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Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center in Copper Center: Closed
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About the Park
Wrangell-St. Elias is a vast national park that rises from the ocean all the way up to 18,008 ft. At 13.2 million acres, the park is the same size as Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined! Within this wild landscape, people continue to live off the land as they have done for centuries. This rugged, beautiful land is filled with opportunities for adventure.
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What to See & Do
Fishing at Wrangell-St. Elias
Sport fishing in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park offers many opportunities. Arctic grayling, dolly varden, lake trout, steelhead/rainbow trout, whitefish, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, and chinook salmon are widespread. Nothern Pike, cutthroat trout, chum salmon and pink salmon are also available in select areas. Local residents catch burbot, lake trout, rainbow trout, and whitefish through the ice in the winter.
Ghost Towns
Ghost towns were once thriving communities that have dwindled over the decades, often created by the search for gold, copper and other valuable minerals. Some vanished entirely after the boom or were absorbed into newer settlements, but many of these towns still stand today, allowing us a nostalgic glimpse into the past. These places are where people ventured into remote areas to find their mineral fortune and endured the hardships of wilderness, wildlife and weather.
Front country Hiking Trails
Hiking in Wrangell-St. Elias can be spectacular and we encourage you to go, but be prepared! Most of the front country hiking trails are maintained for the first few miles and then become routes into the backcountry, where route finding and navigational skills are highly recommended. There are hiking trails in the Copper Center area, on Nabesna Road and on McCarthy Road.
Backpacking in Wrangell-St Elias
A backpacking trip in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve can be an exciting and rewarding experience if you are prepared for the difficulties of traveling through rugged, undeveloped land.
Webcams
Webcam views from the Visitor Center at Park Headquarters in Copper Center, Kennecott Mill and Mt. Blackburn and Kennicott Glacier and the Chugach Range.
Virtual Tours
Explore with geologists and their helicopter pilot around Kennicott Glacier on an interactive website virtual tour to learn how National Park Service staff monitor changes in the size of the glacier! Check out the Terrestrial LiDAR Scanning Project with 3-D data collected which provides precise measurements needed for the Stabilization Project of the mill structures.
Self-Guided Tours
Hike the Boreal Forest Trail around the visitor center in Copper Center
Short walking trails with interpretive wayside signs around the Visitor Center complex in Copper Center, including the Exhibit Hall. Boreal Forest Trail: 1/2 mile loop, easy, partly paved, partly gravel, no elevation change. Copper River Bluff Trail: 1/2 mile loop, moderately difficult, gravel, some elevation change with a few steep sections. Valdez Trail: short segment of a historic trail, easy, gravel, no elevation change. Turn around at private property gate to return.
Visit Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark
Located in the center of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Kennecott is a park within a park. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986, Kennecott is considered the best remaining example of early 20th Century copper mining. In June 1998, the National Park Service acquired many of the significant buildings and lands of the historic copper mining town of Kennecott and is still in the process of stabilizing many structures.
Yakutat - fly or sail to the coastal area of the park.
Accessible only by plane or boat, this area encompasses the park's coastal region, with 155 miles of little-known coastline. Here, huge mountains, enormous glaciers, and temperate rainforest meet the ocean. Visitor services are only found in town of Yakutat, which is a plane or boat ride away from Anchorage. A wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts come here to hike the beaches, float or fish the rivers, surf ocean waves, explore the bays, view glaciers, climb mountains and enjoy the wilderness.
Visitor Centers
Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center in Copper Center
Enjoy the exhibits, view the park film, hike nature trails, shop in the bookstore, gather park & area information, conduct backcountry trip planning, and view the large 3-D interactive map display. Park rangers provide guided talks and walks daily during the summer months. Subsistence fishing and hunting permits are also available for eligible local rural residents.
Kennecott Visitor Center
Located in the "Blackburn School," the Kennecott Visitor Center has exhibits and Rangers available to help with your trip planning.
Slana Ranger Station
Get the latest Nabesna Road conditions and information about its recreational opportunities.
Chitina Ranger Station
Located in downtown Chitina at mile 33 on the Edgerton Highway. Upon entering Chitina town southbound, turn left at the Chitina Hotel, drive down the gravel road 0.2 mile (300 meters), station on left. The light brown historical log cabin with mint green trim is the Chitina Ranger Station.
