America's largest national park — a wilderness of giants you can drive into.
Photo: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Wrangell–St. Elias is almost too big to picture: at 13.2 million acres it's the largest national park in the United States, and by the Park Service's own comparison the same size as Yellowstone, Yosemite and Switzerland combined. Four mountain ranges collide here, throwing up some of the continent's highest peaks (Mount St. Elias, 18,008 feet) and the greatest concentration of glaciers in North America, more than 3,000 of them, plus an active volcano in Mount Wrangell. Yet unlike most of Alaska's parks, you can actually drive into this one.
Two long gravel roads pierce the wilderness. The famous one, the McCarthy Road, runs about 60 rough miles to a footbridge on the Kennicott River and the old copper town of Kennecott beyond it — the red mill buildings, the 14-story concentration mill among them, restored as a National Historic Landmark — where you can hike right out onto the Root Glacier. The other, the remote Nabesna Road, reaches the park's lonelier northern flank. From either, bush planes lift off for flightseeing over icefields no road could ever reach.
It's free, but the logistics are the adventure. The McCarthy Road is slow, washboarded and built on an old railbed — the park warns that old ties and the occasional spike still work their way to the surface, so carry a spare — and most rental companies forbid driving it. It ends at a footbridge no car crosses; you walk, bike or shuttle in from there. Plan on summer (late May to mid-September), fill the tank before you turn off because there is no fuel on either park road, and consider a guide for stepping onto the glacier ice.
Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest national park in the country and it has exactly two roads into it, both gravel, both long, and both ending somewhere that is not quite where you wanted to go. The McCarthy Road runs 60 miles and takes two to three hours each way. Most major rental companies will not let you drive either of them.
Follows the route of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway east to the Kennicott River. Gravel, two to three hours each way, with blind curves, weather-cut ruts and one-lane crossings that make large vehicles difficult. The Kuskulana Bridge at mile 17.2 is the one people remember — a single lane 238 feet above the river with nowhere to pull over. Most passenger cars manage the road in normal summer conditions; the state maintains it mid-May to mid-September and not much after that.
Forty-two miles of gravel from Slana, generally passable in a two-wheel-drive car — though higher clearance or four-wheel drive is occasionally needed beyond mile 29, and the last four miles are unmaintained and not recommended for vehicles at all.
The park headquarters and main visitor center sit on the Richardson Highway at mile 106.8, near Copper Center — about ten miles south of Glennallen. Everything paved stops around the park’s edges; the two gravel roads are the only way in.
The classic Wrangell drive, and it ends at a car park by the Kennicott River — you cross to McCarthy and Kennecott on foot, by bike or on a shuttle. The road itself is the experience, on an old railbed with the mountains ahead.
TipThe park says to carry at least one spare tire and an adequate jack, which is advice worth taking literally. Check your rental agreement — most major companies prohibit gravel roads outright, though some independents allow it for a fee.
The quieter northern route into the park, fine in an ordinary car for the first stretch and progressively less so. The final four miles are deeply rutted and wet and the park does not recommend driving them.
TipTurn around before the unmaintained section unless you are equipped and know what you are doing. There is no help out here and no phone signal.
The red buildings of an early-1900s copper boomtown, the 14-story concentration mill among them, restored as a National Historic Landmark high above the Kennicott Glacier.
Insider tipYou can walk among the exterior buildings on your own; the mill interior is accessible only on a guided tour — book ahead in summer.
Plan a trip to this spot →A moderate, mostly level walk from Kennecott right onto the ice — about 4 to 8 miles round trip, ending where you can step onto a living glacier.
Insider tipYou can reach the toe on your own, but crampons and a guide are strongly advised to actually walk out on the ice — guided glacier walks run daily in summer.
Plan a trip to this spot →A strenuous climb — roughly 9 miles round trip and nearly 4,000 feet of gain — to an old mine perched high above the valley, with vast Chugach and glacier panoramas.
Insider tipSave it for a clear day, start early, and carry plenty of water; it's a long, exposed haul.
Plan a trip to this spot →The trip's defining adventure — about 60 miles of narrow gravel on an old railbed to the Kennicott River footbridge, where the road simply ends.
