Custom Day Trips
in Denali, Anchorage and throughout Alaska.
We offer a variety of privately guided, hiking and rafting trips in Denali, each personally tailored to your group’s interests and abilities. Whether it be a leisurely walk, taking scenic photos and learning about flora and fauna, or challenging yourself on a hike across the tundra to summit a mountain peak—we will help to create your ideal day.
Day Trip Features
We specialize in hiking and rafting adventures that allow friends and families the opportunity to experience Alaska together, and at their own pace. As such, we have made the intentional choice not to offer group trips with travelers who don’t know each other. We want you to have a chance to connect with Alaska, Denali, and your private guide on a personal level. Just your private guide, and your group—that’s it.
All of our private guides are professionals, as well as locals—everyone on the team has year-round experience in Alaska. We are well trained, and dedicated to continued education in history, culture, flora, fauna, geology, and safety (all guides have Wilderness Medical training). We are passionate about sharing all that we know, and continue to learn, about our wild Alaskan backyard.
We have all possible permits for guided hikes in the Denali area, including Denali National Park, Ahtna Land, and Alaska State Land.
Want to learn more?
PRIVATE FULL-DAY (DENALI)
- UP TO 6-8 HOURS
- Get off the beaten path for a full day with a local guide, customized for your group.
- $995 for up to 4 people, $250 for each additional person
HIKE & RAFT
- UP TO 8 HOURS
- An exclusive multi-sport, full day of adventure combining hiking and river rafting in the Denali area.
- $1,995 for up to 4 people, $250 for each additional person.
- No prior rafting experience required.
PRIVATE FULL-DAY (ANCHORAGE)
- UP TO 6-8 HOURS
- Get off the beaten path for a full day with a local guide, customized for your group.
- $1,295 for up to 4 people, $250 for each additional person
What Our Clients Say
Brad A.
Erica was amazing. She guided 8 of us, including with our 1 year old baby, on a hike into the tundra into the wilderness near Denali, in the mountains in the area of Denali National park, but not in the Park itself. She was full of knowledge of the area including flora and fauna, very affable, and was great with both our children and their grandparents. We hiked for more than four hours, and never saw another human being. Highly highly recommended.
Katherine P.
We chose Traverse Alaska as an alternative to the overcrowded National Park bus tours. Prior to our trip, Traverse reached out to us with detailed instructions on what to pack and bring, ensuring that we were well-prepared for our hike. Our guide, Vicki, picked us up from our hotel and drove us to Denali State Park. We had 4 novice backcountry hikers in our group (74 yo, 68 yo, 38 yo, and 36 yo), and Vicki did a great job of tailoring the hike to our individual needs. It was already Fall in Denali and sight of termination snow in…
Mark A.
I had an incredible hike in August with Joe. I’m a somewhat novice hiker, and we ended up accomplishing a much greater hike than I thought possible. He picked the perfect mountain to climb, taking breaks as I needed. I enjoyed the great views, including seeing 50+ dall sheep gathered on a neighboring peak. Joe shared lots of information regarding the plants, terrain, animals, etc. And he successfully motivated me to do a hike and see views that I would never have experienced without the right guide. Traverse really catered to my skill level and desired hike, and I was…
Rosie S.
This is my second year in a row going on day hikes with Mollie at Traverse, and it was the first thing I looked to book when I came back this year. Mollie and Traverse are really the best. They know the area so well, and customize the trips to exactly what you want. This year we did two days with Traverse — a day of hiking, and then a day of scenic float/rafting and half day hike. Leading up to the trip, Traverse was so accommodating in answering all of our (many) questions (thanks, Jake and Mollie!) and customizing…
Silas L.
We had a full-day hike with Anne. She drove us to a secluded spot a little ways southeast of Denali where we hiked through a series of naturally terraced alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and fascinating tundra groundcover. The view at the top was classic Alaska — wide open, uninhabited and epic. But the real highlight was spending a day with someone so knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. As Anne said, you have to keep your eyes up when you’re hiking here — bear, moose and what have you — but she brought the ground underfoot to life and got us…
Will B.
“We didn’t know exactly what to expect when we signed up for a family day hike with Traverse Alaska with Mollie Foster. It turned out to be a great idea. My wife and I have two boys (aged 11 and 13 at the time) who had a fair amount of backpacking experience (mostly in CA). The hike we did was an excellent way to orient ourselves to off trail hiking in Alaska and the surrounding Denali area. She gave us great insight on how to make our park experience in Denali better. The next day we enjoyed a family tundra…
Rudong Z.
“It was my birthday so I decided to try something special like a backcountry hike in Denali (in the snow) and Kierre helped me with it by taking me to an impressive trip. We hiked for more than 5 hours and reached the top of a baby snow mountain. Kierre was very professional and she introduced the plants and wildlife to along the trip. She was so kind and she even made me a birthday cake! I was so surprised and touched to receive a birthday gift like this. I’ll definitely recommend them to anyone who are trying to explore…
Wendy H.
