Wrangell-St. Elias closes section of Root Glacier Trail after landslide risk found

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve has closed a section of the Root Glacier access trail after park geologists found new unstable ground and landslide potential on the moraine at the northern end of the Root Glacier Trail. Hikers who enter the closed area beneath the unstable hill could be injured or buried by falling rock.

Root Glacier is one of the most popular destinations in the park. The closure lands at the height of summer, when McCarthy Road is open and visitor traffic to Kennecott is at its peak. McCarthy Road is not maintained from mid-October through mid-May, concentrating nearly all glacier access into the summer months.

What Hikers Need to Know

Rangers are installing warning signs, distributing updated maps at visitor centers, and posting information on the park website and social media. Anyone planning to hike at or near Kennecott should check with a visitor center or park ranger before heading out. The park describes the situation as evolving.

No alternate route has been established. Park officials said they are seeking alternate paths to restore glacier access in the future but gave no timeline.

Why the Terrain Is Dangerous

The closure reflects a broader challenge across Alaska's national parks. The National Park Service Alaska Region has documented that landslides, rockfall, and other geohazards are common in glaciated terrain due to active tectonics and extreme climatic processes, and has called mapping landslide-prone areas a necessary step to protect visitors and infrastructure. The moraine terrain along Root Glacier, where retreating ice leaves unstable rock deposits, is the kind of landscape that geohazard guidance identifies as requiring careful hazard assessment.

Some independent hiking guides have described the Root Glacier route as manageable for experienced hikers with proper traction gear. The park warns that hikers should not enter the closed area and could be injured or buried by falling rock if they do.