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Road Through Denali
Photograph by Nic McPhee, submitted to My Shot
Denali's singular 92-mile (148-kilometer) road leads visitors through its majestic valleys toward the towering Mount McKinley, the crown jewel of the park. On clear days, McKinley can be seen 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the southwest.
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Climbers on Mount McKinley
Photograph by Alaska Stock Images
Climbing Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak, is a daunting task for even the most experienced mountaineers at Denali National Park in Alaska. Less adventurous visitors can look for the park's “Big Five” animals: moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolves, and grizzly bears.
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Bull Moose Fight
Photograph by Michael Jones
Other North American parks have their wildlife, but none has animals so visible or diverse as Denali. Aggressive bull moose often spar with their antlers during breeding season while fighting for females, called cows.
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Alaska Railroad
Photograph by Alaska Stock Images
Many Denali-bound travelers use the Alaska Railroad, which drops visitors off at the entrance to the park. In summer, the railroad runs between Anchorage and Fairbanks and stops daily at the Denali railroad station.
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Grizzly Bears
Photograph by Michael S. Quinto
Grizzly bears are easily identifiable by their distinctive shoulder humps and long-clawed front paws. Solitary creatures, the omnivorous bears usually roam by themselves—except for grizzly mothers, usually accompanied by their rambunctious young.
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Aurora Borealis
Photograph by Cary Anderson/Aurora Photos
Winter visitors to Denali National Park are sometimes treated to a viewing of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, seen here beaming down above the Chugach Mountains south of the park.
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Climber on Mount McKinley
Photograph by Kevin Steele/Aurora Photos
Other U.S. parks have their mountains, but none with a summit so towering as McKinley. The park was originally named after the peak; in 1980 it was renamed Denali, an Athabaskan name for the mountain meaning "the great one."
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Dall Sheep
Photograph by Alaska Stock LLC
Nimble-footed and fearless, Dall sheep, the world's only species of wild white sheep, cling to upper ridges and steep slopes throughout Denali. Males, called rams, have large curling horns that are used in fights.
