Parking
Use Eielson Visitor Center at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road as the access point; the loop begins just downhill from the building. Check current park road and transportation access before traveling.
Overview
About Tundra Loop Trail
Take a short, easy loop through the alpine tundra below Denali’s Eielson Visitor Center at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road. The complete loop is about 0.3 miles and takes roughly 15 minutes at a leisurely pace, beginning and ending at the visitor center. The route follows compacted gravel around open tundra with interpretive signs, broad ridge views, and minimal grade change; Denali may be visible in clear weather.
Stay on the marked trail to protect fragile tundra. Expect uneven surfaces and fast-changing weather, including wind, even in summer. The separate Tundra Trail Spur is not part of this loop. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
Why go
- Interpretive signs that decode the tundra ecosystem as you walk
- Panoramic alpine views with almost no effort
- Ideal leg-stretcher right at Eielson after a long ride
Heads up
- Often busy and not a solitude hike near the visitor center
- Views of Denali are weather-dependent
- Very short; not satisfying for hikers seeking a challenge
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Denali map
Full mapElevation3,629–3,760 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Denali alert
- InfoDenali Park Road open to Mile 30; heavy equipmentThe Denali Park Road is open to Mile 30 (Teklanika River); stay alert for heavy equipment traveling on the road. Check current park conditions before traveling.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Denali Tour Guide
Your drive to Tundra Loop Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Denali National Park. 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 audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Eielson Visitor CenterListen
“You'll soon be at the Eielson Visitor Center, which for my money has the best views from anywhere on the Park Road. On a clear day, the sight of Denali and the Alaska Range from here is just spectacular.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Denali Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sentinels of the Tundra: Arctic Ground Squirrels
- Nature's Rock Gardens: Patterned Ground
- Heat Traps and Shivering Bees
- Stony Hill Overlook
- 113 audio storiesacross Denali’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Wolf, Canada Lynx, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 17 trails, 60 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!!!!”
Wildlife
Wildlife in Denali
715 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
74 sightingsWolfMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
49 sightingsCanada LynxMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
795 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
917 sightingsCaribouMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
405 sightingsDall's SheepMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Denali. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
