Remote and expansive. Rugged and wild. These are just a few of the words to describe Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve. The park covers nearly 9,500 square miles (24,000 square kilometers), almost all of it undeveloped and ready for exploration. Here you’ll find enormous mountains and wild lakes and rivers stocked with salmon, trout and pike among others. It’s also the home to grizzly and black bears, wolves, moose and caribou.

Established in 1917, the park is also home to the highest peak in North America. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), soars to over 20,000 feet (6,100 m). There are few roads in the park, so finding solitude in the park is easy, whether your hiking, backpacking or camping. The season to visit the park is short, and it will take some effort and planning to reach the park, but it will also provide an experience unmatched in the lower 48 states.