Overview
About Denali Highway Cabins
Why stop
- Riverside tent cabins sit directly beside the Gulkana.
- Naturalist outings are available through Paxson Alpine Tours.
Heads up
- Tent-cabin bathrooms are about 35 yards from the tents.
Map
Where it is
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Denali Highway Tour Guide
Your drive to Denali Highway Cabins, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Denali Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Denali Highway audio tourRecorded for this area
The Warbler That Heads for Asia“An Arctic warbler spends its Alaska summer in willow thickets, often along streams, with its nest tucked on the ground. When the breeding season ends, its journey takes it toward Asia.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from Denali Highway Cabins in the Parkwolf Denali Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Meal Inside a Burned Tree
- The Dew That's an Insect Trap
- The Fuel Left at Denali Pass
- Alaska Range Wayside: Glaciers Across the Lake
- 96 audio storiesacross Denali Highway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Caribou, Bald Eagle, and 10 more
- Works offlinemaps, 18 trails, 27 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Denali Highway Cabins
A riverbank base at PaxsonDenali Highway Cabins is a riverside lodging property in Paxson, at the eastern start of the…
Denali Highway Cabins is a riverside lodging property in Paxson, at the eastern start of the Denali Highway. It offers log cabins, wall-tent cabins and a cottage, with Paxson Alpine Tours based here for naturalist outings. Book it as an overnight on the Gulkana, not a walk-in attraction. Guests often praise the hosts' local advice and the comfortable cabins.
Choose your cabinThe log cabins are heated, have electricity and full bathrooms.
The log cabins are heated, have electricity and full bathrooms. Each wall-tent cabin sits on a platform at the riverbank and has a private bathroom with a hot shower, sink and flush toilet about 35 yards away; tent guests can also use the Great Room. Breakfast is included with lodging.
The Gulkana and old PaxsonThe tent-cabin decks look toward the river, where sockeye salmon move upstream in season.
The tent-cabin decks look toward the river, where sockeye salmon move upstream in season. One tent is named O. Nerka, for Copper River sockeye. The cabin names also recall Paxson's earlier role as a miners' stop: A.J. Paxson's first roadhouse was a tent, and the Alvin cabin honors Alvin J. Paxson, whom the operator credits with founding the outpost more than a century ago.
Time the highwayThe BLM's usual Denali Highway season runs from mid-May to around October 1.
The BLM's usual Denali Highway season runs from mid-May to around October 1. From Paxson, the first 21 miles west are paved, then most of the highway is gravel until the final three miles near Cantwell. There is no fuel in Paxson, so fill up before setting out. The lodging's booking season can differ from the road season; confirm dates with the operator.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Denali Highway
56 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
37 sightingsCaribouMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
26 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
25 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
17 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 10 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Denali Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
