Date: May 12, 2011
Contact: Kris Fister, (907) 683-9583
Due to the deterioration of the snowpack, Denali National Park and Preserve Superintendent Paul Anderson has determined that there is no longer adequate snow cover for the use of snowmobiles for traditional activities in the 1980 additions to Denali National Park and Preserve on both sides of the Alaska Range. All park lands that were open for traditional snowmobile use are now closed for the season. Even in areas such as Broad Pass and near Cantwell, the warmer temperatures and long days have reduced snow depths to a level that is no longer adequate to protect the vegetation and soils.
All lands within the former Mount McKinley National Park on both the north and the south sides of the Alaska Range are closed to all snowmobile use by federal regulation.
Effective immediately, the Windy Creek Trail, Cantwell Airstrip Trail, Pyramid Trail, Cantwell Creek Floodplain Trail/Corridor, and the Bull River Floodplain Trail/Route are temporarily closed by regulation (36 CFR 13.903 and 13.460) to the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) by authorized subsistence users in order to protect vegetation and soils from damage. The temporary closure will allow the trails to dry in order to sustain ORV traffic. These trails will re-open for use on June 15, 2011. A map of the trails is posted on the park website at www.nps.gov/dena/parknews/upload/ORV%20Closure.jpg.
Additional park information is available on the park website at www.nps.gov/dena or by calling the park at (907) 683-9532 from 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. daily. Stay connected with "DenaliNPS" on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and iTunes – links to these social media sites are available at www.nps.gov/dena.
