BLM/AK/GI-88/023+8351+050 Rev 2019 Rev BLM/AK/GI-88/023+8351+050 and Gulkana Wild and Scenic River Floater’s Guide. Floater’s River Scenic and Wild Gulkana and Map & Guide & Map Wild and Scenic River; Gulkana Wild and Scenic River; River; Scenic and Wild Gulkana River; Scenic and Wild www.twitter.com/BLMAlaska Delta Delta brochures BLM to Refer opportunities. boating www.facebook.com/BLMAlaska Nenana, Delta, and Gulkana rivers offer various various offer rivers Gulkana and Delta, Nenana, www.blm.gov/office/glennallen-field-office Tangle Lakes and the upper upper the and Lakes Tangle Canoeing/Floating: at: Internet the on us Visit maps, spare parts and repair equipment. repair and parts spare maps, (907) 822-3217 (907) 99588 Alaska Glennallen, 147 Box P.O. are not marked. Come prepared with adequate adequate with prepared Come marked. not are Hwy Glenn 186.5 Milepost and sharp rocks. Mileposts and many trailheads trailheads many and Mileposts rocks. sharp and Office Field Glennallen area can be rough and dusty with wet, boggy areas areas boggy wet, with dusty and rough be can area Management Land of Bureau The Denali Highway and trails in the the in trails and Highway Denali The Bicycling: from: Highway Denali the Along Tour Geologic A Glaciers: trumpeter swan, and other waterfowl. other and swan, trumpeter Rocks, Ridges & & Ridges Rocks, book $10 the of copy a obtain for caribou, moose, fox, marmot, wolf, ptarmigan, ptarmigan, wolf, marmot, fox, moose, caribou, for For more information about the Denali Highway, Highway, Denali the about information more For vegetation, glacial features, and wildlife. Look Look wildlife. and features, glacial vegetation, outstanding views of the Alaska Range, boreal boreal Range, Alaska the of views outstanding The entire route presents presents route entire The Sightseeing: the beginning of August until the road closes. road the until August of beginning the harvesting activities along the highway from from highway the along activities harvesting and Cantwell. Cantwell. and Expect to encounter subsistence hunting and and hunting subsistence encounter to Expect including stores in Glennallen, Delta Junction, Tok, Tok, Junction, Delta Glennallen, in stores including person from license agents throughout the state, state, the throughout agents license from person Do not depend on a cell phone for your safety. your for phone cell a on depend not Do website at http://www.adfg.state.ak.us, or buy in in buy or http://www.adfg.state.ak.us, at website the Denali Highway. Cell phone coverage is limited. limited. is coverage phone Cell Highway. Denali the at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Game and Fish of Department Alaska the at services are available 20 to 55 miles apart along along apart miles 55 to 20 available are services fishing license and view sportfishing regulations regulations sportfishing view and license fishing take to get help if you become stranded. Limited Limited stranded. become you if help get to take many lakes and streams. Purchase an Alaska Alaska an Purchase streams. and lakes many situation. You cannot predict how long it will will it long how predict cannot You situation. Lake trout and arctic grayling inhabit inhabit grayling arctic and trout Lake Fishing: extra water and sufficient food for an emergency emergency an for food sufficient and water extra crossing wet spots. wet crossing make sure you have a jack and lug wrench. Carry Carry wrench. lug and jack a have you sure make unmarked. Rubber boots are recommended for for recommended are boots Rubber unmarked. is in good working order. Check your spare tire, and and tire, spare your Check order. working good in is Bring topographic maps. Most trails are are trails Most maps. topographic Bring Hiking: Before venturing on this road, be sure your vehicle vehicle your sure be road, this on venturing Before come, first-served basis. first-served come, recommended speed on the highway is 35 mph. 35 is highway the on speed recommended 60-day period. BLM campgrounds fill on a first- a on fill campgrounds BLM period. 