Denali State Park

Denali State Park
Byers Lake view of Denali and the Alaska Range
Type	Wilderness
Location	147.1 Parks Highway, north of Trapper Creek^[1] Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, USA
Coordinates	62°46′12″N 150°03′12″W / 62.77000°N 150.05333°W / 62.77000; -150.05333Coordinates: 62°46′12″N 150°03′12″W / 62.77000°N 150.05333°W / 62.77000; -150.05333^[2]
Area	325,240 acres (131,620 ha)
Created	1970 (expanded to present size in 1976)
Operated by	Alaska State Parks

Denali State Park is a 325,240-acre (131,620 ha) state park in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located adjacent in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough ^[3] to the east side of Denali National Park and Preserve, along the Parks Highway.

View of Alaska Range from Denali State Park

The park is undeveloped wilderness with the exception of the two day-use areas, three campgrounds, and two trailheads accessible from the Parks Highway.^[1]

Alaska Veterans Memorial
Denali Viewpoint South
Byers Lake Campground, near Byers Lake
Denali Viewpoint North Campground
Lower Troublesome Creek Campground
Upper Troublesome Creek Trail (closed in 2009 due to washouts caused by severe flooding)^[4]
Little Coal Creek Trail

Overview / Nearby

Denali State Park is a 325,240 acres State Park in Alaska [1](Alaska). It is located on the south eastern boarder of Denali National Park and Reserve formerly known as Mt. McKinley National Park, a much larger and more popular park in the area. Denali State Park is in the southern portion of Alaska. Denali State Park is situated between Fairbanks and Anchorage Alaska. Alaska’s highway 3, George Parks Highway, connects both Fairbanks and Anchorage and runs directly through Denali State Park (Alaska)[1]. This highway provides access to many different hiking routes and look out points which allow visitors to see Mount McKinley and many different parts of the natural environment only found in Alaska. One of these points include Kesugi Ridge in the Peters Hills area (Alaska)[1].[2] A very popular trail which is known for its incredible views of the Alaska Range and tundra around it. The Alaska Range runs just north of Denali State Park and inside of Denali National Park, making the national park a more well known tourist destination. Denali State Park is in sight of Mount McKinley, also known as Mount Denali. Mount McKinley is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation 20,310 feet above sea level. Since it rises roughly 18000ft base to peak it is the largest mountain situated entirely above sea level (NPS)[3][3] Making the area a very popular tourist site. The state park boarders the Susitna River to the east which feeds into the Gompertz Channel near Anchorage then to the ocean. There are several other rivers in the park and the surrounding area which are visited by tourists. Denali State Park is home to many different terrains, animals, plants, and opportunities to safely and respectfully enjoy these parts of a natural wild environment.

Attractions

The Denali State Park wilderness draws many different types of visitors for many different reasons. It gives many opportunities to explore for families, backpackers, canoers, kayakers, rock climbers, and just people driving through. Some of its main attractions are the views of Mount McKinley with easy look out points for visitors driving through. Sometimes though it is hard to view the peak due to clouds and other weather issues. Mount McKinley as one of the main attractions is not the only peak one can view and its surrounding range is not the only place for exploration. The Talkeetna Mountains to the east also offer different levels of climbing and backpacking experiences (Waits)[4]. Divided by a large valley there are many different views of Alaska looking in either direction. The tundra on the surrounding plateau of the ranges and in the park also offer a unique environment for plants and animals. This terrain also offers lots of small lakes to be formed which are easy to hike to and visit. Following regularly used trails will allow visitors to view many of the parks natural beauties during their trip. Rivers in the area allow for clear water canoeing and rapids for different levels of canoers and kayakers. This area is also known for its salmon fishing during season. Since the environment is still very rugged and uninhabited it is left virtually wild and using proper camping and environmental practices keeps the park clean for the next visitor to see it as wild as it should be. Different seasons strike the area as well. During summer there is almost 21 hours of constant daylight every day with the sun barely dropping behind the horizon (Alaska)[1]. The summer temperature is in the 80s and lower making for nice conditions to view many attractions. During winter the sun stays hidden most of the day and can get down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (Alaska)[1] with snow covering most of the land. During all of the seasons the surrounding glaciers in the area can be visited and their distinct runoff paths can be seen.

