It's more than a mountain. Denali National Park & Preserve features North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. Denali's more than 6 million acres also encompass a complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and moose.

The park was established as Mt. McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park was designated a wilderness area and incorporated into Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980. The Park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976.

Today the park accommodates a wide variety of visitor use including wildlife viewing, mountaineering, and backpacking. It continues to provide a laboratory for research in the natural sciences.

 Directions 

Plane - Air travel to either Anchorage or Fairbanks and then car/shuttle/train to Denali. Anchorage is 240 miles to the south and Fairbanks is 125 miles to the north of the park.

Car - Denali Park's headquarters is located along Alaska Route 3, the George Parks Highway, approximately 240 miles north of Anchorage, AK, 125 miles south of Fairbanks, AK, and 12 miles south of Healy, AK. Denali Park's mountaineering headquarters is located in Talkeetna, AK, approximately 100 miles north of Anchorage, AK.

Public Transportation - Denali is accessible by car or via the Alaska Railroad from either Anchorage or Fairbanks. In summer a variety of private bus and van services and the railroad operate daily from Anchorage and Fairbanks.