Denali National Park is Alaska's Top Destination
Mt. McKinley or Denali is the Tallest Mountain in North America.
May 20, 2009
The largest contiguously protected land mass in the world, more than six million acres, Denali National Park first received federal protection as a result of the Dall sheep that thrive in this wilderness. Today Denali is the most prominent of Alaska’s national parks, with more than a half million visitors each year, many coming for glimpses of animals that remains more wild here than any place in North America.
Mt. McKinley and DenaliSome call it Mt. McKinley. Others call it The Mountain. But to all who have felt her spirit, the mountain is called Denali.
In 1906, East coast businessman Charles Sheldon visited here and became enthralled with the region, but on a return hunting trip just two years later, the intrigue became alarm at the rapid depletion of the sheep herds and other wildlife by hunters feeding railroad workers.
Today, wildlife and natural history tours via park bus travel along the back roads of the park that are otherwise restricted to private vehicle, allowing visitors to see those sheep, along with bear, caribou and other animals. However, those tours are often crowded and frustrating for anyone truly wishing to photography or simply quietly appreciate the animals in their natural environment.
Perhaps the best way to experience the park without the company of others is to take the green park bus to any of the dozens trail heads. Here you may walk in relative solitude and enjoy more than 600 species of flowering plants and the caribou, moose, bear and wolves in their natural state. Take time to learn the safety precautions of hiking in this landscape and remember that wildlife is indeed wild and sometimes dangerous.
Climbing Mt. McKinley
Others come to Denali to see and climb the mountain. Each year, about 1200 people try, and more than half fail, sometimes losing their lives in the attempt. Many of these climbers base in the quirky village of Talkeetna about 50 miles to the south. From the Talkeetna Airport, you can book a McKinley flight-seeing tours that allow those less inclined to climb it to instead circle the mountain by air, witness the efforts of the climbers and, if weather permits, to land on an ice field and walk on the side of the great mountain. At a cost of about $150 per person per hour, many say that such an expenditure of funds is more than the highlight of their trip to Alaska, it becomes a defining moment of their lives.
Talkeetna is a base camp for Denali climbers
A less challenging alternative to climbing or even flying around Denali is a visit to The West Rib in Talkeetna, a ramshackle bar and grill named for the first ascent of McKinley’s treacherous ridge called the West Rib.
Flags and banners cover the walls from the thousands of climbers over the years who have used Talkeetna as a base in preparation for climbing The Mountain. Messages from search and rescue teams are a somber reminder that each year about 30 of those 1200 who attempt the climb are unsuccessful in the worst way.
Lodging is available in Talkeetna, as well as several hotels at the entrance of Denali National Park.
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