Our Exclusive Raft Trips are an excellent way for family and friends of varying ages and physical abilities to enjoy a customized adventure together on the river—at the same pace.
Like all of our custom adventures, our raft trips are private—or as we say in the rafting world, “exclusive.” That means that it’s just you and your group, with our safe, professional, and experienced River Team.
The Nenana is a glacially-fed river that makes up the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. Your River Team will take into account your group’s interests, and customize the trip based on current conditions—as the river is very dynamic.
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#traversealaska #friendsandfamilyrafting

We love families of all ages and abilities. Many of our guests are families with kids of all ages, and we have a blast with them! From young to quite experienced (😉) — We will customize a trip specifically for your group’s interests, abilities and activity level.
#privatepersonalcustom #traversealaska

What does a Private, Custom trip mean?
Our Private and Custom experiences mean it’s just you and your group, with our team of local, professional guides. All adventures are customized to your group’s interests and abilities. Each and every trip we do is unique based on your group. We can guide your group on a single day adventure, multiple days in the Denali area, or build your entire Alaska itinerary. Our home is Denali, however we offer trips and provide services across Alaska by working with knowledgeable local experts, and the highest quality businesses in areas across the state.
#traversealaska #privatepersonalcustom

Q: “Will we be able to see the mountain—Denali—on our trip with you?”
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A: Many of our Private and Custom adventures go to areas with spectacular base-to-summit views of the 20,310-ft mountain—Denali. Of course, this is all based on the weather, but if it is a clear day, we have a very strong chance of seeing Denali.
Make sure to tell our team if viewing Denali is at the top of your priority list, and we will make sure to tailor the day to what you are looking for.
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See our FAQ page of our website for more info.
📸: @mollieofdenali
#traversealaska

Today we take a moment to celebrate all the talented, strong, amazing ladies on our team, and in our local community. The group of badass ladies in our network is way too long to list, but here are a handful of photos of ladies who continually inspire us.
Happy International Women’s Day!
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1 - Paige of @squidacreskennel with some impressive yoga moves from the back of a dogsled
2 - @kaitlynweitzeil showing us how it’s done on the river
3 - @victorialeighwild + @mollieofdenali capturing photos on a beautiful day in Resurrection Bay with @sewardoceanexcursions
4 - Louise / @amerikiwheezy crushing the whitewater, as she does
5 - @eatinwild @_ellafoster_ @mollieofdenali on a sister’s backpacking trip in the Talkeetna Mountains
6 - Jan Tomsen on a 100+mi ski to Nome along the Iditarod Trail
7 - @alaskannie teaching skiing with @skiku.ak in Kaktovik
#whoruntheworld #womenwhotraverse

Review from a Private, Custom Fly-in Backpacking trip last summer
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“We have backpacked in many places but never Alaska—we contacted Traverse Alaska to set up a backpack trip before taking our son off to college. With extremely short notice - literally a few days- Joe and Traverse sorted out a way to accommodate our short notice request - they quickly set up a 5 day trip that included a bush plane drop into a remote airstrip in the wilderness on the border of Denali Park - stunning!
Joe guided us over gorgeous tundra and we eventually worked our way into a high cirque, hiked some amazing ridges and backpacked over all the zones- from treeline, to tundra, to high alpine and ice and snow- the trip was spectacular!!
Custom trip definition - means you do not have to have a plan to present- it means you come up with an idea and they help you from there. Joe sorts out your abilities on the trail and fit the next 5 days into some amazing trail-less backpacking. We did not see not see the trace of another human - but did get to see breathtaking views, a massive diversity of wild flowers, berries and plenty of the local wildlife- a small herd of caribou came through one of our campsites on a high bench during breakfast!
If you want to backpack in the wild, trail-less open of Alaska but are hesitant to just start out - we highly recommend setting up a custom trip with Traverse— no stress, no worries, just an amazing adventure with a highly experienced, awesome guide. Traverse got us comfortable traversing the wild, wide open landscape of Alaska and we are hooked- what an amazing place- what an amazing guide outfit!”
— Dan T.

