Denali

The words

1. Alaska Range

   This 600-mile (966 km) arc of mountains runs from the Canadian border to the Alaska Peninsula. Its highest stretch, crowned by North America’s tallest peak, lies within the park, where the Park Service likens the range to a “spiny backbone.”

   Did you know?

   The range is still being pushed up. The Pacific Plate, diving beneath Alaska and driving that uplift, creeps north about as fast as fingernails grow.

   Park Service: Alaska Range geology (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Denali geology (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Mountain building (opens a new tab)

2. Dall Sheep

   These white wild sheep feed and rest on the park’s high ridges and steep slopes, using crags to escape predators. The Park Service calls their protection the “primary driving force” behind the park’s creation in 1917, after Charles Sheldon lobbied Congress.

   Did you know?

   Each spring, Dall sheep often travel many miles to mineral licks, where they eat the soil itself.

   Park Service: Dall sheep (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Surveying Dall sheep (opens a new tab)

3. Denali

   From Koyukon Athabascan Deenaalee, “the tall one,” per linguist James Kari; Hudson Stuck’s 1914 book gives “the great one.”

   Created in 1917 as Mount McKinley National Park to protect wildlife, the park was tripled in size and renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980. It kept that name when the peak’s official name changed in 2025, the Park Service reports.

   Did you know?

   In 1975 the State of Alaska asked the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to make Denali the peak’s official name. Ohio’s congressional delegation, from McKinley’s home state, blocked the change for the next four decades.

   Park Service: Mountain Name Origins (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Kennels history (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Denali (names) (opens a new tab) · Stuck, The Ascent of Denali (1914) (opens a new tab)

4. Eielson

   The visitor center at Mile 66 of the park road, facing Mount McKinley on clear days, honors pioneer Alaskan aviator Carl Ben Eielson, who died in a 1929 plane crash. Nearby Copper Mountain was renamed Mount Eielson for him in 1930.

   Did you know?

   In 1924, a decade before a tent camp here took his name, Eielson became the first pilot to land in the park.

   Park Service: Eielson Visitor Center (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Early communication (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Carl Ben Eielson (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Mount Eielson (opens a new tab)

5. Hudson Stuck

   As Episcopal Archdeacon of the Yukon, Stuck crossed his vast district by dog sled and boat. He organized the 1913 expedition that made the first ascent of the mountain’s 20,310-foot (6,190 m) south summit on June 7.

   Did you know?

   Stuck’s account of the climb, published in February 1914, opens with “a plea for the restoration” of the mountain’s “immemorial native name.” He put that name first in the book’s title, The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley).

   Park Service: The 1913 climb (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Climbing timeline (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Hudson Stuck (opens a new tab) · Stuck, The Ascent of Denali (1914) (opens a new tab)

6. Kahiltna

   At about 44 miles (71 km), the Kahiltna is the longest glacier in the park and in the Alaska Range. It flows from the mountain’s southwest side; climbers fly in to base camp on its Southeast Fork, at 7,200 feet (2,195 m).

   Did you know?

   Earlier ascents had all gone up the Muldrow Glacier, on the mountain’s northeast side. In 1951 pilot Terris Moore flew Bradford Washburn and three others onto the upper Kahiltna, at 7,650 feet (2,332 m). Four more came overland, and all eight reached the summit.

   Park Service: Glaciers (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Base camp, 2018 (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Science on the slopes (opens a new tab) · Washburn, American Alpine Journal, 1952 (opens a new tab)

7. Kantishna

   This old gold-mining community lies at the far west end of the 92-mile (148 km) park road. News of strikes on Eureka and Glacier creeks in June 1905 drew thousands of prospectors, and the district joined the park in 1980.

   Did you know?

   Fannie Quigley, a Nebraska homesteader’s daughter, came with the 1905 stampede and stayed nearly 40 years, mining, hunting and gardening. She kept vegetables and meat cold in nearby prospect tunnels.

   Park Service: Exploring the park road (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Gold in Kantishna (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Fannie Quigley (opens a new tab)

8. Mount McKinley

   North America’s tallest peak, 20,310 feet (6,190 m), was named in print in 1897 by a prospector who admired President-elect William McKinley. The Park Service reports its official name became Denali in 2015, then Mount McKinley again by a 2025 executive order.

   Did you know?

