Photographing Tundra

 

Tundra plants, lichen, and blueberries along the Denali Highway in Alaska.

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My first trip to Alaska was for a short meeting in Fairbanks in September 2003, but I flew in a couple of days early, rented a car, and drove a big loop that included the Denali Highway, fascinated by my first glimpses of Alaska. It was autumn, and the tundra was spectacularly colorful, bugs were gone, and the weather was warm and sunny. Hunters gutted enormous moose beside the highway. I’ve wanted to return ever since, and this year’s seven-week autumn trip was the realization of that dream but without quite so much sunshine. 

We encountered tundra in Denali National Park, along the Denali Highway, in Tombstone Territorial Park in the Yukon, along the road to Haines, and on hikes into the alpine. I could have spent more time than I did wandering in tiny circles looking down at tundra, exquisite up close and grandly beautiful where it swept across northern landscapes. Even though we covered a lot of ground and were awed by the vast expanses, the close-up photos of tundra are my favorites from the trip, so I’ll share a few here starting with two from my first visit to Alaska in 2003.  

A wolverine skull embedded in tundra that I found during my short visit to Alaska in 2003. This photo was taken with an old film camera, and the contrast between dark moss and the bright white skull was a little too much for the film, but it was an amazing random find on a short walk from my rental car.

One more tundra photo from 2003. This is in Denali National Park.

Healy Ridge in Denali National Park on a rainy hike during our recent trip in 2025. 

Tundra along the Denali Highway.

Ellen identifying tundra plants along the Denali Highway. 

There are lots of mushrooms in the tundra. This is another detail near the Denali Highway.

Tundra detail.

Blueberries were everywhere in the tundra. We picked these on a hike up a peak called Near Point in the Chugach Front Range above Anchorage.

Scheuchzer's Cotton Grass along the Denali Highway.

Willow tundra on a bluff above the Denali Highway.

Lichen along the North Klondike Train in Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon Territory, Canada.

Lichen and a woody shrub, North Klondike Trail, in the Yukon.

Lichen and fall leaves, North Klondike Trail, Tombstone Park.

Boulder with tundra vegetation. North Klondike Trail, Tombstone Park, in the Yukon.

Golden willows (probably) in Tombstone Territorial Park.

Our last view of tundra in the Yukon along the road to Haines, Alaska, where we boarded the Alaska Ferry.