Begin Planning Your Backpacking Adventure. A backpacking trip in Denali is unlike backpacking in most other national parks. Denali is about the size of Vermont, with only a handful of trails - most of which are near the entrance of the park for day-hiking, rather than overnight backpacking. Backpacking permits are issued only in person, no more than a day before you begin your backcountry adventure - so use the information on this site as a guide, to familiarize yourself with the permit process and the landscape of Denali, but be ready to hash out the details of your itinerary only once you're in the park, speaking to one of our backcountry rangers.