Kennecott

Kennecott is an abandoned mining camp tucked inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska's Copper River Census Area. During its working years it served as the operational hub for several copper mines in the area, drawing activity to this remote corner of the state. Today the camp and its mines together form a National Historic Landmark District managed by the National Park Service.

Visitors come to walk among the surviving structures of the old camp, which sit beside the Kennicott Glacier northeast of Valdez. The landscape is dramatic and the setting remote, making the combination of industrial history and Alaskan wilderness the central draw. Because the National Park Service oversees the site, facilities and interpretation are available, though the fundamental character of the place remains that of a long-quiet industrial ruin.

Access to this part of Wrangell-St. Elias is genuinely remote, and the short Alaska summer — roughly June through early September — defines the realistic visiting window. Winter conditions in this region are severe, and travelers should plan accordingly.