60-day windshield — and it could be yours! The maximum maximum The yours! be could it and — windshield lands. All camping is limited to 14 days within a a within days 14 to limited is camping All lands. vehicle. Just one small flying rock can damage a a damage can rock flying small one Just vehicle. commercial camping on BLM-managed public public BLM-managed on camping commercial SLOW DOWN, especially when passing another another passing when especially DOWN, SLOW Permits are not required for non- for required not are Permits Camping: rest of the road is gravel. When driving on gravel, gravel, on driving When gravel. is road the of rest Points of Interest of Points What to Do to What and for three miles east of Cantwell Junction. The The Junction. Cantwell of east miles three for and Highway road is paved for the first 21 miles west of Paxson Paxson of west miles 21 first the for paved is road and hiking opportunities can be yours. be can opportunities hiking and other time, as snowdrifts can block your way. The The way. your block can snowdrifts as time, other abundance of camping, fishing, wildlife viewing, viewing, wildlife fishing, camping, of abundance October 1. Do not attempt to travel the road at any any at road the travel to attempt not Do 1. October landscapes in all directions. With planning, an an planning, With directions. all in landscapes Denali Denali The highway is generally open from mid-May to to mid-May from open generally is highway The archaeological glimpse of the Last Frontier – wild wild – Frontier Last the of glimpse archaeological a little extra time, the highway is an historic and and historic an is highway the time, extra little a Anchorage is about 600 miles. Allow several days. several Allow miles. 600 about is Anchorage in Alaska. For those with a heart for adventure and and adventure for heart a with those For Alaska. in Fairbanks is 436 miles and a loop trip from from trip loop a and miles 436 is Fairbanks spectacular scenery and recreational opportunities opportunities recreational and scenery spectacular Junction on the Parks Highway. A loop trip from from trip loop A Highway. Parks the on Junction motorists, yet it offers some of the most most the of some offers it yet motorists, Paxson on the Richardson Highway with Cantwell Cantwell with Highway Richardson the on Paxson The Denali Highway is often overlooked by by overlooked often is Highway Denali The The Denali Highway, 135 miles long, connects connects long, miles 135 Highway, Denali The Bureau of Land Management Management Land of Bureau Introduction Travel Tips Travel U.S. Department of the Interior Interior the of Department U.S. Points of Interest, continued from previous page 20 Alaska Range Interpretive Sign MP 95.0/40.0 (gravel “road” on north side of highway) 10 Palsa MP 41.0/94.0 (no parking spot) Road construction in 1957 cut 21 Brushkana Creek Campground MP 104.0/31.0 into the partially collapsed palsa on the south side BLM campground with fire pits, water, vault toilets, of the road and initiated its deterioration. A palsa is trail, and 22 campsites that are available on a first- a small dome-like frost mound, usually 10 to 20 feet come, first-served basis. high, containing peat. Closer examination reveals individual ice and peat layers typical of a palsa. 22 Taiga MP 111.5/23.5 At northern latitudes, there is a short, cool growing 11 Kettle Lakes MP 41.5/93.5 season followed by a long, cold winter. Trees Several small lakes and depressions in this area that survive under these harsh conditions have were formed when chunks of ice broke off of stunted growth caused by permafrost, climatic Horseback riding is one of several ways to enjoy the views retreating glaciers and were buried in the glacial conditions, elevation exposure, and other factors. along the Denali Highway. debris. The ice eventually melted, leaving circular- These boreal forests, called taiga, are dominated shaped depressions called kettles. melted away, these deposits were left as elongated by spruce trees. 12 Maclaren Glacier Viewpoint, Maclaren River mounds. Eskers along this highway are some of 23 Denali Highway Orientation Sign Bridge MP 42.0/93.0 North America’s most outstanding examples of MP 115.0/20.0 The Maclaren Glacier is about 16 miles north. this type of glacial feature. 24 Nenana River MP 116.5/18.5 13 Crazy Notch MP 46.0/89.0 17 Susitna River MP 79.5/55.5 (gravel turnout) The Nenana Glacier is the primary The Crazy Notch was formed by the actions of The Susitna River is a major drainage system in source of this glacial river. The river flows into ice and water. The Maclaren Glacier once flowed the Denali region. The river flows south from the the Tanana River west of Fairbanks. The Tanana through the Maclaren River Valley and deposited a Susitna Glacier and the Alaska Range, eventually River then flows into the Yukon River and out to lateral moraine — a buildup of rocks on the sides turning west through the Talkeetna Mountains the Bering Sea. The Nenana is not good for fishing of the glacier. Crazy Notch was created when a and then south to Cook Inlet. The Susitna is not because it carries a heavy glacial silt load during glacial stream cut through the moraine. The notch floatable because of Devil’s Canyon downstream. the summer, but its whitewater rapids make it acts as a natural snow catchment, closing the The historic Valdez Creek Mine is on the east side increasingly popular for river running.