Denali National Park |
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Denali National Park is located in central Alaska and contains the tallest mountain in North America--Mount McKinley (20,320 feet), also called Denali, Athabaskan for "the great one". When the park was first established, in 1917, it didn't even include the summit of namesake peak. Since then, the park has been expanded and is larger than the state of Massachusetts. The high peaks of the Alaskan Range and the surrounding tundra and taiga are home to a wonderful array of wildlife. Visitors commonly see grizzly bears, caribou, Dall sheep, moose, and foxes. Herds of caribou roam throughout the park. Less common but still regularly seen are the park's many wolves. Black bears are also occasionally seen, and the very lucky visitor might glimpse a wolverine. Due to the collective care of the park staff, Denali has become a premier destination for wildlife viewing.
Reaching Denali National Park takes some planning. No cars are allowed into the park during the summer. However, trains from Anchorage and Fairbanks service the park daily; the one-way trip is just under 4 hours from Fairbanks and just under 8 hours from Anchorage. Once at the park entrance, a shuttle bus or tour bus ride takes visitors inside to see the views. Trips are at least 25 miles round trip and most are 100 miles or more, there and back. After making arrangements with the park staff, backpackers also take a shuttle to their starting point.
Just about every famous nature photographer will at some point make a visit to Denali for its tremendous landscapes and abundance of wildlife. Even if you aren't a famous nature photographer, you will likely appreciate the landscape, too.
This article is based on work found at WikiTravel. A list of contributors is available a the original article. This article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license.
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