Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Throw scale aside. There is little as big, wild, and remote as this mystifying wilderness.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Throw scale aside. There is little as big, wild, and remote as this mystifying wilderness.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Throw scale aside. There is little as big, wild, and remote as this mystifying wilderness.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is big. It is the biggest U.S. national park, in fact, and full of equally unrivaled features. Within its boundaries are North America's largest subpolar icefield, largest non-polar valley glacier, and largest non-polar piedmont glacier. It's part of the world's largest internationally protected wilderness, together with Glacier Bay National Park and Canada's Kluane National Park. Three mountain ranges merge in the park, from which surge nine peaks over 14,000 feet high.
The park encompasses 13 million acres of wilderness east of the Richardson Highway all the way to the Canadian border. The landscape is wild, rugged, and incredibly diverse. It's also home to the historic Kennecott copper mine and the remote enclave of McCarthy.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is accessible by either aircraft or car. Just two gravel roads penetrate the park. One goes to Nebesna and the other to McCarthy. A four-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance can usually make the trip in summer. The far southeastern corner of the park is also visited by some cruise ships on Glacier Route itineraries that stop at the Hubbard Glacier.
The park area is rich in outdoor activities. Many are mellow, like flightseeing or skirting the park border on a raft trip down the Copper River. Other activities, like backcountry hiking and camping, are more adventurous. A visit to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor in Copper Center is a must for better understanding the area's rich Native cultures, history, and wildlife.
For both accessibility and amenities, we recommend staying at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge during a Wrangell-St. Elias visit. The property is situated near the junction of the Klutina and Copper rivers about 10 minutes by car from the park visitor center. The lodge overlooks the park, with views from its patios, restaurants, and grand lobby. It's a good launching point for a long day trip to McCarthy by 4x4 rental car. For a stay inside the park, we recommend the Kennecott Glacier Lodge 112 miles down the Edgerton Highway and McCarthy Road. It's long drive is best made by the adventurous.
From Anchorage, the park is accessible via the Glenn Highway. At Glennallen, the Glenn Highway meets the Richardson Highway, which skirts the park's western boundary in route to Valdez, a coastal city served by the state ferry system. This road goes to Copper Center and the cutoff toward the McCarthy Road. To head into the park via Nebesna, continue north on the Richardson Highway and take the Tok Cutoff to Slana.