Wildlife

There is a very diverse habitat in the park with not only animals but plants. Animals visitors may see include grizzly and black bears, deer, moose, elk, beavers and other smaller ground mammals (NPS)[3]. Certain seasons will bring more insects like mosquitos so visitors should be prepared. The tundra is home to many unique plant species which are able to survive the winter and summer without dying and along waterways many different trees and plants can be found. Many unique bird species exist in the park like certain water birds such as the trumpeter swan, loon, and osprey are attracted to the park's many lakes and streams (Alaska)[1]. Fishing the clear streams also provides the opportunity to see many different types fish. These streams also spawn all five species of Pacific salmon (Alaska)[1]. The plants and animals are part of the ecosystem in the area and should be respected by visitors to the park.

View of Denali/ Mount McKinley from the tundra in Alaska.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/A_Distant_Giant.jpg/220px-A_Distant_Giant.jpg

References

1 2 Alaska State Parks near Trapper Creek in the Susitna Valley
↑ Denali National Park and Preserve - Aviation Reporting Coordinates (U.S. National Park Service)
↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Denali State Park
↑ The Milepost 61st Edition, page 406 ISBN 978-1892-15426-2

Alaska, S. of. (2014). Denali state park, Alaska state parks. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from Alaska

Department of Natural Resources, http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/denali1.htm

NPS. South Denali Implementation. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from National Park Service,

http://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/management/upload/South%20Denali%20Implementation%

20Plan%20&%20EIS.pdf, p.9.

Waits, I. (2015, May 19). Denali state park. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from Denali State Park Hiking,

https://www.denaliguidebook.com/denali-state-park/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denali State Park.

Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation - Denali State Park

Protected areas of Alaska

Federal

National Parks	Denali Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Katmai Kenai Fjords Kobuk Valley Lake Clark Wrangell–St. Elias

National Historical Parks	Klondike Gold Rush Sitka

National Monuments	Admiralty Island (USFS) Aniakchak Cape Krusenstern Misty Fiords (USFS) World War II Valor in the Pacific

National Preserves	Bering Land Bridge Noatak Yukon–Charley Rivers

National Wildlife Refuges	Alaska Maritime Alaska Peninsula Arctic Becharof Innoko Izembek Kanuti Kenai Kodiak Koyukuk Nowitna Saint Lazaria Selawik Tetlin Togiak Yukon Delta Yukon Flats

National Forests	Chugach Tongass

Forest Service units	Mendenhall Glacier

U.S. Wilderness Areas	Aleutian Islands Andreafsky Becharof Bering Sea Bogoslof Chamisso Chuck River Coronation Island Denali Endicott River Forrester Island Gates of the Arctic Glacier Bay Hazy Islands Innoko Izembek Karta River Katmai Kenai Kobuk Valley Kootznoowoo Koyukuk Kuiu Lake Clark Maurille Islands Misty Fjords Mollie Beattie Noatak Nunivak Petersburg Creek–Duncan Salt Chuck Pleasant/Lemusurier/Inian Islands Russell Fjord Saint Lazaria Selawik Semidi Simeonof South Baranof South Etolin South Prince of Wales Stikine-LeConte Tebenkof Bay Togiak Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Tuxedni Unimak Warren Island West Chichagof-Yakobi Wrangell–Saint Elias

National Conservation Area	Steese

State

State Parks	Afognak Island Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Baranof Castle Hill Birch Lake Chena River Area Chena River Site Chugach Deep Creek Denali Kachemak Bay Totem Bight Wood-Tikchik

State Forests	Haines Southeast Tanana Valley

Alaska Department of Natural Resources

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