I had an incredible July in 2023. In June I was still figuring out how to best visit Denali National Park and see the wildlife there. August was focused on fishing. July was my best wildlife viewing, the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, lots of wildflowers, and the beginning of berries and fishing.

Before pondering the months, I was thinking July was the best month for wildlife. In retrospect it has some distinct disadvantages – there are hot days where the wildlife will likely be resting during the day and the brush is thick and allows wildlife to hide easily. I saw a lot of wildlife in July because that is when I spent time deeper in the park, where the access is somewhat limited. https://roaming-nature.com/2023/07/23/caribou-moose-and-dall-sheep/ Also I learned to occasionally get off the bus and spend time patiently looking for animals with binoculars rather than expecting them to appear from the window. https://roaming-nature.com/2023/07/25/teklanika-campground-and-the-tek-pass/

The World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO) is a fabulous annual event in Fairbanks, Alaska. I highly recommend this to anyone who can fit it into their schedule. The daytime events (often preliminaries) are free. There is an entrance fee for the evening events. There are lots of other activities in Fairbanks, so if you can, spend at least 3 days there during the WEIO. Hopefully I will go again (this year and/or next) and get some better photos! Here was my post: https://roaming-nature.com/2023/07/16/weio/

July is the middle of tourist season with everything open and in full swing. Days are very long, though gradually getting shorter. As you can see in the photos, there is far less snow on the peaks except on the highest mountains. Denali itself stays snow covered all year and when not hiding behind the clouds is obvious as the big white mountain when many others are dark.

If you are planning a trip to Alaska, I hope my thoughts on April through September help a bit.