Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve is home to a vast array of special places, including McCarthy, Kennecott, Chisana, Chitina, Slana/Nabesna, Yakutat along the coast and a portion of the Valdez Trail in Copper Center (Headquarters). Many historic places within and around Wrangell-St. Elias allow us a nostalgic glimpse into the past, where people ventured into remote areas and endured the hardships of wilderness, wildlife and weather.
In addition, Wrangell-St. Elias is part of a World Heritage Site and an international treasure.
by Geoff Bleakley, Park Historian (13 pages, pdf format, 1.7 MB)
Kennecott was one of the richest ore bodies ever discovered, and yielded most of the region's mineral wealth. However, significant exploration and mining development occurred elsewhere in the district at the Mother Lode on the east side of Bonanza Ridge; the Green Butte on McCarthy Creek; the Westover on a tributary of Dan Creek; and the Valdez on a tributary of the Kuskulana.
by Shawn Olsen & Ben Shaine (86 pages, pdf format 4.5 MB)
The town of McCarthy and the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark are a center of human activity, residence and development within the vast mountains, valleys, and glaciers of Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Community and Copper in a Wild Land introduces the natural and cultural history of this unusual place. As a general introduction to its natural and cultural history, this book is intended to help those who visit McCarthy, Kennecott and Wrangell-St. Elias feel at home in these special places.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Located at mile 33 Edgerton Hwy in Chitina, Alaska, about 1 hour southeast from the Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center complex. Call for season dates and hours of operation in Summer (907) 823-2205. Chitina Ranger Station is a must-stop for anyone visiting Chitina or venturing down the McCarthy Road to Kennecott. Hikers can obtain park information, backcountry trip-planning, and obtain bear and moose safety info. Federal subsistence fishing permits available.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Located in a historic building, this visitor center has ranger programs, maps, exhibits, an information desk, backcountry trip planning assistance, a bookstore, and a restroom. Get your bear cannisters for backcountry travel here.
Location:Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Season:Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Time Of Day:Day, Dawn, Dusk
Sport fishing in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park offers many opportunities. Arctic grayling, dolly varden, lake trout, steelhead/rainbow trout, whitefish, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, and chinook salmon are widespread. Nothern Pike, cutthroat trout, chum salmon and pink salmon are also available in select areas. Local residents catch burbot, lake trout, rainbow trout, and whitefish through the ice in the winter.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Accessible only by plane or boat, this area encompasses the park's coastal region, with 155 miles of little-known coastline. Here, huge mountains, enormous glaciers, and temperate rainforest meet the ocean. Visitor services are only found in the town of Yakutat, which is a plane or boat ride away from the park. https://www.nps.gov/wrst/planyourvisit/yakutat-and-coast.htm
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Mount St. Elias is the tallest mountain in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Rising to an elevation of 18,008 feet (5,489 m) above Icy Bay, it is the second tallest peak in both the United States and Canada and fourth tallest in North America.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
Icy Bay is along the coast in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve, part of the 155 miles of coastline in the park. The bay was formed in the last 100 years by the rapid retreat of the Guyot, Yahtse, and Tyndall Glaciers.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
The GMO housed the heart of the Kennecott Copper Corporation: its management. Here are the offices of the superintendent, manager, engineers, secretary and draftsmen.
Locations:Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve
One of two bridges, which provides access to McCarthy town and Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark. All visitors must park their vehicles at the end of the road and walk, bike, or take a shuttle into McCarthy and Kennecott. A seasonal private (non-NPS) shuttle to McCarthy (1/2 mile) and to Kennecott (5 miles) is available on the east side of the bridge. Summer hours of shuttle operation are posted in the weather shelter.
Location:Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Season:Spring, Summer, Fall
Time Of Day:Day
Ghost towns were once thriving communities that have dwindled over the decades, often created by the search for gold, copper and other valuable minerals. Some vanished entirely after the boom or were absorbed into newer settlements, but many of these towns still stand today, allowing us a nostalgic glimpse into the past. These places are where people ventured into remote areas to find their mineral fortune and endured the hardships of wilderness, wildlife and weather.
