Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
If you have a healthy budget, there are few better destinations to go on bush plane-adventures (with a relatively clear). The typical trip has visitors motoring down McCarthy Road 60 miles (no big rigs). From there, it’s a five-mile walk (or shuttle) into Kennecott National Historic Landmark. So, if you’re thinking of hiking to Root Glacier, tack an extra 10 miles on to that distance. The park is more than 13 million acres of wilderness. That’s four Death Valleys! Most spend very little time, but you could spend a lot with the appropriate skills and resources.
Need to Know
- Almost everyone arrives between June and September, and that’s when you should visit too.
- You can camp in pullouts along the two unpaved roads (McCarthy and Nabesna). There’s also a small primitive campground along Nabesna Road.
- The park recommends high-clearance for both roads.
- Most major rental car companies do not allow their cars to go off pavement.
Highlights
- Root Glacier
- Mount Drum
- Mount Wrangell
- Icy Bay
- Malaspina Glacier
- Logan Glacier
- Kennecott Copper Mine
Activities
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Mountaineering
- Flightseeing
- Rafting
- Floating
- Hunting
- Fishing
Favorite Trails
The main hike everyone does is to Root Glacier.
When To Go?
Weather
Visitation
Weather is pretty okay year-round along the coast, but that changes pretty quickly once you get into the heavily glaciated mountain ranges. Elevation here ranges from sea level to 18,008 feet, and you gain that in a hurry!
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map for the three road-accessible Alaskan parks. It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you!
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
Highlights
I don't know Alaska nearly as well as I'd like. My time and money have been better spent in the Lower 48 where more people go and the parks have a lot more going on (even though they're tiny compared to Alaskan parks).
If you like this, please check out my books or Buy Me a Coffee (more likely some fuel 🙂