for a hike there.
I hope you get a chance to get there sometime.
Such an incredible place! Happy WW!
Great photos. Denali is on my list of place I’d like to go.
Hubby and I are leaving on our first trip to Alaska in August! We are taking a 10 day cruise. I can’t wait!
Oh, I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we enjoyed ours.
Alaska looks so rugged and wild, Rhonda. I’d love to hike this trail one day. Alaska is definitely on my bucket list! I love to travel to see and experience new things.
It is rugged and wild and so beautiful. I hope you get there some day.
What a beautiful hike! It reminds me of several I did while I lived in Montana…and actually I have some pictures I could turn into a blog post…. hrmmm #wkendtravelinspiration
I haven’t been to Montana, but if it reminds you of Alaska, it is somewhere I would like to visit.
Alaska is so beautiful! Though I’ve not done Denali – gonna have to visit there when I go back. Beautiful photos!
Denali is not easy to get to, but worth it.
It’s really spectacular, isn’t it? I saw the lion! I wonder how may tourists come and expect to see a “savage” river. Love your girls “scampering” up the rock formations. I don’t scamper anywhere anymore. Oh, to be young again…
I was a bit more overprotective than some, we saw other kids much higher.
We have some friends that are newly retired and are moving to Alaska soon. They just purchased a home and are selling their house here. It’s been a dream of theirs for years. They talk about Alaska just like you depicted in these pictures.
Beautiful shots and a place that hubby would love to visit.
Have a fabulous day, Rhonda. ☺
I depicted Alaska in the summertime. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be there in the winter.
Alaska is on top of my bucket list! I’d love to visit Denali and go hiking one day! I’m actually headed to Svalbard this summer and really hope that it’ll be similar 😉
I would imagine they would be quite similar, but I haven’t been up that far north in Norway, we made just below the arctic circle.
I’m from Arctic Norway, but I still want to visit Alaska 🙂
I can understand that. I live in New Zealand because it is what I love, and I seek out that same beauty when we travel.
I saw the lion 🙂 Looks amazing. Thanks for telling us how you would do it next time.
I hope there is a next time, but I imagine Alaska was a once in a lifetime for us.
6 million acres! That’s blowing my mind, this park must be colossal! And yet I’ve never heard of it before. The hiking looks fantastic, the views spectacular and you saw moose – what a bonus. Fantastic photographs. #Wkendtravelinspiration
It blows my mind too. It is one huge national park. We only saw the tiniest bit of it.
How lucky is that – seeing a moose cross directly in front of you. One of my regrets about our trip to Alaska is that we didn’t make it to Denali. It is definitely on the list for next time.
The strangest part to me was that I was one of the only people who walked to the front of the bus to get the photo.
I’ve never been to Alaska! I would love to go. It’s funny how the name of this river sounds scary but it’s just someone’s name! I would love to do a cruise! Found you from #weekendwanderlust I’m going to link up I’ll stick the badge on my post when I get to my desktop
Denali is quite a bit inland, so separate from the cruise. We went a week early to do both.
Amazing scenery Rhonda. I am looking forward to seeing Alaska first hand, hopefully in 2019.
If you are cruising and including Anchorage with a side trip to Denali, I would recommend taking the train either to or from Fairbanks. It’s eight hours from Anchorage to Denali, and to do it return costs more than continuing on to Fairbanks, and you get to see another city that way.
Oh man, I miss Denali so much! We used to go up every year just before opening. Savage is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing and bringing back there Rhonda! #wkendtravelinspiration
Wow, what a fantastic experience that must have been. Denali is so magical.
Looks like a great hike. Is there a worry of running into bears? I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska. It’s the only state I haven’t been to.
There is always a worry of running into bears, but a bit less here than in most of the park. However, they advise ir you head off the trail, especially to the North, that you are noisy.
Wow this looks amazing! I’d love to get to Savage one day. Your photos are incredible!
Alaska is incredible.
The Denali Star is on my to do list – and Anchorage is somewhere I have wanted to visit for a long time (I have a vision of me listening to Michelle Shocked singing Anchorage while landing at the airport! One day! Lovely photographs!
LOL – I hope you get there. When you do, be sure to upgrade to the more open cars on the Denali Star.
Amazing trail, Rhonda! Very informative post!
Thanks.
