Wrangell St. Elias National Park

View of Kuskulana River from bridge above with fall colors, Wrangell St Elias National Park | Gray Moeller

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve is Alaska wilderness on a scale that can be difficult to comprehend. Spanning more than 13 million acres, it is the largest national park in the United States, protecting an immense landscape of glaciers, active volcanoes, snow-covered mountains, braided rivers, forests, tundra, historic mining communities, and remote backcountry.

Located in southeastern Alaska near the Canadian border, Wrangell–St. Elias rises from coastal areas near the Gulf of Alaska to the 18,008-foot summit of Mount Saint Elias. Four major mountain systems converge in and around the park, while thousands of glaciers flow through valleys and across broad coastal plains. In many places, there are no maintained trails, paved roads, or developed viewpoints. Visitors encounter a national park that still feels genuinely wild.

Wrangell–St. Elias is not completely inaccessible, however. Two long gravel roads—the McCarthy Road and Nabesna Road—provide remarkable opportunities to drive into portions of the park. The historic communities of McCarthy and Kennecott offer access to old copper mines, mountain trails, and the unusually approachable Root Glacier. Scenic flights reveal an even larger wilderness extending far beyond anything visible from the road.

For travelers seeking one of the grandest landscapes in the National Park System, Wrangell–St. Elias is unlike almost anywhere else in the country.

⚡ Wrangell–St. Elias National Park Fast Facts


Location	Southeastern Alaska
Official Name	Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Established	December 2, 1980
Total Area	About 13.2 million acres
Largest U.S. National Park?	Yes
Highest Point	Mount Saint Elias — 18,008 feet
Famous For	Mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, wilderness, Kennecott
Major Access Roads	McCarthy Road and Nabesna Road
Major Historic Site	Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark
Accessible Glacier	Root Glacier
Best Time to Visit	June through early September for most travelers
Entrance Fee	None
UNESCO Status	Part of an international World Heritage Site

Wrangell–St. Elias is so large that a visitor can spend several days exploring its accessible corners while seeing only a tiny portion of the landscape. Much of the interior remains roadless wilderness reached by foot, river, or small aircraft.

🏔️ The Largest National Park in the United States

At approximately 13.2 million acres, Wrangell–St. Elias is America’s largest national park and preserve. It is larger than many U.S. states and several times the size of Yellowstone National Park.

Its immense scale changes the nature of visiting. There is no single scenic loop connecting the park’s primary attractions, nor is there one central visitor area from which everything can be explored. Distances are enormous, roads are few, and mountain ranges and glaciers divide the landscape into distinct regions.

A traveler driving to Kennecott may experience Wrangell–St. Elias as a landscape of abandoned copper mines, glaciers, and rugged peaks. Someone traveling Nabesna Road encounters broad valleys, volcanoes, tundra, and quieter trailheads. A backcountry traveler arriving by bush plane may see almost no roads or buildings at all.

That diversity is one of the park’s greatest strengths. Wrangell–St. Elias can be a road-trip destination, a historical destination, a hiking destination, a glacier adventure, or a true wilderness expedition.

Wooden bridge and buildings at Kennecott copper mine in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska | Kari Ahlers

🪨 Mountains, Volcanoes and Living Geology

Wrangell–St. Elias sits within one of the most geologically dynamic regions in North America.

The Wrangell Mountains, St. Elias Mountains, Chugach Mountains, and the eastern portion of the Alaska Range come together within the broader region. The result is an extraordinary concentration of high peaks, glaciers, fault systems, volcanic features, and deeply carved river valleys.

The Wrangell Mountains are particularly notable because several of their greatest peaks are enormous volcanoes. Mount Wrangell remains an active volcano, although its recent activity has generally involved geothermal heat and steam rather than the dramatic explosive eruptions people often associate with volcanoes.

Nearby Mount Blackburn, Mount Sanford, and Mount Drum add to the impressive volcanic skyline.

Farther south and east, the St. Elias Mountains rise abruptly toward some of the highest elevations in North America. These mountains receive tremendous amounts of snow, feeding enormous glaciers that flow toward interior valleys and the Gulf of Alaska.

