A Day In The Park: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve

Encompassing a topography ranging from sea level to an elevation over 18,000 feet (5,486.4 meters), Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska is the certified winner as the largest national park in the U.S. and the largest wilderness area in North America. At 13.2 million acres (>5 million hectares), this national park equals six Yellowstones! And yes, you can get there from here via Anchorage.

Yet, with a national park this huge, you’ll just be experiencing pieces and parts of it through exploration of four different areas: Copper Center Area (probably the easiest to access), McCarthy Road and Kennecott, Nabesna Road Area, and the Yakutat and Coastal Area. Most of these regions are reachable by vehicle on paved or dirt and gravel roads. Access to one of these areas, however, is via boat or plane. Visit any or all these areas and you still won’t see even half of the park – it’s that large. For the past five years, less than 100,000 people have traveled to Wrangell-St. Elias, with less than 30,000 recreational visits recorded during the park’s peak month of July for each of those years. If it’s splendid isolation you seek, this is the place for you.

With a park this size, there are plenty of outdoor activities: day hiking and backpacking, hunting and fishing, mountain biking, mountaineering, floating and boating, guided tours, and even recreational off road vehicle (ORV) use, for which a permit is required. Even winter offers opportunities for cold-weather pursuits such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and snowmobiling (aka snowmachining). Just be aware that visitor centers and ranger stations will be closed in winter, and if you plan to visit Kennecott during this season, you will need to bring your own gear since there are no outfitters open to rent this gear to you.

There’s a lot of planning and preparation for visiting a national park this size and this remote, and it can be overwhelming. Outfitters and guides can help take some of that planning off your hands.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve covers some remarkable history. People have lived there for thousands of years, with stories of Native peoples, miners, trappers, loggers, hunting guides, and homesteaders each leaving their own indelible mark on this rugged terrain. The history of this national park and preserve includes some special places, from ghost towns scattered throughout the park, to the Kennecott mines.

If you enjoy geology, glaciers, volcanoes, river erosion, plate tectonics, fossils, faults, and terranes have all played parts in the creation of this geologically complex landscape. You can download United States Geological Survey PDFs of the park’s geologic map and the explanation of the map features here.

Pack your binoculars and/or camera for a visit. You’ll have ample opportunity for spotting wildlife such as moose, mountain goats, caribou, bears, squirrels, and a wide range of birds, including trumpeter swans, Canada geese, rock ptarmigan, great horned owls, warblers, sparrows, and redpolls. You’ll need to be observant to spot all this wildlife, though, especially if you are on a road looking from the comfort of your vehicle.

Fun Fact: Ten million swans, geese, and ducks nest in Alaska each year. That's ten times the population of people in Montana!

Ok, so you know it takes a bit of effort to get to this national park and preserve. Now, where can you lay your head for the night after a full day of exploration? Each of the areas listed above are links on which you can click and learn more about each area including available lodging or camping. You might even be able to spend the night at one of the public use cabins, all of which are quite remote and four of which require reservations.

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Essential Fall Guide '14: The Big Wild: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve

Visitors to the far north might think they know what's big. That is, until they see it, touch it, and feel it. In Alaska, peaks and glaciers, rivers and lakes, waterfalls and forests, beaches and bays stretch far away to all horizons, nearly untouched by the hand of man.

Even the chattiest air traveler will grow quiet as they fly for hours over pristine landscapes. Things are different up North, and that's why we love it. It's big, wild, and quiet; not a place for the distracted or unprepared visitor. It's also what attracts us for a renewal-by-wilderness.

Autumn is absolutely the best time to explore what the sourdoughs call South Central, the jumble of mountain ranges of the Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

To read more, head on over to this page.

Traveler’s Choice For: Hiking and backpacking, geology, history, photography