Yakutat
Yakutat is located in the southern portion of the park along the coastline in Yakutat Bay at the base of the St. Elias Mountains. Accessible only by plane or boat, this area encompasses the park's coastal region, with 155 miles of little-known coastline, where giant mountains, enormous glaciers, and temperate rainforest meet the ocean. For information, please call Park Headquarters in Copper Center at (907) 822-5234.
Where to Stay
Kendesnii Campground
Located on the Nabesna Road, this free camping area is the only National Park Service campground in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It has 10 designated campsites, each with a picnic table and a fire ring. There are two vault toilets. Each site can accommodate a small to medium RV or other vehicles. It is free and open year-round on a first-come, first-served basis, but is not plowed during the winter so campsites may not be accessible. Reservations are not taken and are not required.
Getting Here & Transit
How to Get Here
The administrative building and main park visitor center are located along the Richardson Highway (Hwy 4), which is a paved state highway that runs through Copper Center, AK. The buildings are 8 miles south of the Glenn Highway and Richardson Highway intersection near Glennallen, Alaska. This is approximately 200 miles east of Anchorage, AK and 250 miles south of Fairbanks, AK.
Park Amenities
Permits & Reservations
Permits may be required
Some activities in Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve — including backcountry camping, certain trails, and climbing routes — require advance permits. Check the official NPS website for current requirements before your visit.
Operating Hours
Headquarters Visitor Center - Copper Center, AK
The park and public lands are always open but visitor facilities have limited seasons: Open in Summer. Call ahead for hours: Copper Center (907) 822-7250, Slana (907) 822-7401, Chitina (907) 823-7250 and Kennecott (907) 205-7106. CLOSED Mid-September through April.
- MondayClosed
- TuesdayClosed
- WednesdayClosed
- ThursdayClosed
- FridayClosed
- SaturdayClosed
- SundayClosed
Live Webcams
Click any camera to open the live feed on the NPS website.
Kennecott Mill and Mt. Blackburn
This is the view out a window on the top floor of the General Store in Kennecott, looking to the north. On the right, the historic Kennecott mill building climbs fourteen stories up the mountainside above the railroad trestle, leaching plant and power plant. One hundred years ago, the mine was in full swing and this area was a hive of activity. On the left side of this view, behind the tailing piles, lies the Kennicott Glacier, and above it all, on the distant skyline, looms the blindingly-white, snow-covered Mt. Blackburn -- at 16,390 feet the third-highest peak in the park.
Kennicott Glacier and the Chugach Range
This view is from the old Dairy Barn in Kennecott, looking south to the Chugach Mountains. The mounds in the foreground are the rock-covered terminus of the Kennicott Glacier. Beyond the glacier and its meltwater lake lie the town of McCarthy and the vast expanse of the Chitina river valley. The scene changes throughout the day depending on weather and lighting: watch for dramatic summer cumulus clouds building over the mountains, rain squalls moving across the valley, windstorms blowing glacial loess off the river bars, and sunlight glinting off bare ice faces on the glacier.
Wrangell Mountains from Park Headquarters
This is the view from our Visitor Center at Park Headquarters in Copper Center, looking east across the Copper River Valley to the Wrangell Mountains. From this vantage point, Mt. Drum (12,010 ft) and Mt. Sanford (16,237 ft) are visible. Watch the colors in this scene change throughout the seasons: the brilliant yellows and golds of the aspens in the fall, followed by stark white snows and pink mountain alpenglow during the cold days of winter, and then the greening of the whole landscape as the days warm and lengthen in the springtime.
Photos
Two backpackers sitting in an alpine meadow with snowy mountains in the background
Historic, large, red buildings with mountains in the background
A large glacier with stripes of different colored rock nestled in between barren mountain slopes.
Four large snow covered mountains rise above dense forest into blue skies.
When to Go
Crowd CalendarPlan your trip around peak seasons to avoid crowds or embrace the energy of the busy months. Our crowd predictions are based on historical NPS Visitor Use Statistics.
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Location
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve
Copper Center, AK 99573
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Best Time
Year-round
Trip Length
2-4 days
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