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McKinley Village
The first year-round resident of the area was Bill Nancarrow who homesteaded land at Deneki Lakes in 1954, obtaining land staked in 1952. The Denali Highway, linking the Richardson Highway to the McKinley National Park Road, opened in 1957. In 1958, George Lingo opened a hamburger stand near the current site of Denali River Cabins at the crossing of the Nenena River. About a year later, Gary and Linda Crabb built and operated McKinley Village across from Lingo's business. In 1960, Lingo cleared an airstrip at Mile 229 and readied it for commercial aviation. Today, Denali Air operates from this gravel airfield.
A rough estimate of the local population is approximately 160 year-round residents, but this number swells significantly with the influx of summer seasonal residents and employees. Year-round work can be hard to come by and consequently many people head to the lower 48 for winter. Most year-round residents work for the National Park Service, the Murie Science and Learning Center and the Denali Education Center. Others run home-based small businesses or seasonal summer businesses that require weeks of winter preparation and booking.
The focus of activity is McKinley Park Community Center and Fire Hall. Few businesses remain open in winter, currently 229 Parks is open on weekends; this fine restaurant is a popular gathering spot for local residents seeking good food, libations and music. Dog-mushing, snow-machining and cross-country skiing are also enjoyed by the locals. Temperatures can dip to -50 F and top 80 F in the summer. Recent winters have brought minimal snowfall and summers minimal rain. The Community Center's new children's playground is a common gathering spot for families in the summer months.
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