The George Parks Highway Scenic Byway

Story of the Byway

In 1971, when it was first completed, the Parks Highway was first called the Anchorage - Fairbanks Highway but was renamed for George A. Parks, territorial governor of Alaska (1925 to 1933). The highway offers many opportunities to see North America's tallest peak, Mount McKinley. It also provides access to Denali National Park and Preserve. Generations of Athabascans lived and traveled through what is now the National Park. The first permanent non-Native settlement was Kantishna established in 1905 during a gold rush. Naturalist Charles Sheldon and guide Harry Karstens set up the boundaries for a national park. In 1917, It was established as Mount McKinley National Park and in 1976 was designated as an international biosphere. In 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act enlarged the park to 6 million acres and was renamed the Denali National Park and Preserve. In 2015, President Obama renamed Mt. McKinley to Denali, its Athabascan given name meaning “the Tall One”. The Park and Preserve is slightly larger than the state of Massachusetts. The terrain in the Denali National Park and Preserve includes glaciers, glacial valleys, boreal forest and Arctic tundra. There are more than 650 species of flowering plants, shrubs, lichen, and moss and coniferous trees (birch and aspen) in the lowlands. It is home to 37 species of mammals- lynx, marmots, Arctic ground squirrels, moose, caribou, wolf, Dall sheep, black bears, and brown (grizzly) bears among others. It is also home to 130 different bird species, the most impressive is the golden eagle. Activities along the Parks Highway include hiking, biking, camping, rafting, fishing, wildlife viewing. Take a bus tour through the park. Reservations are required for tours and camping. The annual Denali Park Road Lottery in September allows visitors to drive their private vehicle on the Denali Park Road on select days.