Would you like this to be your “office” this summer? Traverse Alaska is hiring!
We have a couple of hike and raft guide positions still available for this summer season. With our local-hire policy, applicants need to have year-round experience in Alaska.
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Our team seeks applicants for:
- Professional Wilderness Hiking Guides
- Professional Rafting Guides
- Logistics, Office, Administrative, and Maintenance Support
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From wilderness guides to management and office staff, we expect the highest level of talent, professionalism, and flexibility from each member of our team. Our guides provide private and custom hiking, backpacking, rafting, packrafting, and/or custom adventures, based on experience and qualifications. The positions are based in the Denali area, with trips to other areas in Alaska possible.
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Members of the Traverse Alaska team are expected to be professional, respectful, trustworthy, flexible, optimistic, detailed, creative, collaborative, corrigible, inspired, inspiring, playful, open-minded, patient, kind, curious, occasionally funny, hard-working, and helpful.
Local-hire policy, applicants must have year-round experience in Alaska, or willing to gain experience. Competitive pay based on experience.
More information and application via link in profile.
#traversealaska
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We are dedicated to supporting organizations that keep Alaska wild.
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Some of our favorite non-profit partners are doing valuable work for Alaska lands, wildlife, and people.
Follow these organizations to stay connected on important Alaska issues:
@keepalaskawild
@thenortherncenter
@alaskatrails
@greatlandtrust
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📸 @mollieofdenali // Mollie Foster Media
A herd of caribou graze on the tundra, just after midnight in @denalinps with Denali visible in the distance.

At 12:30am right after the new year, the sky opened up and Mother Nature put on her own epic fireworks display! 2025 is off to a wonderful start✨

2024 Summer highlights: August
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Private, custom fly-in backpacking trips (enjoying breakfast with caribou walking through camp), exclusive rafting trips for larger families (7-12ppl+), making time to stop and swim on the river, intro to backpacking overnight trips, enjoying clear, snowy mountain views, autumn colors changing, and custom week+ long trip from Fairbanks to Seward for a family of 4.
#traversealaska

2024 Summer highlights: July
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Private, custom rafting adventures with families and young kids in their own big raft, safely rafting by the Riley Creek fire, families learning about sled dogs and cuddling puppies, seeing bears while hiking, experiencing clear views of Mt. Denali for the first time, learning about packrafting, and finding water to cool off on those rare hot July days.
#traversealaska #friendsandfamilyrafting

2024 Summer highlights: June
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Private, custom day hiking and rafting adventures, kids getting to practice rowing a raft, rafting adventures with all ages including grandparents and grandkids, traversing the tundra with active families, finding wildflowers and caribou antlers on the tundra, learning about sled dogs and mushing, and getting to experience all 20,310ft. of the mountain—Denali on a clear, bluebird day.
#traversealaska

Happy solstice weekend from Denali! ✨
Now we shift toward the light.
Sunrise: 10:45am
Sunset: 3:05pm
4hrs 20min of daylight

We’re continuing with our guide introductions.
Next up, Bill “Buckwheat” Overington / @80billwheat who has been involved with Traverse Alaska for a number of years.
Buckwheat wears multiple hats including raft guide and manager of our entire river rafting department of the business (in addition to many other talents he brings to the team).
We are so fortunate to have his expertise, dedication, attention to detail, and fun, laid-back attitude on our team.
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Where are you from?
Originally from Florida, which seems kind of strange, but I moved to Colorado when I was 12. I split my time between Colorado and Alaska.
How long have you been in Alaska?
I came to AK in 1989, so it’s been 35 years now.
What do you love about guiding?
Being outside everyday is important to me, so I apparently made a career out of it. Making outdoor experiences accessible to a broad range of individuals, in both age and background, is incredibly rewarding on a daily basis.
What are you most passionate about sharing when it comes to Alaska?
I love sharing river time with visitors to the Denali area. The Nenana is a free-flowing, glacial river and the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. The dynamic nature of changing water levels, a diverse range of old, young and even currently active geological features combined with a perfect progression of whitewater, scenery and lighting all makes for a very exciting, fun and memorable event on any Alaska vacation. The Nenana River is an amazing resource to have so easily accessible in our backyards. You can float for almost 40 miles where the Denali National Park boundary is the river and guests really appreciate that experience.
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#traversealaskaguides #friendsandfamilyrafting

As we approach the end of the year, we want to take some time to look back at some highlights from our summer season.
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2024 Summer highlights: May
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Guide training with our incredible team of professional Alaskan guides. We spent time hiking, rafting, learning from local experts (Alaska history, Alaska native culture, guiding in Alaska, fire ecology and more), traveling around the state and visiting some of our favorite spots and business partners. Our friend and professional Anne Beaulaurier/@alaskannie planned and ran our guide training this year, It was incredible. We’re already excited for guide training next year!
#traversealaskaguides #traversealaska

The aurora borealis have been really active so far this winter in Denali!
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Have you always wanted to visit Alaska in the winter and see the northern lights? Contact us for winter trips between Feb-April!
📸 @mollieofdenali
#traversealaskainwinter
