The mountain also draws climbers from around the world. The first ascent came in 1913, when the Hudson Stuck expedition reached the top and Walter Harper — a young Koyukon Athabascan — became the first person to set foot on the summit, a fitting first for a peak that carried an Athabascan name. Today climbers fly in to the glaciers each spring to attempt the West Buttress and other routes, testing themselves against the cold, the altitude, and the sudden weather that the Great One is famous for throwing at anyone who tries it.
Protecting the country around the mountain came early. Driven by the conservation advocate Charles Sheldon, who wanted to safeguard the region's Dall sheep and wildlife, Congress established the park in 1917 as Mount McKinley National Park. The Alaska Railroad soon carried the first visitors north, lodges and a single park road followed, and the place grew slowly into one of the great wilderness parks of the country. In 1980 it was vastly expanded and renamed Denali National Park and Preserve — the official name it still carries — restoring Denali, at least, to the land around the peak.
Why People Visit Denali
Denali offers North America's highest peak above a vast, living subarctic ecosystem — wilderness on a scale that is genuinely humbling. Visitors come for the Great One, the wildlife, and the Park Road, and stay for the quiet hikes, the railroad journey, and the immense scenery of the Alaska Range. From the gateway lodges to the tundra at the end of the road, it rewards both a quick stop and a long stay. It is immense, wild, and unforgettable in every season.
