#5 of 14 sights in Denali Highway
Sight · Denali Highway
A 10,000-year-old glacial gap frames McGinnis Peak and Mount Moffit.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Denali Highway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Denali Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Denali Highway audio tourRecorded for this place
Landmark Gap View: A Caribou Corridor“Up ahead is Landmark Gap View, a roadside look through a glacier-carved opening toward McGinnis Peak and Mount Moffit. It's a good short stop if you want a mountain view without a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Landmark Gap View in the Parkwolf Denali Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Landmark Gap View is a roadside scenic stop on the Denali Highway, where a glacial cut opens through the mountains above the alpine tundra. McGinnis Peak (11,400 feet) and Mount Moffit (13,020 feet) are visible through the gap. Use milepost 22.5 for the view; the Landmark Gap Lake trailhead is a separate stop at MP 24.6, about 2.1 highway miles farther west.
Glaciers scoured this opening during an ice age more than 10,000 years ago. The cut opens a long sightline through the mountains and gives the drive a clear landmark to look for.
The gap has long served as a caribou migration route and was a favored Alaska Native hunting area in past centuries. The Nelchina herd still moves through the area, though a sighting is never guaranteed.
Low-growing alpine tundra covers the high ground. Wildflowers bloom during the short June and July season, and pikas, ground squirrels and ptarmigan may be around. For a photo, keep the central gap visible and include a band of tundra in front to show the scale of the opening.
Wildlife
56 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
37 sightingsCaribouMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
26 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
25 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
17 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 10 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Denali Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyTangle Lakes Foot Trail1 mi · 30 min · 1.5 mi awayClimb an esker for a quick, wide look over the Tangle Lakes.
EasyLandmark Gap Trail North5.1 mi · 2.5 hr · 2 mi awayA gentle track to Landmark Gap Lake and its grayling pools.
ChallengingSwede Mountain Trail1.8 mi · 2 hr · 2.7 mi awayA steep climb to broad views over the Tangle Lakes.
Lodging · 0.6 mi awayTangle Lakes LodgeMeals, groceries, and a lakeside cabin in one remote stop.
Picnic area · 1 mi awayDelta Wild and Scenic River WaysideA Tangle Lakes picnic stop with a launch for longer canoe trips.
Campground · 1.5 mi awayTangle Lakes CampgroundA lakeside camp that doubles as the Delta River's 30-mile put-in.
Lodging · 2.4 mi awayTangle River InnA mile-20 roadhouse looking across Round Tangle Lake and Landmark Gap.
Sight · 2.7 mi awayWrangell Mountain ViewpointThree Wrangell peaks line up beyond a wide, brushy basin.Parkwolf’s Denali Highway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
