Why Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, located in south-central Alaska along the Canadian border, is the largest area managed by the United States National Park Service. Spanning over 13 million acres, this vast protected region encompasses several mountain ranges, including the Wrangell, Saint Elias, and Chugach mountains. It is part of a cross-border UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside Canada's Kluane National Park and Reserve. The terrain exhibits notable coastal relief, rising from tidewater to elevated summits such as Mount Saint Elias, which stands as the second-tallest peak in both the United States and Canada.
Shaped by plate tectonics, volcanic activity, and heavy glaciation, the area contains 60 percent of Alaska's permanently ice-covered terrain. Its interior features the Bagley Icefield and prominent glaciers, including Malaspina, the largest piedmont glacier in North America, and Nabesna, the longest valley glacier in the world. Several large volcanoes dot the landscape, including Mount Blackburn and the active Mount Wrangell. Glacial melt feeds major river systems like the Chitina, Chisana, Nabesna, and Copper rivers.
The site was declared a national monument by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 before officially becoming a national park and preserve in 1980. About two-thirds of the territory is designated as the Wrangell–St. Elias Wilderness, the largest single wilderness area in the nation. The land is divided into national park terrain, where sport hunting is prohibited, and preserve lands, where public sport hunting and trapping are permitted. Near the center of the park lies the historic Kennecott mining boomtown, which extracted copper from 1903 to 1938 and is now designated a National Historic Landmark district.
Visitors to the region engage in wilderness activities such as mountain climbing, river float trips along the Copper, Nizina, Kennicott, and Chitina rivers, and backcountry hiking and camping. Coastal waters near Icy Bay accommodate sea kayak tours, while cruise ships visit Hubbard Glacier in Yakutat Bay. Air taxis operate from nearby communities to provide flightseeing and transport to remote interior airstrips and public-use cabins. The Park Service operates the Kendesnii campground on Nabesna Road, and private lodgings are available along the primary access routes.
Reachable by highway from Anchorage, the park's interior is accessed via two unpaved routes: the McCarthy Road and the Nabesna Road. Gateway communities and settlements including Chitina, McCarthy, Kennicott, Nabesna, and Chisana offer localized points of entry. Main administrative offices and a visitor center are located near Copper Center along the Edgerton Highway, with additional ranger facilities in Slana, Chitina, Kennecott, and Yakutat. Although park lands remain open year-round, most visitor facilities operate from May to September.
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