Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Active and Adventure Vacations: Snow Sports, Hiking and Backpacking

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Active and Adventure Travel Guide

Active and Adventure Destinations Near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Mount St. Elias in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska (Valentin Sommer/courtesy, National Park Service)

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Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Active and Adventure Travel Tips

By Karen Kefauver

For a challenging and rewarding trek with Pangaea Adventures, hike over the Root Glacier with your crampons. Camp with views of ice falls and towering peaks. It's a great escape without having to hire a bush plane. This moderately strenuous backpacking trip includes camping in the rolling tundra at the base of Donoho Peak. This section of the tour incorporates basic wilderness skills and is an introduction to off-trail, Alaskan-style hiking and glacier trekking.
Somewhat strenuous at times, but with great views of the Chitina river basin, Mount Logan, the Chugach Range, and Mount George, this Wrangell-St. Elias backpacking trip led by Alaska Alpine Treks visits some of the park's remotest country. Both grizzly and black bears roam here, and you may spot Dall sheep, mountain goats, wolves, and a variety of birds.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve has no entrance stations or gates and never actually closes. However, winter arrives early in interior Alaska, and by September 15, available services and facilities are few. The park administration building in Copper Center is open weekdays year-round.
No permit is required for recreational snow machines to operate anywhere in the park when there is adequate snow cover (approximately 12 inches) and frozen ground.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Overview

Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is at the top of more than one list of superlatives. At 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest U.S. national park and preserve. When combined with Glacier Bay National Park and Canada's Kluane National Park and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park, it is the biggest piece of the largest internationally protected area in the world: 24 million acres—larger than the state of Indiana. This World Heritage Site provides a crucial refuge for grizzly bear, caribou, and Dall sheep. Nine of the 16 highest peaks in the United States, and some of the largest mountains (by volume) in the world, are located here. The largest concentration of Dall sheep in North America live here. Enough copper and gold were found here early in the 20th century to make it one of the area's richest deposits.Read More

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Attractions

Malaspina Glacier

Yakutat, Alaska

Distance: 69.2 mi. (from destination center)

Description: The Malaspina Glacier is one of the largest piedmont glaciers in North America and is considered the classic example of a piedmont glacier. It is about 40 miles wide and 28 miles long.... Read More

Expert Rated & Recommended

Hubbard Glacier

Yakutat, Alaska

Distance: 84.2 mi. (from destination center)

Description: Hubbard Glacier is a tidewater glacier that stretches 76 miles to the sea at Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay. It is the largest tidewater glacier in North America.... Read More

Expert Rated & Recommended