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Five hours. That's the shortest bus tour available in Denali National Park. But there's no better way to immerse yourself in this great landscape's natural beauty.
There's only one road that runs through Denali, and it winds its way along hillsides, the majority of which are closed to public vehicles. The rest of them can be seen only on these bus tours, making them one of the most popular attractions for visitors.
The longest tour lasts up to 14 hours and takes visitors to the farthest reaches of the park.
Every season, eager sightseers board the buses hoping to catch a glimpse of Denali's peak through the clouds. And to ensure that visitors continue to enjoy this magnificent place, it's important that greenhouse-gas emissions are limited.
Fortunately, Aramark saw an opportunity that would improve the visitor experience while lessening the environmental impact - powering the buses with propane.
At Denali National Park, where the air is cleaner and glaciers create streams that trickle through the valley, propane has potentially game-changing implications. It's an alternative fuel with benefits for both Aramark's partners at the park and the half-million people who visit each year.
Courtesy of Aramark
But what's truly unexpected is the difference it makes for visitors.
And while environmental efforts typically come with a higher price tag, propane is the more cost-effective choice: It's cooled and stored at a lower pressure, making it more efficient to transport and store.The liquid propane injection system is much quieter, ensuring the wildlife isn't as disrupted by the buses, so visitors might be more likely to cross paths with one of the many graceful creatures that call this place home.
"Picture these buses driving down the road, it's 92 miles long, and they come upon wildlife. A louder diesel bus makes a lot of noise and the wildlife gets scared and runs away. So then you've created a potentially negative interaction between the wildlife and the guest," says Daniel Keller, who oversees Aramark's joint venture with Doyon, who operates and owns the buses visitors take through the park each day.
"By having the propane buses, which are much quieter, they're able to just scoot along the road and not disrupt the wildlife as much, so it's been a really great thing."
Whether it's propane buses, recycling programs, or food sourcing, it's through programs like these that Aramark is able to help build excitement for park guests while fulfilling the responsibility to preserve the nation's parks. Spectacles such as Denali are too extraordinary not to be shared.
"We want to make sure that we preserve this place for generations to come," Keller says. "And the way we can do that is through sustainability."
It's a dynamic combination: Innovation and conservation. And it's that kind of thinking that will help protect the National Parks for the next 100 years and beyond.
Explore our other National Park Stories at Aramark.com/Explore.
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