Denali National Park and Preserve spans over six million acres of interior Alaska wilderness, with Denali (20,310 ft) standing proudly at its core. The park protects sweeping tundra, spruce forests, glaciers, alpine ridges, and habitat for wildlife like grizzly bears, moose, caribou, wolves, and Dall sheep.

For centuries, Indigenous Athabascan peoples called the mountain Denali, meaning “the High One.” In the late 1800s, a gold prospector named it “Mount McKinley” in honor of William McKinley, who would become U.S. president. In the early 1900s, conservationist Charles Sheldon and members of the Boone and Crockett Club began pushing for federal protection of the region. After nearly a decade of campaigning, President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation on February 26, 1917, creating Mount McKinley National Park.

Over the next few decades, the park’s boundaries expanded in 1922, 1932, and 1947 to include more terrain, visitor facilities, and railroad lands. In 1976, President Jimmy Carter designated the park an international biosphere reserve, emphasizing ecosystem conservation. Two years later, Carter signed into law the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which nearly tripled the size of the park and combined it with surrounding public lands to form Denali National Park & Preserve.

In 2015, the federal government formally restored the mountain’s name to Denali under an order by President Barack Obama and the Secretary of the Interior, aligning federal nomenclature with Alaska’s longstanding usage and Indigenous tradition.

Today, visitors come via the Parks Highway, Denali Highway, or Alaska Railroad to the seasonal entrance hub, where lodging, dining, and tours are available. With opportunities for hiking, backcountry camping, rafting, and flightseeing, the park remains one of the most iconic wilderness destinations in the U.S.

Did You Know?

• Denali rises roughly 18,000 feet from its base — more than Mount Everest’s height above sea level.

• The park is larger than the U.S. state of New Hampshire.

• Only the first 15 miles of the Denali Park Road are open to private vehicles. Beyond that, access is by shuttle or tour.

• About 16 % of the park is covered by glaciers, including the massive Muldrow Glacier.

• The original park was created in 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson after nearly 10 years of advocacy.

• The 1980 expansion under ANILCA was signed by President Jimmy Carter, growing the park to its current scale.

• The name change from “Mount McKinley” to “Denali” was made official in 2015 through an order by President Obama