Denali National Park History & Background:

The word "Denali" means "the High One" in the native Athabaskan language and refers to the mountain itself. The mountain was named after president William McKinley of Ohio in 1897 by local prospector William A. Dickey, although McKinley had no connection with the region.

Charles Sheldon took an interest in the Dall sheep native to the region, and became concerned that human encroachment may threaten the species. After his 1907-1908 visit, he petitioned the people of Alaska and Congress to create a preserve for the sheep. The park was established as Mount McKinley National Park on February 26, 1917. Ironically, only a portion of Mount McKinley (not even including the summit) was within the original park boundary. The park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976. A separate Denali National Monument was proclaimed by Jimmy Carter on December 1, 1978.

Mount McKinley National Park, whose name had been subject to local criticism from the onset, and Denali National Monument were incorporated and established into Denali National Park and Preserve by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, December 2, 1980. At this time the Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain back to "Denali," even though the U.S. Board of Geographic Names maintains "McKinley". Alaskans tend to use "Denali" and rely on context to distinguish between the park and the mountain. The size of the national park is 4,740,906.73 acres (19,185.78 km).

Denali National Park’s habitat is a mix of taiga or boreal forest at the lowest elevations, tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, rock, and snow at the highest elevations. Today, the park hosts more than 400,000 visitors who enjoy wildlife viewing, hiking, day tours, mountaineering, and backpacking. Wintertime recreation includes dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling where allowed.

Denali Lodging, Hotels, and Denali Tours

The Denali area (just outside of the National Park) offers a variety of Denali lodging options, including: hotels, resorts, national park wilderness lodges, camping and RV parks, plus many other visitor services. Other activities available in the park and the surrounding area include hiking, rock and ice climbing, photography, wildlife viewing, nature walks, horseback safaris, jeep excursions, river rafting, golfing and flightseeing tours.

Denali bus tours and guided excursions are the only way to see the true wonders of Denali National Park, as private vehicles aren’t allowed past Mile 14 of the Denali Park road. The 91 mile road into the park offers views of Wonder Lake, Savage River, Polychrome Pass, Sanctuary River, Muldrow Glacier, the Outer Range, the Kantishna Mining District, and, of course, Mount McKinley, Mount Hunter, and Mount Foraker. While on the tour, visitors often see caribou herds, grizzly and black bear, wolves, moose, Dall sheep, lynx, and a variety of birds, including Bald and Golden eagles, great horned owls, and Willow Ptarmigan, Alaska’s state bird.