Denali National Park and Preserve is a vast protected area encompassing more than 6 million acres of pristine Alaskan wilderness. The park is best known for its namesake peak, Denali, the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet. It’s also beloved for its abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, caribou, and moose. In many ways, Denali epitomizes the size and scale that make The Last Frontier revered.
A grizzly bear forages for blueberries in Denali National Park, Alaska.
But visitors to Denali quickly discover another world, equally fascinating, and right below their feet. The Arctic tundra is a biome where tree growth is limited by sub-zero temperatures and a short growing season. The presence of permafrost prevents plants from setting deep roots. In place of tall trees stands an array of dwarfed plants, including sedges and shrubs, and a tapestry of mosses and lichens that carpet the landscape. The subarctic wilderness of Denali gives rise to more than 1,500 species of vascular plants that form the base of a food web supporting wolves, eagles, and river otters.
Foraging blueberries near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, Alaska.
A unique aspect of a visit to Denali is the opportunity to experience foraging first-hand, or, more likely, on all fours. The park is famous for its edible wild berries, including the blueberry and the lingonberry. True to the Alaskan spirit of self-reliance and living off the land, the park encourages visitors to collect wild edibles. The berries surge to seasonal abundance in August and September. The tundra areas around Mountain Vista, Savage River, and Wonder Lake are popular spots with foragers, complete with stunning views when the clouds part and Denali appears.
Alaskans have a special relationship with the land and sea. Hunting, foraging, and subsistence living are deeply enmeshed in the culture. Each season presents unique opportunities, from salmon runs to mushroom hunting to tapping trees for birch syrup. And berry picking plays into that seasonal scheme.
“In Alaska, we call it berry therapy,” said Off the Beaten Path guide Jen Shapley, who makes her home in Anchorage. “It’s just taking time, either by yourself to get away, or with your selected group of friends, to focus on the small things.”
Foraging blueberries near Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Blueberries grow on low bushes in Denali, typically under knee height, in shrubby, open areas. The first berries of the year begin to ripen in early to mid-August and will continue to ripen into September. Visitors later in the season will be treated to a foliage display of note as the shrubs shift from the green hues of summer to splendid oranges and purples. Wild Alaskan blueberries are smaller in size (typically akin to a pea) than the cultivated berries found on supermarket shelves, but what they lack in size they more than make up for in flavor. Foragers are constantly torn between placing a berry in the basket for later or enjoying the flavor of the season in the present.
Lingonberries, sometimes referred to as lowbush cranberries, are found in areas of dense spruce forest easily identified from the Denali Park Road. The berries grow low to the ground, typically only a few inches above the tundra floor, and do not ripen until September. The berries mature to a bright, crimson red and look like the familiar cranberry common to Thanksgiving dinner. Trails around the Denali Visitor Center and Murie Science and Learning Center are well-known areas to pick lingonberries, but they can be found widely throughout the park, so it pays to explore. Speaking of exploring, Denali encourages off-trail travel, so if you see a spot that looks tempting, go have a look.
As always in Denali, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. Remember that you’re sharing the landscape and a precious resource with the park’s wildlife. Grizzly bears and moose seek out prime berry patches, and a chance to watch one forage will have you questioning your own technique. When in the field always carry bear spray and make noise to avoid startling wildlife. And while it might be tempting, resist the urge to pick all the berries in an area.
“When you’re foraging, you want to make sure that you’re leaving enough behind,” Shapley said. “My goal foraging is that when I’m done, someone else could come through and not know that I had been there, so maybe a third of what you find you would harvest.”
Shapley said most people in Alaska are living at least a partially subsistence lifestyle and that there is a deep sense of satisfaction in enjoying food that has been harvested from the land and sea.
Fireweed lights up the landscape as Denali emerges from the clouds above Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Not only is berry-picking fun and delicious, it’s also a chance to take an intimate and up-close look at the tundra. Despite Alaska’s limited growing season, the long daylight hours of summer lead to a verdant cornucopia of incredible plants. Wildflowers, including fireweed, larkspurleaf monkshood, and fairy slipper bring bursts of color to the landscape. Reindeer lichen and club moss lend texture and variety to the tundra. With so much diversity and drama underfoot, it’s almost possible to forget about The Great One looming high in the clouds above.
