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Denali National Park's Annual 'Road Lottery' Offers Winners Glimpse Of Alaskan Wilderness

In this photo taken Aug. 26, 2016, sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Becky Bohrer/AP)
In this photo taken Aug. 26, 2016, sightseeing buses and tourists are seen at a pullout popular for taking in views of North America's tallest peak, Denali, in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Becky Bohrer/AP)

Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve opens its only road to a select number of visitors Friday. For four days each year, Denali’s “road lottery” allows a small number of people to drive the 92-mile Denali Park Road in their own vehicle on their one assigned day.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Dan Irelan, a supervisory park ranger at Denali National Park & Preserve, about the road lottery and what makes Denali unique in the National Park System.

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