wonder lake

We were lucky and able to see Denali in full over Wonder Lake. Views and pictures were breathtaking!

If you traveled all the to Denali you need to go all the way back to wander lake. It's a 12 hour trip and it you wimp out and don't go all the back you are just being lazy. It's so worth it!!!!!

its a huge lake.. wonderlake is beautiful, peaceful and calm.. such a nice view with the mountain as backing.. you can even see the reflection of the sky on the surface of the lake...

Since Denali National Park & Preserve does not have food concessions once passed the Visitors Center and not much to offer even at the Visitors Center, we packed enough food for lunch, dinner and snacks. Our tickets were for a 9:15am park shuttle bus to Wonder Lake - an 11-hour trip with Paul as our guide/bus driver. Cars are only allowed in Denali National Park & Preserve for the first 15 miles - after that visitors need to be on one of the park shuttle buses or private bus tours. The exception to this are the 400 or so people who win a lottery every year and can take their private car into the park.We were warned that the mosquitos were very bad in Alaska and especially in Denali National Park & Preserve. We purchased head nets; however, we did not have to use them because the mosquitoes were not as bad this year as they were in 2013. Our trip to Wonder Lake was nice, but long. There are many stops along the way - most being 10-15 minutes every 60-90 minutes for bathroom breaks. We sat in the back of the bus and had our own seats - others had to share seats that was uncomfortable unless the two people were lightweights. On the way into Wonder Lake, we saw several grizzly bears and many artic ground squirrels - which are very cute and fast. There were other animals; however, they were too far to see. On the way back, we saw a fox, caribou, and more bears. We picked up more people on the way back and we had to squeeze together - most uncomfortable - especially when tired.The tour was great and we had a wonderful time; however, I would recommend a much shorter trip (Toklat River is six hours and Eielson Visitors Center is eight hours) and one that puts you in the park between 6:00pm-08:00pm as the animals are out in greater numbers during this time. The 11-hour bus ride is far too long and unnecessary – the only thing extra that you see is a lake. With an unlimited amount of time, the 11 hour tour is nice. We were tired and hungry for real food (at least not sandwiches) at the end of the bus trip. On the way back to Denali Lakeview Inn, we were too tired for a sit down dinner so we settled for pizza in McKinley Village.

5.5 hours to get there 5.5 hours back what a great ride. If you do nothing else in Alaska, ride thru the park in a Blue Bird school bus I will never forget it.

Just the right walk for us! A little steep at times but we needed the exercise after our cruise! Beautiful forest!

We stayed at the North Face Lodge in late August and Wonder Lake is right there. We hiked around different areas of the lake and took amazing photos of the lake and the tundra with the Fall colors. One day Mt McKinley (locals call it Denali Mt) was in full view for most of the day and we got great views and photos of the reflection of the mountain on the water. You can kayak on the lake but we did not do that. Exceeded our expectations!

We can se why it was so named. It is 26 miles long and 1 mile wide flowing thru lovely mountain side.

I would like to actually spend time exploring Wonder Lake. We visited just for the day and fell in love with this beautiful serene place.

Drive into park is worth it. You can take tour or take shuttle into wonder lake. Fall is the season to go for color and less crowds.

Denali was out, so how great is that. But the lake itself, was expecting what you probably only see once in a blue moon, Mt. McKinley mirrored across it's surface. My bad. Alaska is full of water bodies. For us, it was not special. Would have preferred to stop at Eillson Visitor's Center, spend the time at this fabulous site, and hike (except the bear grazing nearby closed the trails)with the fabulous rangers there (husband and wife team)!

We had gone on a flightseeing tour around Denali the day before and decided to take it a bit more easily the following day. We got a ride from our lodge and hiked a small hill overlooking Wonder Lake. We had beautiful views of Denali from the hilltop and picked wild cranberries on our way down - almost a 1/2 liter of berries.

We were coming in by Wonder Lake and there was a huge bull moose in the lake. Later that night we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the mountain.

Wonder Lake view from hike 1700 feet above Camp Denali is gorgeous. The hike was strenuous but the view from the ridgetop was awesome

It was overcast and the lake was very calm, but the weather did not take away from its beauty. The setting and scenery around the lake is very picturesque.