Alaska's cities
McKinley Park, Alaska
Denali-entrance town arose after national park was founded
Alaska.com
McKinley Park, Alaska, is on the George Parks Highway at the entrance to Denali National Park.
The park is home to Mount McKinley, or Denali as it was named by the Tanana Indians, meaning "the great one." At 20,320 feet, it is the highest mountain on the North American continent.
The community, with a population of about 150, is a dozen miles south of Healy in the Denali Borough.
The McKinley Park community has developed around National Park Service employment and tourism-related facilities.
McKinley Park is primarily a seasonal community. During the summer the population booms to serve tourists, although a few live there year-round. The hotel and most visitor services at McKinley Park are closed during winter months.
McKinley Park has a community association and a fire hall.
During the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 167 total housing units, and 95 of these were vacant. Of these, 82 vacant housing units are used only seasonally. Most homes haul water and use outhouses, and are not plumbed. Individual water wells and septic systems serve the hotels and other tourist-related businesses.
The Park Service, hotels, lodges, restaurants, guided rafting tours and other seasonal tourist-related employment exists. Healy's Usibelli Coal Mine, Golden Valley Electric Association and school district provide year-round employment.
The area has access to Anchorage and Fairbanks by the George Parks Highway. There are three airstrips within Denali park, and the U.S. Park Service owns and operates the primary 3,000-foot gravel airstrip in the park. Chartered bus tours are available from Anchorage and Fairbanks, and shuttle buses provide tours into the park. Air and helicopter tours are also available locally.
History
A settlement was reported as Riley Creek in 1920, although it may have been in a slightly different location. A post office was established in 1922, and its name was changed that year to McKinley Park. The park was established in 1917 as McKinley National Park.
Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development
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