Alaska National Parks
(Printer version Alaska
National Parks)
Highlights from your Alaska vacation will
certainly
include a visit to one or more of Alaska’s national parks. We are happy to
provide this overview of some of Alaska’s largest and most visited national
parks, courtesy of the National Park Service. Click on a Park link for more
information on transportation, lodging and activities.
Denali National Park
It's more than
a
mountain. Denali National Park & Preserve features North America's highest
mountain, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes
countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. Denali's more
than 6 million acres also encompass a complete sub-arctic eco-system with large
mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and moose. The park was
established as Mt. McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park
was designated a wilderness area and incorporated into Denali National Park and
Preserve in 1980. The Park was designated an international biosphere reserve in
1976.
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Best known for its Brown bears and large
populations of Salmon and other sport fish, Katmai National Park and Preserve is
located about 290 air miles southwest of Anchorage. The park is bounded by
Shelikof Strait to the east, the Lake Iliamna watershed to the north, the
Bristol Bay coastal plain to the west, and the Becharof Lake watershed to the
south. Originally established as a National Monument in 1918 to preserve
geological features related to the 1912 eruptions of Mt. Katmai and Novarupta
volcano, the park was redesignated a national park and preserve as part of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980.
Kenai Fjords National Park
Sweeping from rocky
coastline
to glacier-crowned peaks, Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses 607,805 acres
of unspoiled wilderness on the southeast coast of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The
park is capped by the Harding Icefield, a relic from past ice-ages and the
largest icefield entirely within U.S. borders.
Visitors witness a landscape continuously shaped by glaciers, earthquakes, and
storms. Orcas, otters, puffins, bear, moose and mountain goats are just a few of
the numerous animals that make their home in this ever-changing place where
mountains, ice and ocean meet.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve includes
almost
all of the rugged Chigmit Mountains, which are located at the convergence of the
Alaska and Aleutian mountain ranges in Southwest Alaska. The Park and
Preserve was created in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act. This act states that it is to be managed, "to protect the
watershed necessary for the perpetuation of the red salmon fishery in Bristol
Bay; to maintain unimpaired the scenic beauty and quality of portions of the
Alaska Range and the Aleutian Range, including volcanoes, glaciers, wild rivers,
lakes, waterfalls, and alpine meadows in their natural state; and to protect
habitats for and populations of fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to
caribou, Dall sheep, brown/grizzly bears, bald eagles, and peregrine falcons."
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
The Chugach, Wrangell, and St. Elias
mountain
ranges converge here in what is often referred to as the "mountain kingdom of
North America." The largest unit of the National Park System and a day's drive
east of Anchorage, the park-preserve includes the continent's largest assemblage
of glaciers and the greatest collection of peaks above 16,000 feet. Mount St.
Elias, at 18,008 feet, is the second highest peak in the United States. Adjacent
to Canada's Kluane National Park, the site is characterized by remote mountains,
valleys, wild rivers, and a variety of wildlife. Proclaimed as Wrangell-St.
Elias National Monument Dec. 1,1978; established as a national park and preserve
Dec. 2, 1980. Wilderness designated Dec. 2, 1980. Designated a World Heritage
Site Oct. 24,1979.
More Information
For more information on Alaska's National Parks, visit the National Park Service
website at www.nps.gov.
Alaska
National Parks
Denali National Park,
Kenai Fjords National Park,
Lake Clark National Park,
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Alaska State
Parks by Region
Anchorage,
Interior
Alaska,
Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak,
Mat-Su Valley,
Prince William Sound,
Southeast
Alaska,
Southwest
Alaska
Alaska State Parks by Name
Anchor River State Recreation Area and Stariski SRS,
Birch Lake State Recreation Site,
Caines Head State Recreation Area and Resurrection Bay State Marine Parks,
Captain Cook State Recreation Area,
Chena River State Recreation Area,
Chena River State Recreation Site,
Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve,
Chugach State Park,
Clam Gulch State Recreation Area,
Deep Creek State Recreation Area,
Delta Junction Area State Parks,
Denali State Park,
Haines Area State Parks,
Harding Lake State Recreation Area,
Independence Mine State Historical Park,
Kachemak Bay State Park and State Wilderness Park,
Kasilof Area State Parks,
Kenai River Special Management Area,
Kodiak Area State Parks,
Nancy Lake State Recreation Area,
Ninilchik State Recreation Area,
Point Bridget State Park,
Salcha River State Recreation Site,
Sitka Area State Parks,
State Marine Parks in Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay,
Summit Lake State Recreation Site,
Tok Area
Parks,
Totem Bight State Historical Park,
Upper Chatanika State Recreation Site,
Wickersham State Historic Site,
Wood-Tikchik State Park
For information on Alaska State Parks,
visit the Alaska
State Parks web site.
