Denali Park road open to private vehicles this summer

[Kniwt]

Anchorage Daily News reports:
https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/2020/05/29/denali-national-park-to-start-reservation-system-for-private-drivers-on-parks-only-road/

Private drivers will get the unique chance to travel Denali National Park and Preserve's only road this summer after COVID-19 precautions reduced anticipated bus traffic.

Vehicles will be allowed to access usually restricted portions of the Denali Park Road via a reservation system announced Friday. The park service decided to allow private vehicle traffic after the coronavirus pandemic drastically lowered the number of visitors: Cruise ship passengers aren't coming and tourism in general is expected to be sharply reduced.

... Starting Monday through June 30, the public will have access to the road beyond the Savage River Check Station at Mile 15 to the Teklanika Rest Stop via a permit called the Teklanika Road Permit, available through recreation.gov. This system allows the public to reserve one of a limited number of daily scheduled entries, officials say. Vehicles without a permit can go as far as Savage River.

Starting July 1, when tour, transit and camper bus service starts, the public will also be able to access the road to the Eielson Visitor Center with an Eielson Road Permit available through recreation.gov. Access dates will be limited to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on five weekends during the summer: July 10-12; July 24-26; Aug. 7-9; Aug. 21-23; and Sept. 4-7.

[oscar]

^ As the ADN article notes, this is in addition to the annual lottery for permits to travel the entire park road in September. The odds on that lottery average about one-in-seven, though I recall there is a preference for military families, which would lower the odds for everyone else.

I traveled only part of the park road, by shuttle bus, in my first visit to Alaska in 1994. Next time, I'll try to catch one of the few daily shuttles that will take you all the way to the end of the road.