Wrangell-St. Elias Fast Facts
How big is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
Wrangell-St. Elias covers a total area of 13,175,901 acres or 13,176 square miles.
How many people visit Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
50,189 people visited Wrangell-St. Elias in 2021. A table showing all years can be found at Wrangell-St. Elias Visitation Stats.
When was Wrangell-St. Elias National Park created?
Wrangell-St. Elias was made a national park on December 2, 1980.
What are the highest and lowest elevations in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
Wrangell-St. Elias’ lowest point is 0 feet at the Pacific Ocean. The highest point in Wrangell-St. Elias is 18,008 feet at Mount St. Elias.
What time zone is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park located in?
Wrangell-St. Elias is in the Alaska Time Zone.
How much does it cost to enter Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
There is no entrance fee for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Five Random Facts About Wrangell-St. Elias
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is by far the largest national park in the United States. At over 13 million acres, it is nearly six times the size of Yellowstone, a huge national park itself. There is a single piedmont glacier, Malaspina, that alone is the size of Yellowstone.
Wrangell-St. Elias borders Kluane National Park and Preserve, a very large Canadian national park.
The town of Kennecott lies deep within the park, and was built to mine one of the richest deposits of copper ever found. Though the mine is long closed, much of the historical structures remain. It can be found a few miles beyond the end of the very long, unpaved McCarthy Road.
On November 16, 1978, Wrangell-St. Elias National Monument was created along with 15 others. On December 2, 1980, the monument was changed to a national park, along with all other Alaskan national parks, by the Alaska Native Interests Land Conservation Act.
In 1979 Wrangell-St. Elias, along with Glacier Bay National Park, and Kluane National Park and Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in Canada, was named a World Heritage Site.
Where is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is located in southcentral Alaska, about four hours from Anchorage. The small towns of Copper Center and Chitina are just outside the park, the former hosting the visitor center. The historic towns of McCarthy and Kennicott are within the park, and are accessed via the long, unpaved McCarthy Road. Further directions and maps can be found at Getting to Wrangell-St. Elias.