5 Best Hotels in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska

Three miles before the Kennicott River footbridge to McCarthy, this bed-and-breakfast offers rustic-but-comfortable cabins with cozy beds and an Alaskan-wilderness feel. The hosts, Bonnie and Rick, make guests feel instantly at home after a day of adventure and exploration. Two cabins are rustic, bare-bones affairs, and two have some amenities.

A wall of windows two stories high provides dramatic views of the Wrangell–St. Elias Range and the Copper and Klutina Rivers at this lodge near the national park's main visitor center. Dark-wood accents and Alaskan wildlife and scenery prints adorn each well-appointed room.

At the top of the 10-mile gravel road from McCarthy is an astounding site: a red-and-white lodge with manicured lawns set amid the aged and worn Kennecott Mine and a receding glacier—all with a backdrop of snow-crested peaks. Shuttle service to and from McCarthy and three daily meals are included in the rates at this modern timber lodge, whose small rooms are adorned with artifacts and photos from the mining era. Fresh-baked goods are favorites at the buffet breakfast. You can request a snack lunch to take with you or opt for a sit-down meal, best enjoyed out on the deck overlooking the glacial moraine. Dinner is a "wilderness gourmet" spread served family-style. The front desk can arrange glacier trekking, flightseeing, rafting, and alpine hiking for additional fees.

This remote fly-in-only lodge on the Chitina River in Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve offers four-night "air-safari adventures" packages (starting at $8,550 per person) that include flightseeing, rafting, climbing, hiking, fishing, mushing, and skiing excursions. Three generations of the family that owns and lives at this property are extremely knowledgeable about the area. The family-style meals include local fish, game, and vegetables from the garden, as well as homemade bread, pies, and cakes. Oak floors, wallpaper, wood-burning stoves, and brass beds provide the comforts of home—Bavarian style.