Insider tipAllow two to three hours each way, carry a spare tire and a jack, and check your rental agreement — most major companies forbid gravel roads outright. No car crosses the footbridge at the end.
Plan a trip to this spot →The park's other, lonelier gravel access — 42 miles from Slana between the ranges, past Dall sheep country and the historic Nabesna Mine.
Insider tipFar fewer services than McCarthy, and some stream crossings can stop a low-clearance car — check conditions before you go.
Plan a trip to this spot →Bush-plane flights reveal the giants — Mount St. Elias, Mount Blackburn, the active Mount Wrangell, and icefields impossible to see from the road.
Insider tipBook ahead in peak summer; flight operators in McCarthy also offer backcountry drop-offs.
Plan a trip to this spot →Subarctic interior: short, cool summers — only June through August reach the 60s to low 70s, with nights still in the upper 30s — and very cold winters with sub-zero lows. The wettest stretch is mid-to-late summer into early fall, just when most visitors come, so pack rain gear. Daylight swings hard this far north: close to twenty hours of it in June, under five in December.
Two long gravel roads, plus air taxis — and a footbridge where the road ends. Fuel and stock up before you commit.
About 60 miles of gravel from Chitina to the Kennicott River footbridge — roughly 8 hours in total from Anchorage. No car crosses the bridge, so you park and go on from there: half a mile to McCarthy, five miles to Kennecott, on foot, by bike or on a summer shuttle. Two private lots by the bridge charge for day or overnight parking; free day-only parking is at the State Wayside (mile 55) and the McCarthy Road Information Station (mile 58.6).
The remote northern access — 42 miles of gravel from Slana on the Tok Cutoff, with far fewer services. Air taxis from McCarthy and Chitina can skip the gravel entirely.
Small, seasonal lodges and B&Bs at McCarthy/Kennecott, campgrounds along the road, and services on the way in.
Kennicott Glacier Lodge (the only lodge in historic Kennecott), plus McCarthy lodges and B&Bs like Ma Johnson's — all small and seasonal.
Booking tipBook well ahead for summer; these fill fast.
Private campgrounds along the McCarthy Road (some with showers and a small eatery) and riverside sites near the footbridge, plus dispersed backcountry camping in the park.
Booking tipBase Camp Kennicott sits within walking distance of the footbridge — handy for an early start across.
The services hub on the way in (and the main park visitor center) — the last reliable fuel, groceries, and lodging before the long gravel push.
Booking tipFuel up and stock food here; services beyond are minimal and seasonal.
Is it free?
Yes — Wrangell–St. Elias has no entrance fee. Tours, shuttles, lodging, and flightseeing are paid private services.
What's the gravel-road reality?
The McCarthy Road is about 60 miles of slow gravel on an old railbed — two to three hours each way, with soft shoulders, potholes and the occasional railroad spike working its way up, so carry a spare tire and a jack. Most major rental companies forbid gravel roads, so check your contract. And it ends at a footbridge — no cars cross; you walk, bike or shuttle in to McCarthy and Kennecott.
How do I see Kennecott and walk on a glacier?
From the footbridge, a shuttle or a walk gets you to Kennecott; the Root Glacier Trail leads from there right to the ice. You can reach the toe on your own, but crampons and a guide are strongly advised to walk out onto the glacier — guided walks run daily in summer.
It's huge and remote — what about fuel and supplies?
There is no gas station on either park road, so fill up before you turn off — Glennallen, Copper Center, Kenny Lake or Chitina for the McCarthy Road, Gakona or Tok for the Nabesna. Carry food and cash too: services beyond are minimal and seasonal, and cell coverage is unreliable.
When should I go?
Late May to mid-September, when the visitor centers, shuttles, guides and flight operators are all running — the Kennecott Visitor Center keeps the shortest season of the lot, and the one at Copper Center opens a couple of weeks earlier. Summer is short and cool but also the wettest stretch, so pack rain gear.
What about flightseeing?
It's the best way to grasp the scale — bush-plane flights from McCarthy or Chitina reveal the high peaks and vast icefields no road reaches. Book ahead in peak summer.
Pick your vehicle, line up the stops on the way in and out, and carry the whole route in your pocket.
