Denali National Park is located in the United States of America, in Alaska. This means that it can be quite cold in winter and never gets extremely hot in summer. Denali’s main attraction is Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in the United States. Walking here is beautiful and easy, there are walking routes in many places in the park.
General information about Denali national park
Denali National Park is one of the largest national parks in the world. With a gigantic area of almost 25,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest national parks in North America. Because the park is so large, it is divided into different parts. There is a wilderness area of approximately 8,800 square kilometers. The part intended exclusively for nature conservation is approximately 5,400 square kilometers. Tourists hardly ever visit this part, due to the extreme vulnerability of nature.
North America’s highest mountain, Mount McKinley, is located in Denali National Park. This mountain towers above the other mountains and should not be missed during a visit to Denali.
There is enormous peace and quiet to be found in Denali National Park. Relatively few tourists (400,000) know their way to Denali national park. In summer the park is quite passable, although the highest peaks are still impassable. The lower areas of Denali National Park are more accessible in the summer. In the summer you can go hiking, canoeing and enjoy nature. It is highly recommended to go to Denali between the end of May and the beginning of September. It is summer in Alaska, where Denali is located.
In winter, Denali National Park is much less accessible. It is only possible to enter Denali National Park with extremely well-equipped cars and snow vehicles. Think carefully about whether you want to do this! The chance of getting lost is high and rescue services often cannot simply arrive on site.
The general accessibility of the park is of excellent quality, with several roads leading to it. However, it is difficult to move around in the park, as it is not always allowed. There is a shuttle bus available in the park for this purpose, but it is not free.
History of Denali
The early Inuit already lived in this area. They already built houses here and they survived here 12,000 years ago. This did not happen without a struggle, because the cold in winter could demand a lot of energy. Especially during a cold winter, temperatures could drop to minus forty degrees Celsius. Still, they survived and stocked up on supplies during the short but warmer summer.
It was only when the mining industry found its way into Denali National Park that people other than Inuit came to live there. The mining industry mainly focused on gold, because gold is very valuable. Today it is off-limits to the mining industry.
Flora of the park
The park is not very rich in many different types of flora. Mainly due to the harsh winter and the eternal snow in some places, the park is not very developed in that respect. Yet, partly due to the impressive surface area, there are at least 1,500 different species of plants. From mosses to trees and from grasses to flowers, there is all kinds of variation to be found.
Only a few species of plants that do not belong in the park are found there. This is because it is very cold in winter, but also because few people visit Alaska with strange plants. This means that nature remains very true to nature and it is very pleasant for botanists to walk through this park.
The most common tree species is the conifer. Deciduous trees will hardly be found.
Fauna of the park
Many animals live in the park. High-profile animals, but also less high-profile ones. North America’s three largest predators, the wolf, the grizzly bear and the black bear, are found in Denali. The wolf is best known for its conspicuous absence, it is almost never seen. Yet they do live in Denali and can be heard at night. Both types of bears are clearly sighted more often and with a bit of luck they can both be seen during a one-day visit.
Other predators in the park include martens, owls, birds of prey, red foxes and wolverines. Birds of prey are observed with great regularity, but the rest are almost never seen. Certainly the chance of seeing a wolverine is minimal, due to their behavior.
It is striking that one species of amphibian has been able to survive in the icy cold of Alaska: the wood frog. This little frog lives in the many lakes in Denali. The frog can only be seen in summer.
Geological value of Denali
Denali is located in the middle of the Alaska Range. This mountain range, which extends over more than 600 kilometers, is home to the highest mountain in North America: Mount McKinley. This mountain, which towers above everything, is the park’s most striking geological feature. Yet the park offers many more geological special things.
For example, there is a Polychrome Mountain”. This mountain is full of different metals and substances