The landscape continues to change through glacial movement, erosion, earthquakes, river activity, frost, landslides, and volcanic processes. Wrangell–St. Elias is a place where geology does not feel like ancient history—it is still actively shaping the park.

🏔️ Mount Saint Elias

At 18,008 feet, Mount Saint Elias is the highest mountain in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the second-highest peak in both the United States and Canada.

The mountain sits directly along the Alaska–Yukon border and rises extraordinarily quickly from terrain near sea level. This dramatic vertical relief makes Mount Saint Elias one of the most visually imposing mountains in North America.

Its location near the Gulf of Alaska also exposes the mountain to severe maritime weather. Heavy snowfall, strong storms, large glaciers, and technical climbing conditions make Mount Saint Elias a formidable mountaineering objective.

Most visitors will never approach the summit—and many will not even see the mountain clearly because clouds frequently obscure the high peaks. Scenic flights provide one of the best possibilities for experiencing the scale of the St. Elias Mountains when weather cooperates.

🌋 The Wrangell Mountains

The Wrangell Mountains dominate much of the northern and central park landscape. Unlike many mountain ranges created primarily through folding and faulting, the Wrangells contain a remarkable concentration of enormous volcanic peaks.

Mount Wrangell is perhaps the best known. Its massive, broad summit can sometimes be seen emitting steam from geothermal vents, providing a subtle reminder that volcanic processes remain active beneath the mountain.

Mount Blackburn, Mount Sanford, and Mount Drum are other major landmarks within the range.

When weather is clear, several Wrangell peaks can be seen from highways and viewpoints outside the deeper backcountry, making this part of the park surprisingly approachable despite the enormous wilderness surrounding it.

🧊 A Park of Thousands of Glaciers

Glaciers are among the defining features of Wrangell–St. Elias. Thousands of individual glaciers cover enormous portions of the park, forming one of the greatest concentrations of glacial ice in North America.

Some glaciers remain confined to mountain valleys. Others spill onto broad lowlands, forming enormous piedmont glaciers. Along the coast, tidewater glaciers flow toward the ocean.

The ice is closely connected with nearly every other part of the landscape. Glacial meltwater feeds rivers, carries sediment through valleys, reshapes floodplains, and creates braided channels that constantly shift across the terrain.

Several glaciers within the region rank among the largest of their type anywhere in North America.

🧊 Nabesna Glacier

Nabesna Glacier is one of the most remarkable glaciers in the park and among the world’s longest interior valley glaciers.

It flows for dozens of miles through the mountains, gathering ice from numerous tributary glaciers before extending toward the northern interior of Wrangell–St. Elias.

The glacier is difficult to appreciate fully from ground level because of its enormous size. Aerial views reveal a broad river of ice streaked with dark lines of rock and debris, winding between mountains before spreading into lower terrain.

Nabesna Glacier also influences the surrounding river systems, contributing meltwater and enormous quantities of sediment to the landscape.

🧊 Malaspina Glacier

Near the Gulf of Alaska lies one of Wrangell–St. Elias’s greatest natural features: the Malaspina Glacier.

Rather than remaining confined between mountain walls, Malaspina spreads across a broad coastal plain after emerging from the mountains. This makes it a classic piedmont glacier and the largest example of its type in North America.

Its scale is extraordinary. The glacier covers an area larger than Rhode Island, yet its full size is difficult to understand from the ground.

Vegetation has even colonized portions of debris-covered ice near its outer margins, creating landscapes where forest and glacier can appear intertwined.

Scenic flights offer the clearest way to comprehend Malaspina’s immense fan-shaped form.

🌊 Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier is another giant within the greater Wrangell–St. Elias landscape. Flowing from the mountains of Canada toward Alaska’s coast, it terminates in saltwater near Yakutat.

Unlike many glaciers that have experienced sustained retreat, Hubbard has experienced periods of significant advance.

Its immense tidewater face can calve large pieces of ice into the water, creating one of Alaska’s most dramatic glacier environments.

The glacier lies within a remote coastal portion of the park and is far removed from the roads leading toward Kennecott and Nabesna. This enormous separation demonstrates just how geographically diverse Wrangell–St. Elias really is.

