Denali Chamber of Commerce

Since the release of Sean Penn's movie "Into the Wild," there have been many more inquiries about the infamous bus on the Stampede Trail. In the past, there have been perhaps a dozen or so visitors to our area every year that attempt to visit the final resting place of Mr. McCandless. While it is not our place or purpose to tell folks what they can or cannot do, the Chamber would like to caution potential visitors who may attemp to visit the Stampede Bus via the Stampede Trail:

• Communications. There is no cell phone service (or any other services for that matter) past Eight Mile Lake on Stampede Road. The bus is at least another 15 miles past this point.
• Rescue. The Alaska State Troopers will be the ones to respond to any emergency or problem, and you may be held liable for the entire cost of your rescue ($2,000 +)
• Rivers. The Teklanika River can be deceptively friendly to look at, but has a very fast-moving main channel. Three feet of water is enough to take you down stream, even on a 4-wheeler. Rain in Denali National Park can make the river triple in size in no time at all.
• Weather. Being anywhere in the Alaska bush can be a wet and cold experience, even in July.
• Bugs. The mosquitos can be fierce and seem to run in herds. Have lots of DEET with you. Nothing else will work as well.
• Poaching. You need a valid hunting license to hunt. It is illegal to shoot moose, caribou, or bear without the appropriate licenses and tags. Anyone caught poaching game will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
• Guided tours. The Stampede Trail is under the management of the Alaska Department of Natural Resouces (ADNR) and requires a permit for any commercial guiding or tours. There have been no such permits issued, and anyone engaing in this activity is breaking the law. The only exception to this would be accessing the area via helicopter.

Please use caution if you are planning to travel to the the bus and dress appropriately. Some of the windows in the bus are broken and there is no way to use the bus to stay warm. Remember, you will be in a backcountry situation. If you do not know what kind of gear you need or have this equipment to travel safely into the Bush, then you probably have no business trying to do so. For example: If you had decided to carry 10 pounds of food with you, a 10 pound bag of rice is probably the wrong choice.

The Alaska bush IS NOT the Cascades or Rockies.

Death is always a possibility.

There are no provisions or supplies at the bus.

Please feel free to visit the Chamber Building in Healy or contact us if you have any questions. We wish you to have only the finest quality visit in our beautiful area, and we certainly want you to have the opportunity to tell your friends and family about it, too.

A map is now available in the download section of this website: Stampede map

It is made from USGS quads and DOES NOT show the location of the bus. It has only been provided as an illustration of how big an area you might be dealing with(400+ square miles). There are no USGS 1:63360 quad maps available online, so this document has been provided as a courtesy. The board recommends that you visit the USGS map store website and order the official paper maps rather than use the document available on this website.

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