On George Parks Highway 3 miles north of Clear Road, on the left when traveling south.
The History of the Purple Heart
In 1783 during the American Revolution, General George Washington first awarded a decoration of embroidered purple fabric in the shape of a heart called the Badge of Military Merit. The decoration was . . . — — Map (db m282428) WM
On Headquarters Road north of Doty Lane, on the right when traveling south.
From the outset, park vistors could opt for lodging that was a far cry from camping.
If you arrived at McKinley Station between 1925 and 1939, chance are the Mt. McKinley Tourist and Transportation Company was here to meet you. You . . . — — Map (db m283238) HM
On Headquarters Road north of Doty Lane, on the right when traveling south.
These days, you'll have a hard time sighting Curry - a deserted station about 100 miles south of here, in the Talkeetna Mountains, But in 1923, it would have been hard to miss; Curry was where you spend the night - or lingered longer - as you . . . — — Map (db m283126) HM
"It's not fair to the rangers to ask them to patrol in the cold weather…and then have to spend the night out in the open under a spruce tree."
-Ranger Fritz Nyberg, 1927.
Even during the short summer months, . . . — — Map (db m257623) HM
On Railroad Depot Rd, on the right when traveling north.
During World War II, thousands of servicemen left the war behind and spent a week in the park.
When Japanese forces attacked the Aleutian Islands in June 1942, vacation travel to Alaska ground to a halt. In the absence of full . . . — — Map (db m283780) HM
On Railroad Depot Rd, on the right when traveling north.
When you ride the rails, you hurdle yawning canyons
and wide rivers that challenged the engineering know-how of the day.
The Hurricane Gulch bridge, one of the marvels of the line,
crosses a gorge more than 900 feet across and . . . — — Map (db m283588) HM
The Nenana River, below you, joins up with the Tanana River 60 miles downstream. The waters of the Nenana and Tanana are part of the enormous Yukon River watershed, which ultimately empties into the Bering Sea. The Yukon River drainage . . . — — Map (db m257608) HM
On the Park Road (at milepost 13), on the right when traveling west.
"I shall never forget that, when he got through asking questions, he said, 'You're lacking in experience, but I think you can learn. I'll send you on a patrol trip alone. You will be gone a week. If you don't get back by then, I'll . . . — — Map (db m257613) HM
High above river valleys, at overlooks like this, Denali’s first human visitors watch for mammoth, giant bison, and caribou. Ridge tops made the best game launching platforms; herds tend to follow sheltered stream corridors.
Hunters had to . . . — — Map (db m69724) HM
"Sun/Jan 8, 1939-Traveled down to the East Fork Ranger Cabin in the canyon. There was much overflow water from the mouth of the canyon down to the cabin. The rangers cabin was an awfull mess. The bear had been in the cabin. It took . . . — — Map (db m257625) HM
On Railroad Depot Rd, on the right when traveling north.
When the railroad station was built in 1922, on land then outside park boundaries, There was already a tiny settlement here. it came to be known as McKinley Park Station. The entrepreneurs who established it sought to profit from railroad . . . — — Map (db m283499) HM
Mountains in Motion
Though the visible glaciers appear remote - gleaming between distant peaks - the valley below is strewn with signs of masses glaciation: stranded boulders, gouged-out ponds, and gravel outwash plains. The last big . . . — — Map (db m71362) HM
On Bus Concessionaire Road at Murie Road, on the right when traveling west on Bus Concessionaire Road.
How did you imagine the park before you had seen it for yourself? In years past, travelers' expectations were shaped by railroad brochures
that touted the marvels of Alaska and portrayed the park as
a wonderland. The words below are from a . . . — — Map (db m283937) HM
On Murie Road at Bus Concessionaire Road, on the left when traveling north on Murie Road.
1915 Construction begins on the Government Railroad, later renamed the Alaska Railroad.
1917 Mount McKinley National Park is established. Enterprising pioneers have already built homesteads outside park boundaries, near . . . — — Map (db m283782) HM
"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
On Park Road 3.4 miles west of Parks Highway (Alaska Route 3), on the left when traveling west.
He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done. — — Map (db m195774) HM
On Bus Concessionaire Road at Murie Road, on the left when traveling west on Bus Concessionaire Road.
Laying rail through a subarctic wilderness was no walk in the park.
The railroad builders were constantly reminded
that nature was beyond their control. South of
Anchorage, avalanches buried the route. In the
Nenana Canyon, . . . — — Map (db m283580) HM
On Parks Highway 1 mile Old Parks Hwy, on the right when traveling north.
Alaska Native place names have echoed from the hills since time immemorial and hold key elements for maintaining Alaska native connection to sacred sites, traditional resources, and cultural practices.
The Alaska Native people who live and . . . — — Map (db m284333) HM
Near Park Road (at milepost 1.5) south of Bus Concessionaire Road, on the right when traveling north.
Near this site, in July 1937, Alaska Railroad crews broke ground for the McKinley Park Hotel.
A Modern Wilderness Outpost
Despite financial setbacks and a contentious design (it was modern, not rustic), the hotel opened on June 1, . . . — — Map (db m294078) HM
On Murie Road at Bus Concessionaire Road, on the left when traveling north on Murie Road.
As the number of ways to get to the park grew, so did the number of visitors.
If you wanted to visit the park prior to 1957, rail travel was not only a good option, it was about your only option. A few visitors arrived by chartered . . . — — Map (db m283550) HM
On Morning Loop Trail south of Denali Bike Trail, on the right when traveling north.
The first depot established in 1922, was a converted boxcar. It had once belonged to the Tanana Valley Railroad — a Fairbanks-area outfit that became part of the Alaska Railroad. Presumably, the depot arrived by rail. It did double duty as the . . . — — Map (db m283266) HM
On Railroad Depot Rd, on the right when traveling north.
The fortunes of the park and the railroad have long been linked.
It could be said that the coming of the railroad was a catalyst for the creation of the park. In January 1917 Stephen R. Capps of the U,S. Geological Survey reported that . . . — — Map (db m283594) HM
On Railroad Depot Rd, on the right when traveling north.
Many things have changed since the park was created and the railroad was completed, but the route to the park remains the same. Whether you traveled the historic rail line or modern highway, you took the route taken by the park's first visitors. . . . — — Map (db m283503) HM
The train track along the Healy Canyon wall provides an exhilarating view down to the Nenana River below. Imagine the challenge of constructing this grade in 1921. Three tunnels at the south end of the canyon made the job a little easier by . . . — — Map (db m71361) HM
"…if they don't sent in a warden pretty soon their won't be anything left to warden."
-Local Alaskan guide Harry Karstens in a letter to friend and conservationist Charles Sheldon, 1920. Karstens was hired as the Park's first . . . — — Map (db m257618) HM
On George Parks Hwy (State Highway 3) west of Rexana Road.
The fish wheel is the major means of fishing the interior rivers, used by both the whites and the natives for commercial and subsistence purposes. It was developed in northern Europe, brought to New England, and then to the west coast, where fish . . . — — Map (db m282426) HM
