Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Parks and Outdoors Vacations

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

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Panoramic of mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
Mountain reflections at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska (Charles Westerlage/courtesy, National Park Service)

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Parks and Outdoors Highlights

By Travel Expert: Jeremy Pataky

  • Roughly 25 percent larger than Switzerland, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve is the largest and wildest national park in America, with unprecedented opportunities for camping and backpacking in the front- or backcountry.
  • Most people access the park from McCarthy, a remote and tiny frontier town at the end of a rough, 60-mile gravel road beginning in the village of Chitina. Don’t rush the drive to McCarthy, since spikes still remain from the railroad’s conversion to McCarthy Road. Most people who are prepared and take it slow fare just fine, though.
  • Some of the world’s best bush pilots fly in the Wrangell-St. Elias. Hire Wrangell Mountain Air in McCarthy to drop you off at Iceberg Lake in the Chugach Range for wilderness camping and hiking among dramatic glaciers and mountains.
  • Inquire at the visitor center by National Creek in Kennicott for directions to camping areas by the lake below Donoho Peak. Visit SEAG or Kennicott Wilderness Guides if you want a guide for crossing the glacier.
  • Free primitive tent camping just a short walk from McCarthy is available on the gravel bars between the Kennicott River and McCarthy Creek. Immediately after crossing the second footbridge, turn right on the faint trail.
  • Find hot showers and fresh water at the Glacier View Campground, mile 59 of the McCarthy Road, and enjoy the scenic views and camaraderie with other campers.
  • The St. Elias Alpine Guides parking lot near the end of the McCarthy Road is five dollars per night, cheaper than the five dollars per day rate elsewhere. Parking is free if you book a hike or backcountry trip with them.
  • Wrangell-St. Elias is bear country, so camp wisely. Luckily, the bears are not acclimated, but checking out a bear-resistant food container from the National Park Service is still a wise choice if you camp beyond McCarthy/Kennicott.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Overview

Looking at a relief map of Alaska, you'd think the portion drained by the Copper River was so over-weighted with mountains that it might topple the whole state into the Pacific. The Alaska Range, in the center of the state, has the tallest mountain, but this Gulf of Alaska region, straddling the Alaska-Yukon border, has more mass -- the second- and fourth-tallest mountains in North America (Logan and St. Elias), plus 9 of the tallest 16 peaks in the United States. Four mountain ranges intersect, creating a mad jumble of terrain covering tens of millions of acres, a trackless chaos of unnamed, unconquered peaks. The Copper River and its raging tributaries slice through it all, swallowing the gray melt of innumerable glaciers that flow from the largest ice field in North America. Everything here is the largest, most rugged, most remote; words quickly fall short of the measure. But where words fail, commerce gives a little help: These mountains are so numerous and remote that one guide service makes a business of taking visitors to mountains and valleys that no one has ever explored before. Read More

Hotels

expert favorite hotel
Ma Johnson's Historic Hotel
101 Kennicott Avenue
McCarthy, AK 99588 Map
Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
Distance: 0.0 Miles
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McCarthy Lodge & The Ma Johnsons Hotel
101 Kennicott Avenue
McCarthy, AK 99588
Hotel Class: 2 class stars
Distance: 68.4 Miles
(from destination center)
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Kennicott Glacier Lodge
Kennicott Wrangell-St. Elias N.P.
Kennicott, AK 99588
Hotel Class: 3 class stars
Distance: 69.8 Miles
(from destination center)
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Attractions

expert favorite attraction
Bonanza Mine Trail
Kennecott, Alaska Map
Distance: 70.7 Miles (from destination center)
Description: The Bonanza Mine Trail is a strenuous, eight-mile... Read More
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Root Glacier
Kennicott
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Distance: 70.7 Miles (from destination center)
Description: No where else in Alaska can you so easily access... Read More
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Kennecott Copper Mill Building
Edgerton Highway to McCarthy Rd.
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Distance: 70.7 Miles (from destination center)
Description: A historic landmark and one-time town center,... Read More
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Feature Articles

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