Travel Guide Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Much less well known than Denali National Park, because it is less accessible and has fewer amenities, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is surely just as beautiful and enchanting. This park, six times larger than Yellowstone, has a variety of landscapes, from rivers, plains and snow-capped mountains, to towering glaciers. Established in 1980, it is part of the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek National Park System, a group of national parks located on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border and the first bi-national UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest park in the United States in terms of area at 53,321 km2. Yet only two gravel roads cross it, McCarthy to the west and Nabesna to the north. The rest is pure wilderness with unmarked hiking trails. The park has very little infrastructure. This gives you a total freedom, but in return you have to be autonomous on the spot. Mount St. Elias is located at the edge of the park. It is the second highest peak in the United States. Half of the sixteen highest peaks in the country are in Wrangell-St. Elias Park. It is easy to say that here you will gain altitude very quickly and lovers of hiking, climbing and mountains will find something to satisfy their passion.