🏚️ Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark

One of the park’s most fascinating destinations is Kennecott, a remarkably preserved former copper-mining community surrounded by mountains and glaciers.

Rich copper deposits were discovered in the region around the beginning of the 20th century. The resulting mining operation became extraordinarily productive, but extracting ore from such an isolated location required an equally extraordinary transportation system.

A railroad was constructed through difficult Alaskan terrain to carry copper from the mines toward the coast. Buildings, power systems, mills, housing, and industrial infrastructure transformed Kennecott into a remote but sophisticated company town.

Mining declined as the richest ore deposits were exhausted, and the operation ultimately closed in the 1930s.

Many buildings remain today, including the striking red mill complex that has become one of the park’s best-known human-made landmarks.

Walking through Kennecott adds an entirely different dimension to a Wrangell–St. Elias visit. Instead of wilderness alone, visitors encounter a story of engineering, labor, transportation, extraction, boom-and-bust economics, and the enormous challenges of industrial activity in remote Alaska.

🏘️ McCarthy

A few miles from Kennecott is McCarthy, a small community with a history closely connected to the mining district.

McCarthy developed partly because life within Kennecott was tightly controlled by the mining company. The settlement outside the company town offered accommodations, entertainment, restaurants, and other services.

Today’s McCarthy remains tiny but serves as an important base for visitors exploring the southeastern interior of Wrangell–St. Elias.

Lodging, guiding services, flightseeing operations, restaurants, and transportation options may be available seasonally. From McCarthy, travelers can continue toward Kennecott and nearby hiking trails.

The town’s remote atmosphere is part of its appeal. Reaching McCarthy requires traveling the long McCarthy Road, so arriving feels more like reaching an expedition outpost than entering a typical national park gateway community.

🚗 The McCarthy Road

The McCarthy Road is one of the two principal roads leading deep into Wrangell–St. Elias.

Beginning near Chitina, the roughly 60-mile road follows portions of the corridor once used by the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. The modern route is mostly gravel and passes through forests, wetlands, river crossings, mountain scenery, and remnants of the region’s railroad history.

Travel is considerably slower than the mileage might suggest. Road conditions can include potholes, washboarding, loose gravel, narrow sections, and other hazards.

Travelers should carry a spare tire, basic emergency supplies, food, water, and enough fuel for the trip. Cell service should never be relied upon.

Rental-car policies also deserve attention. Some companies restrict travel on unpaved Alaskan roads, including the McCarthy Road.

Vehicles stop near the Kennicott River outside McCarthy, with visitors continuing across the pedestrian bridge and using local transportation or walking from there.

The drive is part of the adventure rather than simply a way to get somewhere.

🚗 Nabesna Road

The Nabesna Road provides access to a very different side of Wrangell–St. Elias.

Beginning near Slana, the approximately 42-mile road travels toward the park’s northern interior. The route passes forests, wetlands, volcanic landscapes, broad valleys, and viewpoints toward the Wrangell Mountains.

The first portions are generally the most accessible, while conditions can become increasingly challenging farther along the route. Creek crossings, weather, washouts, and seasonal road conditions may affect how far ordinary vehicles can safely travel.

Unlike the McCarthy side, Nabesna Road does not lead to a major historic tourism center. Its appeal lies largely in scenery, solitude, hiking access, camping, wildlife watching, and the feeling of entering an increasingly remote landscape.

Travelers should check current road conditions before setting out and avoid assuming that all 42 miles will always be comfortably passable.

🥾 Root Glacier

For visitors who want to actually step onto a glacier, Root Glacier is one of the most approachable places in Wrangell–St. Elias.

A trail from Kennecott leads toward the glacier, allowing hikers to reach the ice without a bush flight or major backcountry expedition.

Once on the glacier, visitors may encounter deep blue pools, flowing meltwater, crevasses, ridges of ice, and debris-covered sections that demonstrate how complex a glacier surface can be.

Walking on glacial ice requires caution. Ordinary hiking shoes provide limited traction, and apparently harmless features can conceal serious hazards. Crampons or traction devices are commonly used, and inexperienced visitors may prefer joining a guided glacier hike.

