William McKinley
In 1896, a gold prospector gave McKinley's name to Denali, the tallest mountain in North America at . The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain back to Denali in 1975, which is what it was called by locals. The Department of the Interior followed suit in August 2015 as a part of a visit to Alaska by President Barack Obama. Similarly, Denali National Park was known as Mount McKinley National Park until December 2, 1980, when it was changed by legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter.
Denali State Park
Denali State Park is a 325,240 acres State Park in Alaska [1](Alaska). It is located on the south eastern border of Denali National Park and Preserve formerly known as Mt. McKinley National Park, a much larger and more popular park in the area. Denali State Park is in the southern portion of Alaska. Denali State Park is situated between Fairbanks and Anchorage Alaska. Alaska’s Highway 3, George Parks Highway, connects Fairbanks and Anchorage and runs directly through Denali State Park. This highway provides access to many different hiking routes and look out points which allow visitors to see Denali and many different parts of the natural environment only found in Alaska. One of these points include Kesugi Ridge in the Peters Hills area. A very popular trail which is known for its incredible views of the Alaska Range and tundra around it. The Alaska Range runs just north of Denali State Park and inside of Denali National Park, making the national park a more well known tourist destination. Denali State Park is in sight of Mount Denali. Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation 20,310 feet above sea level. Since it rises roughly 18000 ft base to peak it is the largest mountain situated entirely above sea level, Making the area a very popular tourist site. To the east, the state park borders the Susitna River, which feeds into the Gompertz Channel near Anchorage, then into the ocean. There are several other rivers in the park and the surrounding area which are visited by tourists.