   By the Park Service’s figures, the mountain’s base sits only about 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, so it rises about three and a half miles (5.6 km), farther than Mount Everest rises from its 14,000-foot (4,267 m) plain.

   Park Service: Mountain Name Origins (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Alaska Range geology (opens a new tab)

9. Polychrome

   This overlook at Mile 45.8 of the park road sits high on Polychrome Mountain, whose descriptive name, meaning “many colors,” suits its vivid volcanic rock. Far below, braided river channels cross the Plains of Murie, with peaks of the Alaska Range beyond.

   Did you know?

   Just east of the overlook, the Pretty Rocks landslide closed the park road in August 2021. A ribbon-cutting on September 2, 2026, marked the completion of a 475-foot (145 m) steel bridge across it; the Park Service expects full bus service in 2027.

   Park Service: Polychrome Overlook (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Polychrome Mountain (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Pretty Rocks Landslide (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Polychrome Area Plan (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Pretty Rocks Bridge, 2026 (opens a new tab)

10. Sable Pass

    Wildlife watchers prize this mostly treeless pass, about Miles 37 to 42 of the park road, for caribou, Dall sheep and grizzlies. To leave them undisturbed, a closure dating from 1956 keeps visitors on the road May through September as of 2026.

    Did you know?

    When the road reached the pass in the late 1920s, tourists could arrive only by train. The closure came as the new Denali Highway raised the prospect of visitors driving their own cars to the park.

    Park Service: Sable Pass (opens a new tab) · 36 CFR 13.918: Sable Pass closure (opens a new tab)

11. Savage River

    As of 2026, the paved road open to private cars in summer ends at the Savage River, Mile 15; beyond it, travel is by bus, bike or foot. Its Lower Tanana name, the Park Service says, is Tr'at'egheth No', “From Cottonwood Creek.”

    Did you know?

    In autumn 1924, cars could jolt over only the first nine miles (14 km) of the new road; horses or wagons carried visitors the rest of the way here. Just 50 of that year’s 200 depot visitors went into the park.

    Park Service: Exploring the park road (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Savage River (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Park Road and early entrance (opens a new tab)

12. Sled Dogs

    The park’s sled dogs began as a patrol force: Harry Karstens, hired in 1921 as the first ranger, founded the kennel to fight poaching. The first dogs were bought on February 23, 1922, and winter patrols lasted months at a time.

    Did you know?

    The 2026 litter, born March 30, was named for other national parks to mark America’s 250th birthday: Sequoia, Mammoth, Rainier, Teton and Mesa, with a sixth pup, Acadia, joining from a partner kennel.

    Park Service: Kennels history (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Puppy Cam, 2026 (opens a new tab)

13. Talkeetna

    Air taxis from this town fly climbers to base camp on the mountain’s south side, but only after they check in and attend an orientation at the park’s ranger station here, renamed the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station by a 2013 law.

    Did you know?

    At the ranger station, climbers are issued Clean Mountain Cans, portable toilets first tried in 2001 and required since 2006. As of 2022, all human waste from below 14,200 feet (4,328 m) on the most popular route had to come back to Talkeetna.

    Wikipedia: Talkeetna, Alaska (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Mountaineering FAQs (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Mountaineering (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Ranger station dedication, 2014 (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Clean Mountain Cans, 2022 (opens a new tab)

14. Walter Harper

    Son of a Koyukon Athabascan mother and an Irish immigrant father, Harper took the lead on summit day and, on June 7, 1913, became the first person to stand on the summit. He died in 1918, when the steamer Princess Sophia sank.

    Did you know?

    On July 19, 2022, the Walter Harper Project unveiled a bronze statue of him in downtown Fairbanks that includes his dog, Snowball.

    Doyon: Walter Harper (opens a new tab) · Wikipedia: Walter Harper (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Climbing timeline (opens a new tab)

15. Wonder Lake

    Near the west end of the park road, this lake, 2.6 miles (4.2 km) long and 280 feet (85 m) deep, was carved out by the Muldrow Glacier. On clear days it offers views of Mount McKinley and the Alaska Range.

    Did you know?

    Ansel Adams’s photograph of Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake was long dated 1947 or 1948. Astronomer Donald Olson later worked out the exact moment: 3:42 a.m. on July 15, 1948.

    Park Service: Wonder Lake (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Wonder Lake geology (opens a new tab) · Park Service: Ansel Adams’s photo (opens a new tab)