Ice caves can occasionally form within glaciers, but they are particularly hazardous because conditions change constantly. Falling ice, collapsing ceilings, meltwater, and unstable entrances can make entering an ice cave dangerous.

The glacier itself provides more than enough extraordinary scenery without taking unnecessary risks.

Root Glacier Lakes – Wrangell–St. Elias National Park | Cavan-Images

🥾 Hiking in Wrangell–St. Elias

Hiking here is very different from hiking in highly developed national parks.

Wrangell–St. Elias contains some established trails near roads and communities, but enormous portions of the park have no maintained trail system at all. Backcountry travelers often follow river corridors, gravel bars, tundra, ridgelines, game trails, or routes of their own choosing.

Around Kennecott, visitors can reach destinations such as Root Glacier and explore mountain routes overlooking the historic mining area.

Nabesna Road also provides access to several hiking opportunities, including routes leading into quieter wilderness.

Before choosing a hike, consider river crossings, bear activity, terrain, weather, navigation, and distance from assistance. A route that looks short on a map can take much longer than expected when traveling across tundra, loose rock, glacial streams, or dense vegetation.

For experienced hikers, however, the lack of developed trails is one of the park’s greatest attractions.

✈️ Flightseeing

Few experiences reveal the scale of Wrangell–St. Elias as effectively as a flightseeing trip.

From the ground, mountains often block views of what lies behind them. From a small aircraft, entire glacier systems suddenly become visible, icefields stretch toward distant peaks, and enormous rivers wind across valleys with almost no signs of development.

Flights may depart from communities such as McCarthy or other regional airstrips. Routes vary according to operator, weather, and the areas visitors want to see.

Some bush-plane services also provide backcountry drop-offs, allowing experienced hikers and backpackers to begin trips far from the road system.

Weather strongly affects aviation in Alaska. Flights may be delayed, rerouted, or canceled when clouds, wind, visibility, or other conditions become unsuitable.

Building flexibility into an itinerary is therefore essential.

🛶 Rivers and Backcountry Adventure

Wrangell–St. Elias contains a vast network of wild rivers fed by glaciers, snowmelt, springs, and mountain watersheds.

Rafting journeys can range from relatively short guided trips to major wilderness expeditions lasting many days. Glacial rivers are often cold, swift, silty, and braided across wide floodplains.

For hikers, those same rivers can become serious obstacles.

A stream that was easy to cross in the morning may rise significantly as temperatures increase and glacial melt intensifies. Rainfall can cause additional changes. River crossings are therefore among the most important hazards facing backcountry travelers.

Experienced visitors plan conservatively, carry appropriate equipment, and remain prepared to change their route when a crossing becomes unsafe.

🐻 Wildlife in Wrangell–St. Elias

The park’s enormous range of habitats supports an equally impressive range of wildlife.

Both brown bears and black bears inhabit Wrangell–St. Elias. Travelers should follow proper food-storage practices, carry bear spray where appropriate, and understand how to behave during an encounter.

Moose are found in forested valleys and wetland environments. Dall sheep occupy high mountainous terrain, while mountain goats can be found in steep and rugged portions of the park.

Caribou, wolves, coyotes, foxes, wolverines, lynx, porcupines, marmots, beavers, and numerous smaller mammals also occur within the vast protected landscape.

Birdlife includes bald eagles, golden eagles, trumpeter swans, ptarmigan, owls, waterfowl, and many migratory species.

Wildlife sightings are unpredictable. The park’s animals have millions of acres in which to move, so Wrangell–St. Elias is not a destination where seeing particular species should ever be guaranteed.

🌲 Forest, Tundra and Wildflowers

Because Wrangell–St. Elias extends from coastal environments to some of the highest mountains in North America, its plant communities vary enormously.

Low elevations can support forests dominated by spruce, cottonwood, aspen, and willow. Higher terrain gradually transitions into alpine tundra where plants must survive cold temperatures, short growing seasons, wind, and prolonged snow cover.

During the brief Alaskan summer, alpine areas can produce brilliant displays of wildflowers.

Fireweed is among the most recognizable plants in many parts of Alaska, while lupines, mountain avens, asters, and numerous small tundra flowers add color to meadows and stream corridors.

