Denali National Park and Preserve in Denali Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Step to the Wild Side
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 20, 2024
1. Step to the Wild Side Marker
"It is not only the outward beauty of Alaska that we must think about when considering its future; we must also think of its native wildness-its wilderness spirit."
Park Biologist Adolph Murie
As you step beyond this sign, you step into land designated by Congress as "Denali Wilderness."
Though the land may appear similar to other undeveloped land, its designation is a mandate to preserve a less tangible quality: an intact ecosystem.
The Denali Wilderness Area makes up the two million-acre core of Denali National Park and Preserve. Here, human influences are kept to a minimum. Natural forces prevail.
"We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope."
Wallace Stegner
[Photo caption reads]
Rangers also follow the "no machines" rule in the Denali Wilderness Area and continue to do winter patrols by dog sled.
[Photo sub-caption reads]
Ranger Bruce Waddlington on dog sled patrol in 1975.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1975.
Location. 63° 43.198′ N, 149° 15.705′ W. Marker is in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, in Denali Borough. It can be reached from Park Road. Marker is along the short Savage Cabin Loop Trail, near Park Road milepost 13 in Denali National Park and Preserve. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Denali National Park AK 99755, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Alaska Railroad Corridor, in the Athabascan Region, and in Interior Alaska. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Wilderness Guardians (within shouting distance of this marker); Against the Wind (within shouting distance of this marker);
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 20, 2024
2. Step to the Wild Side Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 144 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 26, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
