Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Little known outside of Alaska, this 14-million acre park is almost incomprehensibly BIG. The largest national park in the U.S., it is contiguous with several other parks: Glacier Bay, Kluane (Canada) and Tatshenshini (Canada) to form one of the largest protected areas in the world, at 24 million acres. Here, nine of the tallest peaks--several of them active volcanoes--in North America rise, often obscured by the clouds that feed into a mind-boggling glacier factory. Huge rivers of ice, some of them yet unnamed, carve this wilderness.
Reaching the park is not easy. From Anchorage, drive for several hours to Glennallen/Copper Center, where a brand-new visitors' center shows off some of the scenery of the region in large photos and a 20-minute video. Then it's another hour on the Edgerton Highway to Chitina, followed by three hours on a 60-mile-long dirt road memorable for its dust and washboard.
At the end of the road travelers must offload their gear and put it on a hand cart to get it across the footbridge that spans the Kennicott River. Kennecott and McCarthy lie beyond.
Because of the access challenges, only about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a year come to this remarkable destination.