The growing season may be short, but the long summer daylight allows vegetation to develop remarkably quickly.

🪶 Indigenous Connections to the Landscape

Wrangell–St. Elias has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The park’s rivers, mountains, hunting grounds, fisheries, travel corridors, and plant communities have supported generations of human life.

Ahtna people maintain especially important cultural connections with much of the Copper River region, while other Alaska Native communities have longstanding relationships with portions of the immense landscape protected by the park and preserve.

Subsistence remains important in the region today. The establishment of Wrangell–St. Elias as both national park and national preserve reflects, in part, the complex relationship between federal conservation, rural communities, traditional uses, hunting, and continued connections to the land.

Visitors should understand that this is not an empty wilderness. People have lived with, traveled through, named, used, and understood these landscapes for generations.

🌎 An International World Heritage Site

Wrangell–St. Elias forms part of an extraordinary protected landscape extending across the United States–Canada border.

Together with Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska, Kluane National Park and Reserve in Canada’s Yukon, and Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in British Columbia, it belongs to the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek World Heritage Site.

Collectively, these protected lands encompass one of the world’s great mountain and glacier systems.

The international designation recognizes the region’s extraordinary glaciers, geological processes, ecosystems, wildlife habitat, and enormous scale.

For visitors standing in Wrangell–St. Elias, the surrounding wilderness does not simply end at the park boundary. It is part of a much larger protected mountain landscape stretching far across northwestern North America.

🏕️ Camping in Wrangell–St. Elias

Camping ranges from relatively accessible roadside sites to genuine wilderness camping far from any road.

Campgrounds and camping areas are available in portions of the park, particularly along the access-road corridors. Facilities are often far simpler than those found in heavily developed national parks.

Backcountry camping is an entirely different experience. Huge portions of Wrangell–St. Elias are open wilderness where travelers can design their own routes and camps.

That freedom comes with responsibility.

Campers need to understand bear-safe food storage, river hazards, weather, navigation, Leave No Trace practices, and the realities of emergency response in extremely remote terrain.

Weather can remain wet and cold even during summer, so tents, sleeping systems, and clothing should be suitable for genuine Alaskan conditions.

☀️ Best Time to Visit Wrangell–St. Elias

For most travelers, June through early September is the most practical time to visit Wrangell–St. Elias.

June offers exceptionally long daylight hours, while July generally provides some of the warmest conditions of the year. Wildflowers and summer vegetation transform the valleys during this short growing season.

August can remain excellent, although nights become cooler and daylight begins shortening noticeably. By September, autumn colors may appear quickly and snow can return to higher elevations.

Summer does not guarantee warm or dry weather. Rain, cold winds, cloud cover, and rapidly changing conditions are possible at any time.

Winters are long and severe, with limited visitor services and challenging road access. Winter travel is possible for experienced visitors but requires considerably more planning and specialized equipment.

🦟 Mosquitoes and Other Summer Conditions

Mosquitoes are part of summer life in many areas of interior Alaska, and Wrangell–St. Elias is no exception.

Their abundance varies considerably depending on location, temperature, season, wind, and recent rainfall. Wetlands and sheltered areas can sometimes produce particularly intense insect activity.

Packing insect repellent and a head net can make camping and hiking significantly more comfortable.

Visitors should also prepare for intense sunlight. Summer days are extremely long, and sun reflecting from snow or glacial ice can cause burns more quickly than expected.

Sunscreen, sunglasses, and appropriate clothing belong in a summer pack alongside rain gear and warm layers.

🚙 Getting to Wrangell–St. Elias National Park

Wrangell–St. Elias does not have one primary entrance in the traditional sense.

The park headquarters and main visitor center are located near Copper Center, along the Richardson Highway. This is a useful first stop for maps, exhibits, ranger information, and current conditions.

Travelers heading toward McCarthy and Kennecott generally leave the Richardson Highway near Chitina and follow the McCarthy Road.

Those exploring the northern portion of the park can enter along Nabesna Road from near Slana.

Other regions are reached primarily by aircraft, river, or backcountry travel.