What a gorgeous place! You have a talent for finding these super beauty places. I have seen a lot of stunning places (I can say that about National Parks) but I know Alaska is in its own league. Not sure if I prepare for it. #TPThursday
We do seek out the natural beauty and interesting things. Alaska makes it easy.
I would love to hike by the Savage River in the Denali Natural Park. The scenery in Alaska is breathtaking. It is a pity you didn’t get to see Mount McKinley. Maybe next time.
It was a pity, but we can’t see everything.
Despite being pretty well traveled in the US, I have yet to visit Alaska – sheer effort has prevented it thus far. However, a big Alaskan swing is at the top of my bucket list and a visit to Denali is a required part of the itinerary. I want to see a moose on the road!!! Thanks for reminding me about how amazing this place is
Alaska is quite a bit away from the contiguous states. It needs it’s own trip.
Wow, what a view! I need to plan another vacation to the mountains. Delaware is so flat.
But you have beautiful oceans.
I’ve always wanted to visit Denali and your photos make me want to go even more. #WeekendWanderlust
It really is worth the extra effort to get there.
How lucky you were to have such great weather in Denali. There was a winter storm (in August) when we reached Denali and couldn’t do any hiking. Beautiful pictures, as always. #TheWeeklyPostcard
Winter storms in August, that’s no good. We didn’t have great weather, that’s why we couldn’t see Mt. McKinley.
Hiking in Alaska must have been such a fun experience. The moose looks so cute, but I heard it is a really massive animal.
Actually, the moose was smaller than I thought it would be.
I have been to Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan last 2013. It was an amazing experience. I bought a lot of local chocolates and ate them right away. Alaska is just magnificent. I have seen some seafood restaurants but I did not have a chance to eat. I wish that I can go back to Alaska and probably visit Denali.
I don’t remember chocolate in Alaska, which is unusual for me 🙂
Alaska is a fabulous place and great to know that you were treated by its amazing views on your train journey for 8 hours. Even I was hoping to see something very dramatic when I read the name Savage river trail. Stunning views!
The train ride will live in my heart forever.
The scenery there is unmatched! We did the whole day bus tour, but were too chicken to get off and hike after all the grizzlies we saw!
#TheWeeklyPostcard
We didn’t do the all day bus tour, a choice I seriously regret.
What a fascinating hike. I like how you can explore both sides of the river and the views look amazing. I love to hike and pinned this for later use. Alaska is on my bucket-list. Great photos and thanks for sharing 🙂 #WeekendWanderlust
Whatever amount of time you allocate for Alaska, it won’t be enough.
I like the moose crossing the road. Such odd looking creatures.
I had to look up and compare photos to determine if it was a moose or a caribou.
Brings back such fond memories! We drove into Denali and camped, which was nice because the camping permit meant we got to go past Savage River with the car. Sadly we were a little light on wildlife sightings during our time, though that’s nature for you – never know what to expect! Love the area though 🙂
I am not a tent camper, so we stayed in a lodge just outside the park. We also didn’t have a car in Denali, but I can see where driving in beyond Savage River could be useful. Sorry about your lack of wildlife.
What an amazing experience to hike inside Denali National Park! I visited there with my family when I was in my teens. We were in a bus the whole time, but still got to see quite a lot of wildlife. I would love to go back and hike the Savage River trail!
I am not a bus person, I get off as soon and as often as I can.
Alaska is such a beautiful place! I was there a few summers ago to fish the salmon run and loved it. We didn’t make it to Denali National Park, but did a boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park and it was so amazing!
We missed Kenai Fjords. There is just so much nature in Denali.
It’s so amazing to think about just how old those rocks and mountains are! They certainly are beautiful though. And I would have been surprised at seeing that bird too. I would think I was back home in Miami! lol
For me, the thought was back home in New Zealand.
Definately not a savage river lol. The scenery is totally beautiful. I love the shot with the river running through the middle. Great post I love all the tips at the end.
Thanks Christopher, I have been trying to write all my posts with tips at the end now.
Amazing sets of photos, the whole area looks gorgeous. It’s somewhere that I’d love to visit, Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Miranda, there are no words to really describe Alaska.
I’ve heard some great things about Alaska and clearly Denali and Savage River are two such spots. Those rocky landscapes are just beautiful.
Whatever great things you have heard about Alaska are probably true. It is magical.
Looks awesome place Rhonda! I have never been come across Denali. But would like to visit. Photos have turned fabulous. Thanks for sharing.
Denali is once in a lifetime adventure.