 |
Alaska's unique beauty
and vast wilderness areas are among its greatest treasures.
More than half the nation's parklands are found here,
located in every geographic area of the state.
|
National
Parks
Wrangell-St. Elias National
Park and Preserve, with over 13 million acres, is
the nation's largest national park. Combined with contiguous
Canadian parks and Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park
and Preserve, this is the largest internationally
protected area in the world.
Created in 1910 to preserve
Tlingit and early Russian history, the Sitka National
Historical Park was the first national park established
in Alaska. Denali National Park was created in 1917,
followed by Katmai in 1918, Glacier Bay in 1925, and the
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in 1976.
In 1980, the Alaska Lands Act
established ten new parks and expanded three others, for
a
total of 15 park units. This act more than doubled the
size of the National Park System. The parks today include
striking
geological diversity from the tidewater glaciers of Southeast's
Glacier Bay to Katmai's Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes to
the sand dunes of the Kobuk Valley.
State
Parks
With 1.6 million acres of land,
Wood-Tikchik State Park is the largest state park in
America and is patrolled by only one ranger...we call him
the Lone Ranger! Chugach State Park is the third largest
state park in America and its location next to Anchorage makes
Anchorage the only large city in America with a 500,000 acre
park as one of its boundaries. With 3.2 million acres, Alaska
has the largest state park system in America. Most of Alaska's
state parks are road accessible, so they get twice the visitation
of the national parks in the state; however, some parks are
periodically closed, so visitors should contact the Division
of Parks and Outdoor Recreation before planning their
trip.
In addition to the 15 national
parks, one wild river, and 120 state parks, (including recreation
areas, and historic parks), Alaska is home to 16 national
wildlife refuges and two national forests. In all, Alaska
contains over 322 million acres of public lands.
Alaska's State
Parks
For
a complete list and more information, visit the Alaska Division
of Parks and Outdoor Recreation
Alaska's National
Parks
| Alagnak
Wild River |
Gates
of the Arctic National Park and Preserve |
Lake
Clark National Park and Preserve |
| Anaiakchak
National Monument and Preserve |
Glacier
Bay National Park and Preserve |
Noatak
National Preserve |
| Bering
Land Bridge National Preserve |
Katmai
National Park and Preserve |
Sitka
National Historical Park |
| Cape
Krusenstern National Monument |
Kenai
Fjords National Park |
|
| Denali
National Park and Preserve |
Klondike
Gold Rush National Historical Park |
Wrangell-St.
Elias National Park and Preserve |
| |
Kobuk
Valley National Park |
Yukon-Charley
Rivers National Preserve |
For more information, try
these National Park Service Links
Alaska
Region and Support Office
Geographic
Information System
Guide
to Alaska's National Parks
Alaska's Wildlife
Refuges
| Alaska
Maritime National Wildlife Refuge |
Izembeck
National Wildlife Refuge |
Nowitna
National Wildlife Refuge |
| Alaska
Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge |
Kanuti
National Wildlife Refuge |
Selawik
National Wildlife Refuge |
| Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge |
Kenai
National Wildlife Refuge |
Tetlin
National Wildlife Refuge |
| Becharof
National Wildlife Refuge |
Kodiak
National Wildlife Refuge |
Togiak
National Wildlife Refuge |
| Innoko
National Wildlife Refuge |
Koyukuk
National Wildlife Refuge |
Yukon
Delta National Wildlife Refuge |
| |
|
Yukon
Flats National Wildlife Refuge |
For more information, visit
the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service Alaska Region site
Alaska's National
Forests
| Tongass National
Forest |
Chugach
National Forest |
For more information, visit
the following U.S. Forest Service sites:
Tongass
National Forest
Chugach
National Forest
For more public lands information,
try the Alaska
Public Lands Information Centers site
|
