Ranger station · Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Your Nabesna Road gateway for permits, intel, and summer basics
Overview
Think of Slana Ranger Station as your Nabesna Road launch pad. It’s at Mile 0.5 of Nabesna Road, just off the Tok Cutoff, and it’s the northern hub for Wrangell–St. Elias trip planning. In summer (mid-May to mid-September) it’s open daily 9 am–5 pm; it’s closed the rest of the year, with winter assistance handled by park headquarters.
If you’re tackling Nabesna Road, this station is the difference between winging it and traveling smart. The rangers’ local knowledge, the permits, and the simple comforts—bathrooms, water, a few exhibits and books—make it a high-value, no-frills stop before the gravel begins.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy It’s Worth a StopMap
Local know-how
Grab permits and road updates here before committing to Nabesna Road.
If you can’t visit during summer hours, request designated-trail permits by email at least two weeks ahead.
Top off fuel before arriving—there’s no gas in Slana.
Ask about the free Nabesna Road audio tour and any current creek-crossing conditions.
Carry your own water if visiting outside summer; station water is seasonal.
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Wrangell-St. Elias Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. 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 Wrangell-St. Elias audio tourRecorded for this place
Slana Ranger Station: Your Nabesna Road Mission Control“Coming into view is the Slana Ranger Station, your mission control for the Nabesna Road. If you plan on driving the road, this stop can be the difference between winging it and traveling smart.”
Plays as you drive up to Slana Ranger Station in the Parkwolf Wrangell-St. Elias 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
If your route uses designated trails off Nabesna Road, swing in for a free permit. Can’t make the 9–5 window in summer? You can apply by email—just build in up to two weeks for processing. The station also handles certain subsistence ORV, fishing, and hunting permits.
Nabesna Road is a 42-mile unpaved adventure with big scenery and a few gotchas: limited maintenance, variable creek crossings, and rough stretches that favor high-clearance or 4WD. Cell service is spotty to nonexistent. There’s no fuel in Slana, so top off in Glennallen, Chistochina, or Tok before you roll east. Camping options along the road include primitive waysides with vault toilets and the Kendesnii Campground (picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets).
This corridor can quietly load up on sightings if you take it slow. Dall sheep appear as white dots high on rocky ridges; moose browse willow bogs and lake margins; bears key in on salmon later in the season. Keep binoculars handy, use pullouts, and scan lake edges, open muskegs, and hillsides. Expect waterfowl like loons and trumpeter swans on lakes. Give wildlife space and enjoy it from the roadside.
Wildlife
112 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
63 sightingsMooseMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
21 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
46 sightingsSteller Sea LionMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
48 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Wrangell-St. Elias. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Parkwolf’s Wrangell-St. Elias ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
