Denali National Park and Preserve

Denali National Park and Preserve in interior Alaska protects a large subarctic landscape dominated by Denali, North America’s tallest mountain at 6,190 meters (20,310 feet). The park covers roughly 6 million acres of tundra, taiga and alpine terrain and is one of the United States’ largest national parks.

Visitors go for wildlife viewing of species such as moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolves and grizzly bears, to see the Denali massif and for scenic drives and backcountry hiking. The park’s single public road is 92 miles (148 km) long and provides staged viewpoints, visitor centers and access to trailheads and shuttle services.

The area was first set aside for protection in 1917 and later expanded and renamed to its current configuration under federal conservation legislation in 1980. The mountain’s native Koyukon name is Denali, meaning “the high one,” and the park preserves both natural systems and the cultural landscape of interior Alaska.

The park lies in central Alaska roughly 240 miles north of Anchorage by road and approximately 120 miles south of Fairbanks, with the primary gateway communities being Talkeetna to the south and Healy near the park entrance.

• Highest peak: Denali is the highest peak in North America at 6,190 meters (20,310 feet) and is the park's geological and visual centerpiece.
• Access: The Park Road is 92 miles long; private vehicles are limited beyond a short section so most visitors use park shuttle buses or guided tours to travel deeper into the park.

What to See #

• Denali (mountain): The Denali massif, dominated by Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), which rises to 6,190 meters (20,310 feet) and forms the park's central landmark.
• Park Road and bus system: Park Road, a 92-mile (148 km) road running west from the park entrance to Kantishna, with shuttle and tour buses providing public access beyond the first miles.
• Major viewpoints: Eielson Visitor Center (around mile 66) and Wonder Lake offer principal roadside viewpoints for views of the mountain and surrounding glaciers when conditions allow.