Last updated: April 5, 2024
Place
Kantishna
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
5 listed
Accessible Rooms, Bus/Shuttle Stop, Recycling, Restroom - Accessible, Trash/Litter Receptacles
Denali National Park has one road, traveling east to west for about 92 miles. The park entrance is at the eastern end, where the Denali Park Road connects to Highway 3, and Fairbanks and Anchorage beyond. The western end of the road is an area called Kantishna.
A few miles beyond the iconic Wonder Lake, the Kantishna area was once outside the boundaries of the park. In the early 1900s, it experienced a brief-lived gold rush, with people flocking to the area from throughout Alaska and the world. By 1907, the stampede was over and few people remained year-round in the area. Some who stayed continued to pull minerals out of the ground, while others just enjoyed the remoteness and beauty of the landscape.
With the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in late 1980, the boundaries of Denali expanded dramatically, and encompassed many privately-owned lands in Kantishna. Some private lands have been purchased over time by the federal government, while other inholdings remain. A few of the inholders now run wilderness lodges or other accommodations for travelers—visit the Denali Chamber of Commerce to learn more.
Visitors can mainly reach Kantishna in the summer (roughly June 8 to early September each year) with either a Kantishna Experience bus tour or Kantishna transit bus.
A few miles beyond the iconic Wonder Lake, the Kantishna area was once outside the boundaries of the park. In the early 1900s, it experienced a brief-lived gold rush, with people flocking to the area from throughout Alaska and the world. By 1907, the stampede was over and few people remained year-round in the area. Some who stayed continued to pull minerals out of the ground, while others just enjoyed the remoteness and beauty of the landscape.
With the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in late 1980, the boundaries of Denali expanded dramatically, and encompassed many privately-owned lands in Kantishna. Some private lands have been purchased over time by the federal government, while other inholdings remain. A few of the inholders now run wilderness lodges or other accommodations for travelers—visit the Denali Chamber of Commerce to learn more.
Visitors can mainly reach Kantishna in the summer (roughly June 8 to early September each year) with either a Kantishna Experience bus tour or Kantishna transit bus.