Originally Posted by jackal

I did this drive several years ago and found it stunningly beautiful--a moonscape feel similar to the area around the Arctic Circle along the Dalton Highway. You'll run into wildlife everywhere in Alaska, but because of the huge, open expanses along this road, you'll probably see more of it here than most other places. HOWEVER--please note that driving the Denali Highway WILL VOID your National/Hertz/any other major company rental agreement as I mentioned in one of my previous posts. I forgot to add one other note along those lines: in addition to any hassles with your insurance company should something happen, if the vehicle were to experience a mechanical breakdown (not likely with the new vehicles in the rental fleets, but entirely possible--and sometimes new cars come with new defects), you will be responsible for a portion of (or even all of) the towing bill that would normally be covered by the vehicle's warranty. When you're 100 miles from a paved road and 300 miles from the nearest service center in Wasilla, Anchorage or Fairbanks, the towing bill can be substantial, to say the least. I'm not trying to scare you--I'm just trying to give you all of the information so you can make an informed choice. Check with the rental companies to see their policies on this and to see if anyone can recommend a company that does not prohibit their vehicles from driving on gravel highways.