It's more than a mountain. Denali National Park & Preserve features North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. Denali's more than 6 million acres also encompass a complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and moose.

Denali, the "High One," is the name Athabascan native people gave the massive peak (Mount McKinley) that crowns the 600 mile long Alaska range. Many generations of native Athabascans wandered over this region before Caucasians began to discover and explore it. Nomadic bands hunted lowland hills of Denali's northern reaches spring through fall for caribou, sheep and moose. They preserved berries for winter, netted fish, and gathered edible plants. As snow began to fall, they migrated to lower elevations, closer to the river valleys' better protection from winter's severe weather. Much of the Alaska Range formed a mighty barrier between interior Athabascans and Cook Inlet Athabascans to the south.

The park was established as Mt. McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917. The original park was designated a wilderness area and incorporated into Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980. The Park was designated an international biosphere reserve in 1976.

Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner
Get a taste of old-time Alaska at ALASKA CABIN NITE, the popular dinner theater performed in an authentic, log-paneled roadhouse.

Join heroine, Fannie Quigley, and an unforgettable cast of characters in this true-to-life Gold Rush tale of adventure in early 1900s Alaska. It's a great mix of colorful storytelling, spirited music and humor, brought to life by talented performers. Everyone in your group will love the lighthearted entertainment and hearty cuisine of Alaska's most unique dinner theater. The all-you-can-eat meal is served family-style, and includes: Alaskan Salmon, Barbecue Ribs, Fork Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Old-Fashioned Baked Beans, Drop Biscuits and Blueberry Cobbler.

Kantishna
Kantishna, just past Wonder Lake and on the banks of Moose Creek, you'll find some of Denali National Park's prettiest scenery. Several mining camps were established in this small, Denali backcountry town following the discovery of gold in Glacier Creek in 1905. The town’s population hit over 2000 during that first summer.

Thousands of gold seekers streamed into the Kantishna Hills during the fall and winter of 1905. "Practically every creek that heads into the Kantishna Hills was staked from source to mouth and intervening ridges were not ignored." Today, visitors from around the world come to Kantishna not for gold, but for the natural beauty and solitude of this special place.