• WHERE Denali National Park, Alaska

• BUDGET Pitch a tent at any of the park's six official campgrounds. Sites range from $14 to $40 per night.

• SPLURGE Camp Denali, $1,695 per adult for three nights.

GETTING THERE Getting to Denali is half the fun. Many pack up the RV and challenge the highways all the way to the national park, but it's far better to fly to Anchorage and hop aboard the domed, double-decker Denali Star Train. It'll take you past Cook Inlet and up through Alaska's interior, passing through the Matanuska Valley and following the Susitna River after Wasilla. Suddenly, the entire car gasps. The clouds have cleared and you see Denali reigning over the tundra. You've arrived. To get to Camp Denali, which is privately owned and sits near Wonder Lake, hop aboard its shuttle from the train station and go 90 miles farther in. A naturalist curates your ride, pointing out the natural wonders unfurling before you.

BEST MOMENT I've been tramping around Alaska for about 20 years, and I've never seen a grizzly while hiking, thanks to the ridiculous amount of noise I make on the trail—disturbing a mama bear is dangerous business. But during my last trip to Denali, I did see a gorgeous, tawny-furred mother and her cubs along the road. What magnificent creatures, especially from the safety of a park bus.

WORST MOMENT I had to leave the park without having seen all of the Big Five—the iconic mammals that set this national treasure apart. I got bears on the way up, plus a wolf, a caribou, and a gangly moose in a thicket. But nary a sheep. Guess I'll have to come back.   

FAVORITE CHARACTER Munter, born in 2013, is a brown-eyed Alaskan husky mix with a rich gray coat and what rangers call a "fiery spirit." To meet this sled dog and many more, visit the kennels at park headquarters. You'll also learn about the park's rich tradition of sledding, which started in 1917.

WHAT'S GREEN In 1981, Camp Denali started using a hydroelectric system to supplement its power, until a water shortage knocked it out of commission in 2014. Now the lodge has 16 solar panels. Camping, of course, is almost always lower impact than staying in a hotel. 

PLANET-SAVING OPPORTUNITIES Giving back is easy in Denali. Head to park headquarters and ask how you can help. Rangers welcome volunteers to clean up trails, work in the visitor center, and tend the kennels. Or you can adopt a retired sled dog.

This article appeared as "Mountain View" in the November/December 2015 print edition of Sierra.