I understand about the camping. I hadn't done much camping myself before my first trip to Wonder Lake in 2004, but seeing the info about the campground made me want to stay there and it has become my favorite campground in the park (Igloo Campground is second).

Not sure about ground mats. I bought a Thermarest one that is not really "inflatable." It is rather big but it is the first thing that goes into my suitcase, kind of as a "liner." Then I put everything inside of that and wrap the ends of the ground mat around the top and zip up the suitcase. There are smaller ones than the one I have, but I make it work.

Re: hikes. Talk to the shuttle bus drivers. They usually have some great ideas. Ask at the first rest stop. You can also ask the park rangers. Some that I like include: top of Highway Pass head south of the road to a hidden waterfall in a small canyon. West of Fish Creek (about Mile 63) hike north of the park road west toward Eielson. Great views of Denali if it is out. Little Stony Creek hike on the west side of the creek and south of the park road then head up Stony Dome. Those are just three that come to mind. But you can hike pretty much anywhere where there is good visibility - usually from Polychrome Pass to Eielson (almost 20 miles).