Mt. McKinley Park Road Historic District Cultural Landscape Report
Winding through tundra, forests, river valleys, and mountain passes, Mt. McKinley Park Road immerses visitors in a vast, diverse landscape with the possibility of spotting grizzly bears, moose, wolves, caribou, and Dall sheep—and on clear days, breathtaking views of Mt. Denali. The truly unique road runs from the headquarters of Denali National Park and Preserve to the Kantishna Mining District, providing access to one of Alaska’s most prized national parks. The National Park Service designed the Park Road— including adjacent patrol cabins and bridges over multiple rivers and creeks—during its 1920’s golden age of road building. Like the surrounding landscape, the rustic, 90-mile road is geologically dynamic, which leads to regular road closures and safety concerns, impacting and severely limiting the visitor experience.
MIG worked with an interdisciplinary team of cultural and natural resource experts and road engineers from the Federal Highways Administration to tackle these challenges with recommendations for the treatment and care of the Park Road Historic District and facilities along it. The resulting Cultural Landscape Report provides clear direction for preserving the extraordinary road’s historic character within the context of limited operations and maintenance budgets. The document includes design guidance for culvert and bridge replacements and additions, and addresses climate change impacts like landslides and melting permafrost that threaten road stability and alignment. As part of recommendations development, MIG also performed archival research, multi-day backcountry fieldwork, and facilitated multiple workshops with a diverse group of park service staff and partners.
The Cultural Landscape Report provides the Park with historically- and context-sensitive guidance for managing change and preservation of the Park Road’s essential character as a rustic, winding route through the Alaska wilderness for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.