Denali National Park and Preserve

The most accessible of Alaska's national parks and one of only three connected to the state's highway system, 6-million-acre Denali National Park and Preserve is one of North America's finest and easiest places to see wildlife in its natural environment. Nowhere in the world is there more spectacular background scenery to these wildlife riches, with 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley looming above forested valleys, tundra-topped hills, and the glacier-covered peaks of the Alaska Range.

McKinley, commonly known by its Athabascan name, Denali, meaning "the high one," is North America's tallest mountain. Unfortunately for visitors with little time to spend in the area, McKinley is wreathed in clouds an average of two days of every three during the summer. However, if you plan ahead and venture far enough into the park, you'll have a better chance of seeing the mountain in all its glacier-capped magnificence. Although most Denali visitors are content to contemplate Mt. McKinley from afar, more than 1,000 adventurers climb the mountain's slopes each summer.

You need not climb Mt. McKinley to appreciate the park; in fact, most people who visit Denali will never come closer than 35 mi to the mountain's snowy, glacier-covered base. The park is both a hiker's and wildlife-watcher's paradise. The 92-mi Denali Park Road (the one road in the park) is unpaved after the first 15 mi; while private-vehicle access is limited, in summer you can travel into the heart of Denali on shuttle buses. Those bus rides present the best opportunity to see grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, and many other critters, from soaring golden eagles to the chattering ground squirrels that scurry along the road. If you love biking, you can take on the park road with sturdy tires. It's also possible to gain an eagle's-eye view of this mountainous landscape on flightseeing tours. The bulk of the parkland, however, is accessible only on foot in summer or by dog team or cross-country skis in winter.

For all the challenges of access and planning, those who explore Denali are certain to reap many rewards: wilderness solitude, a sense of discovery, wildlife encounters, and a greater appreciation of the landscape's immensity and the rigors of the subarctic climate.