A Local's 48 Hour Summer Itinerary to Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Wrangell St. Elias National Park is considered the largest National Park in the United States with over 13.2 million acres. If you're planning a trip it can be hard to decide what to do, especially on a short 48 hour visit. But between glaciers, flight seeing adventures, and possible wildlife sightings - the best and really only way to explore the park is by driving out there yourself.

​My Essential Alaska Travel Resources :
There are plenty of travel companies out there, but these are my favorite websites and resources for planning an unforgettable trip to Alaska. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

For flights, I recommend using Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to Alaska.

Car rentals, arguably the best way to see Alaska, are best through Discover Cars!

I always use Expedia's easy-to-use platform to compare the best rates.
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To keep cell service if you're traveling internationally, I use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required), and NordVPN to stay safe while connecting to different wifi.

For fun things to do, I recommend Viator or Get Your Guide to find the best tours in the area.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my Alaska packing list for your travels to the Last Frontier.

Getting to Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Wrangell St. Elias National Park can be difficult to get to, taking about 7 to 8 hours from Anchorage (if you're heading to the adventure center of McCarthy). I should elaborate, there are actually 3 different areas of Wrangell St. Elias National Park to visit. One is the North End of the park, located on Nabesna Road. This is the most primitive area of the park, and is the most likely part of the park that you'll spot wildlife. The second is the Main Visitor Center, just 10 miles from Glenallen. Here, you can enjoy the multiple exhibits onsite and a sweeping view of the Wrangell and St. Elias Mountain Ranges. The last area of the park available to visitors is near McCarthy - and is my favorite area of the park to spend some time in to explore!

Because there aren't many options on getting to Wrangell St. Elias, I believe that the best way to fully experience the area is to rent an adventure car. There are multiple options from Anchorage - like campervans and RV's and even just a regular car - but for my most recent trip I went with Alaska Adventure Rentals and it worked perfectly. The jeep my husband and I were given had a pop up tent, all the gear we needed for our trip, and it even lasted on the McCarthy road!

*this road is extremely rough with large potholes and rocks - you may need to get special permission from your rental car provider to drive on this road - we were granted permission to drive from Alaska Adventure Rentals

My Favorite Tours Near Wrangell St. Elias NP :
- Kennecott Mill Town Tour
- Half Day Root Glacier Guided Hike

My Ultimate 48 Hour Wrangell St. Elias Itinerary

*This itinerary begins and ends in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, and does not include drive time from elsewhere in the state.

Day 1 Morning : 
Begin with a stop at the Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitor Center near Glennallen, only open in the Summer starting at 9am. Tour the exhibits, use one of the tables to enjoy a breakfast or snack if you're hungry, and enjoy the views of the Wrangell and St. Elias mountain ranges. Make sure to bring your bug spray! This is one of the buggiest areas in Alaska during the summer months.

Day 1 Afternoon :
Begin the 2-3 hour drive to McCarthy. The views are incredible, and there's a chance you could see some wildlife. You'll cross a few rivers and bridges, drive by a few lakes, and if you visit during fishing season you might even see some dip-netters! On your way, I recommend taking a pit stop in Chitina. They've got the cutest post office, a much needed coffee shop, and one of the most delicious burgers I've ever had. Seriously, a stop at Grubstake Grill is a must to fuel up on their "Wrangell" burger!

Day 1 Evening :
Arrive to the end of the road - an area of various campgrounds and the very end of the road that you can drive on before having to take the pedestrian only bridge across the river (bikes welcome too!). From here, you can either walk into the town of McCarthy or take the $5 white shuttle. For the rest of the night, explore McCarthy! You can stop at The Potato - a local restaurant - if you're hungry. I'll be honest the food isn't the best or freshest I've had, but it's really the only option I'm aware of. You can listen to live music, get some ice cream at the general store, and meet some of the locals. It's also worth noting that dogs are very welcome in the town of McCarthy, and you'll most definitely want to be as protected as you can from mosquitos. If you rented a vehicle from Alaska Adventure Rentals, you can either take the shuttle back or walk back to Kennecott Base Camp.

Day 2 Morning : 
​Get up early and cross the bridge to catch the shuttle to the old mining town of Kennecott. While you're here, you can take one of the guided Kennecott Mining Town Tours. They last about 2 hours, and although you'll be shown around the entire abandoned town, this tour is also the only way to explore inside the 14 story mill building!

Day 2 Afternoon : 
​After exploring the mine, you can grab lunch at the local food truck - the "Meatza Wagon" before heading out on a hiking tour to Root Glacier! Spanning a total of 5.7 miles, the hike is a little hilly and has a total elevation gain of 839 feet according to AllTrails. It's also worth noting that the trail does go through a boulder patch and gets steeper the closer you get to the glacier. If you're unfamiliar with glaciers or aren't comfortable going on your own, I recommend heading out on this guided tour.

Day 2 Evening :
​If you started your day early enough, you might want to spend the rest of the day driving to the only other area of the park you haven't made it to yet - the North Entrance. The drive itself is not the best maintained, and usually takes about 5 hours, however with the never ending summer daylight, it's an option. In the north end of Wrangell St. Elias National Park you can expect more primitive structure, more wildlife, and more options for backcountry hiking. If you've rented a rental vehicle through a company like Alaska Adventure Rentals, you can stay in the first come first serve *free* Kendesnii Campground.

If you want to spend the rest of your time in the McCarthy area and avoid the long drive, you can schedule an evening flight seeing tour through the National Park with Wrangell Mountain Air. They have multiple different flight seeing tours available, starting at 50 minutes and going up to 120 minutes. (They also have day trips and backcountry drop off options, but I'll leave those out since they wouldn't fit in this itinerary.) Personally, I think this is the best way to see the vastness of this park, and you'll get an entirely different experience exploring it in the air versus on the ground.

Watch my Adventures in Wrangell St. Elias National Park!

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Other Alaska blog posts you might be interested in : 
-> Denali NP : First Timer's Guide
-> Katmai National Park Day Trip
-> Best Things to Do in Lake Clark NP

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