“Can’t say enough good things about Traverse Alaska and Mollie. I was injured shortly before our arrival in Alaska and she was able to meticulously plan a day hiking that perfectly matched our abilities and interests, including my interest in photography. Thanks to her intimate knowledge of the area she was able to bring us to great places to photograph that we never would have found on our own. She was informative along the way and great company. She took the trouble to plan a great spot for our lunch along the banks of a glacial River. She even found…
Sushant S.
“Your guide, Kierre, is a gem. 1. Kierre was sensitive to my mother’s back injury. I lost track of how often she helped my mother through iffy footing. She broke up the long drive to the trailhead with short walks to vistas. She cautioned against an unnecessary river crossing. She kept us well away from boggy soil. I was so, so touched by her kindness. 2. She was thoroughly prepared. We were all a little wary of true wilderness going into the day, but we felt completely safe around an ex-ranger. She knew virtually every plant we came across. She…
Emily S.
“We had a fantastic experience packrafting for the first time with Tony. We really enjoyed hiking and chatting with him, and appreciated that he shared his knowledge about Alaska’s flora and fauna and that he answered our many questions about bears! When it came to the river, Tony was well-prepared with route and equipment, which, by the way, was in really great condition. We recommend this trip or any others with Traverse Alaska for those who are looking for a highly customized, curated experience.”
Linda W.
“Mollie picked us up in her roomy SUV for a full day excursion, we could basically do whatever we wanted. She was excellent at spotting wildlife (bald eagles, moose, dall sheep). We mentioned our love of dogs and Mollie arranged an add-on last minute visit to Squid Acres, a local musher’s home with 48 sled dogs and 3 puppies. It was the highlight of our 2 week trip!”
Ian M.
“We did a day hike with Traverse. Our guide, Kierre picked us up from our hotel and planned a great day of hiking for us. She was very knowledgeable about the history, flora and fauna. Was even able to win over three teenagers and had the entire family engaged and contributing. Highly recommend this outfit.”
David P.
“Traverse Alaska is an incredible team – they helped us plan our trip and went above and beyond to offer advice. Joe was our tour guide and did a tremendous job in taking us on a challenging hike and educating us about Alaska and the environment. I cannot recommend this company enough!”
Matt R.
“We reserved a group off trail hike for my wife and I. We wound up the only two on the hike so wound up with a private hike for the price of the group tour. We met our guide Kierre at our hotel and headed off into the back country in the Denali range. She was incredible. So knowledgeable and interesting. We did not go into Denali national park but instead headed into a the mountains to the east of the park. We hiked up wildlife trails and over the tundra. It was an amazing experience and certainly one of…
Rebecca A.
“Jan ROCKS!! After taking the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Denali, we were met by Jan who had called us the day before to introduce herself and welcome us.Jan is simply amazing. After she asked us our preferences, we told her we’d like to hike a bit after the train ride and we did. The hike was a perfect amount of time, not difficult, and exactly what we hoped for. Our 30 minutes at the Visitor Center reinforced everything she had told us. We honestly learned it all from her first! The outstanding part of this hike, comparable to the…
Andy M.
“I had a great day hiking and taking photos with Mollie. She was skilled, knowledgeable, professional, and flexible with my plans. I would certainly recommend Traverse Alaska.”
Greg N.
“Had a great time with Joe on a private hike in the Denali area. They were also able to drive me to my next stop in Alaska (Fairbanks) after finishing our hike. Very responsive during the booking process also. Tell them what you are looking for and they will take care of you…I wanted to get pushed physically but not so hard I couldn’t still enjoy myself/the surroundings for the day. We went to a beautiful area and we ended up going further and higher than I thought! Joe was very knowledgeable and fun to spend the day with. I…
Kumar S.
“Mollie took us on a day hike in the Denali area. We planned at the last minute, but they were able to accommodate us. The hike was well organized, taught us the basis of hiking in the Alaska, and most importantly my family had a great time. We would go with them again in the next trip for sure !”
Gloria T.
“We did a hiking close to Denali with Mollie Foster (the best guide) and it was perfect. The best experience we had in Denali! We went out of touristic roads and could be in a wild place, learning about plants, animals and amazing facts of Alaska. We really recommend it!”
Dean G.
“Myself, my wife, and our friend had a great hike with Kierre in the Talkeenta mountains this past August! The guided hike was a great way for the 3 of us to get a get a crash course in routefinding, bear awareness, and even some flora/fauna/scat identification. The hike was a great way to prepare for the other un-guided off-trail hikes we had planned for the rest of our trip. Once the hike was over, Kierre even gave us several recommendations for other hikes, museums, and restaurants in the area!”
