Want to Live in Alaska For Free? Program Gives You a Place Next to North America’s Tallest Peak

“The pleasure isn’t in doing the thing, the pleasure is in planning it,” so says author John Green.

As I was putting up our fall decorations, I could not help but think of our summer vacation to Alaska. We spent six months planning what we would see and where we would eat. Anticipation is a wonderful thing. We had six months of Alaska without leaving north Texas. 

One of our favorite stops on our trip was Denali National Park and Preserve and the small town of Healy, which is located on the outskirts of the park. The natural beauty of Denali is not simply the mountain peak but the flora and fauna in the park.

What also made that stop stand out was the wide variety of people we met. The vast majority of the population were workers from around the world. Everyone had a different story of what brought them to Healy and what keeps them coming back to work here during peak season.

Free Housing Brings Population Boom

During the pre-COVID years, more than 650,000 visitors made their way to Denali and the small town of Healy. The need for workers is real but none of them have summer homes where they can stay.

As a matter of fact, the real estate market is almost non-existent in the Denali and Healy areas. As an example, the  Denali Market Report website has been under construction since I first checked it at the beginning of the year.

The one home listed for sale in Healy is built for the rugged mountain man or mountain woman.

This little bungalow has been on the market for more than 100 days and is actually in Healy. It sits on almost 5 acres and the owners are asking $45K. You better have your mukluks on before reading the property description.

“Here is your Alaska getaway, in the Denali borough, so no property tax. A short walk from the Highway, trail is wet in May and June and dries out in July, then the trail is drivable.”

Living in Alaska, even during the peak season,  is meant for enjoying wide-open spaces and outdoor adventures. That is why the allure of work and free housing attracts people from around the world.

Like Summer Camp, Only You Have a Job

Denali Summer Jobs is just one organization that brings in employees with the lure of free housing. 

One of the employees at the convenience store/food truck told me he has spent his summers working in Denali for a couple of years and takes advantage of the free housing. He said the cabins remind him of summer camp.

The website for Denali Summer Jobs says that employees can stay in one of their cabins or bring and park their RV or camper. On his days off from work, he hikes and climbs in Denali.

“There is a central common area with a kitchen, bathrooms, dining area, sitting area, tv, wifi, and coin laundry.  Housing includes access to our work shuttle that goes to Denali Park 3-4 times per day.”

Denali Summer jobs website

Peak Season in Denali/Healy is May through September

Caroline, a member of the wait staff team that served us at Moose-AKA’s, said this was her second year working at the restaurant. Originally from the lower 48 states, Caroline said her grandfather always loved his trips to Alaska and passed that love on to her.

Moose-AKA’s provides its own cabins to its employees at no cost.

The desire for adventure and being in a part of the country that is rugged is the lure for many of the workers that spend their summers in Denali.

So if working and living around the rugged and beautiful Alaskan landscape and having free housing suits you, start planning your next adventure now. Denali Summer Jobs will start accepting applications in January.