The distances involved are significant. A visit to Kennecott and a visit to Nabesna should not be treated as quick stops that can casually be combined in a few hours.

🎟️ Entrance Fees and Permits

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve does not charge a general entrance fee.

Many ordinary day hikes and sightseeing activities also require no permit. Specialized activities, commercial services, public-use cabins, backcountry aviation, hunting within preserve lands, or certain organized trips may involve additional requirements.

Travelers should check current regulations for their specific activities before entering remote areas.

Even when no permit is required, discussing your plans with a ranger can be valuable. Current information about rivers, roads, bears, wildfires, trail conditions, and weather may significantly affect a trip.

🎒 What to Pack for Wrangell–St. Elias

Preparation is particularly important here because services may be many hours away.

Bring clothing that can handle rain, wind, and cold temperatures even during summer. Layers provide far more flexibility than relying on a single heavy jacket.

Sturdy hiking footwear is useful even for relatively short walks because trails can be wet, rocky, muddy, or uneven.

Anyone traveling the McCarthy or Nabesna roads should carry food, water, a spare tire, and basic emergency supplies.

Backcountry travelers require considerably more equipment, including navigation tools, bear-resistant food storage, emergency communication where appropriate, and gear suitable for river crossings and remote camping.

Do not depend entirely on a mobile phone. Large areas have little or no cellular coverage.

📅 How Many Days Do You Need?

Wrangell–St. Elias deserves more time than many first-time visitors expect.

With one day, travelers can visit the Copper Center area or explore part of Nabesna Road, but they will only receive a brief introduction to the park.

Two to three days works better for a trip centered on McCarthy and Kennecott. This allows enough time to drive the McCarthy Road, explore the historic district, hike toward Root Glacier, and potentially join a guided activity.

Four to five days allows a more relaxed experience and creates room for flightseeing, longer hikes, weather delays, or additional exploration.

Travelers interested in serious backpacking, rafting, mountaineering, or remote fly-in adventures could easily spend a week or considerably longer within the park.

In Wrangell–St. Elias, extra time is especially valuable because weather and transportation do not always cooperate with rigid schedules.

🧭 Tips for Visiting Wrangell–St. Elias

Do not approach Wrangell–St. Elias as though it were a conventional drive-through national park. The distances are too large and the infrastructure too limited.

Choose one or two regions and explore them properly rather than trying to cross the entire park.

Check road conditions shortly before driving McCarthy Road or Nabesna Road. Conditions can change quickly, and a road that was straightforward for one traveler may be substantially rougher after heavy rain or maintenance work.

Carry paper maps or offline navigation. Mobile coverage is unreliable, and navigation mistakes become more significant when services are far away.

Build flexibility into any plans involving small aircraft. Weather delays are part of traveling in Alaska.

Finally, take remoteness seriously. Even popular parts of Wrangell–St. Elias can be a long distance from medical facilities, vehicle repair, fuel, or other services.

Preparation makes the wilderness feel liberating instead of intimidating.

❤️ Why Wrangell–St. Elias National Park Is Worth Visiting

Wrangell–St. Elias is difficult to compare with other national parks because its defining characteristic is not a single attraction. It is the scale of the entire landscape.

Mountains rise to more than 18,000 feet. Thousands of glaciers fill valleys and icefields. Wild rivers cross immense floodplains. Volcanoes dominate the horizon. Abandoned copper mines sit beside moving glaciers, while roads eventually give way to terrain where aircraft, rivers, and human feet become the primary means of transportation.

Yet the park remains accessible enough that adventurous travelers do not need to mount a full wilderness expedition to appreciate it.

Driving McCarthy Road, walking through Kennecott, hiking toward Root Glacier, exploring Nabesna Road, or taking a flightseeing trip can provide remarkable experiences without requiring weeks in the backcountry.

Those willing to venture farther encounter something increasingly rare: an enormous protected landscape where routes are not always marked, views do not necessarily have parking lots, and mountains exist whether anyone is there to photograph them or not.

Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve protects Alaska on an almost unimaginable scale. For travelers drawn to glaciers, mountains, history, geology, wildlife, and true wilderness, it is one of the most extraordinary places in the National Park System.