Denali Highway Points of Interest
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BLM/AK/GI-88/023+8351+050 Rev 2015 Rev BLM/AK/GI-88/023+8351+050 . and BLM Recreation Guide Recreation BLM www.twitter.com/BLMAlaska Gulkana Wild and Scenic Floater’s Guide Floater’s Scenic and Wild Gulkana River; www.facebook.com/BLMAlaska Gulkana Wild and Scenic Scenic and Wild Gulkana River; Scenic and Wild boating opportunities. Refer to BLM brochures brochures BLM to Refer opportunities. boating www.blm.gov/ak/gfo Delta Visit us on the Internet at: Internet the on us Visit Nenana, Delta and Gulkana rivers offer various various offer rivers Gulkana and Delta Nenana, Tangle Lakes and the upper upper the and Lakes Tangle Canoeing/Floating: 97 822-3217 (907) P.O. Box 147 Glennallen, Alaska 99588 Alaska Glennallen, 147 Box P.O. parts and repair equipment. repair and parts Milepost 186.5 Glenn Hwy Glenn 186.5 Milepost marked. Come prepared with adequate maps, spare spare maps, adequate with prepared Come marked. Glennallen Field Offi ce Offi Field Glennallen sharp rocks. Mileposts and many trailheads are not not are trailheads many and Mileposts rocks. sharp Bureau of Land Management Land of Bureau can be rough and dusty with wet, boggy areas and and areas boggy wet, with dusty and rough be can Price $10, available from: from: available $10, Price Denali Highway. Denali The Denali Highway and trails in the area area the in trails and Highway Denali The Bicycling: Ridges & Glaciers: A Geologic Tour Along the the Along Tour Geologic A Glaciers: & Ridges obtain a copy of the 92-page full-color book full-color 92-page the of copy a obtain Rocks, waterfowl. For more information about the Denali Highway, Highway, Denali the about information more For marmot, wolf, ptarmigan, trumpeter swan, and other other and swan, trumpeter ptarmigan, wolf, marmot, features and wildlife. Look for caribou, moose, fox, fox, moose, caribou, for Look wildlife. and features views of the Alaska Range, boreal vegetation, glacial glacial vegetation, boreal Range, Alaska the of views beginning of August until the road closes. road the until August of beginning The entire route presents outstanding outstanding presents route entire The Sightseeing: harvesting activities along the highway from the the from highway the along activities harvesting Expect to encounter subsistence hunting and and hunting subsistence encounter to Expect in Glennallen, Delta Junction, Tok and Cantwell. Cantwell. and Tok Junction, Delta Glennallen, in license agents throughout the state, including stores stores including state, the throughout agents license depend on a cell phone for your safety. your for phone cell a on depend .adfg.state.ak.us, or buy in person from from person in buy or .adfg.state.ak.us, http://www at Highway. Cell phone coverage is limited. Do not not Do limited. is coverage phone Cell Highway. the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Web site site Web Game and Fish of Department Alaska the are available 20 to 55 miles apart along the Denali Denali the along apart miles 55 to 20 available are license and view sportfi shing regulations on-line at at on-line regulations shing sportfi view and license Glennallen Field Offi Alaska ce, Offi Field Glennallen services Limited stranded. become you if help get Purchase an Alaska fi shing shing fi Alaska an Purchase streams. and lakes situation. You cannot predict how long it will take to to take will it long how predict cannot You situation. Lake trout and arctic grayling inhabit many many inhabit grayling arctic and trout Lake Fishing: extra water and suffi cient food for an emergency emergency an for food cient suffi and water extra make sure you have a jack and lug wrench. Carry Carry wrench. lug and jack a have you sure make crossing wet spots. wet crossing is in good working order. Check your spare tire and and tire spare your Check order. working good in is unmarked. Rubber boots are recommended for for recommended are boots Rubber unmarked. Before venturing on this road, be sure your vehicle vehicle your sure be road, this on venturing Before Bring topographic maps. Most trails are are trails Most maps. topographic Bring Hiking: recommended speed on the highway is 30 mph. 30 is highway the on speed recommended fi rst-served basis. rst-served fi windshield—and it could be yours! The maximum maximum The yours! be could it windshield—and day period. BLM campgrounds fi ll on a fi rst-come, rst-come, fi a on ll fi campgrounds BLM period. day vehicle. Just one small fl ying rock can damage a a damage can rock ying fl small one Just vehicle. lands. All camping is limited to 14 days within a 60- a within days 14 to limited is camping All lands. SLOW DOWN, especially when passing another another passing when especially DOWN, SLOW commercial camping on BLM-administered public public BLM-administered on camping commercial rest of the road is gravel. When driving on gravel, gravel, on driving When gravel. is road the of rest Permits are not required for non- for required not are Permits Camping: and for three miles east of Cantwell Junction. The The Junction. Cantwell of east miles three for and What to Do to What road is paved for the fi rst 21 miles west of Paxson Paxson of west miles 21 rst fi the for paved is road other time, as snowdrifts can block your way. The The way. your block can snowdrifts as time, other Points of Interest of Points viewing and hiking opportunities can be yours. be can opportunities hiking and viewing October 1. Do not attempt to travel the road at any any at road the travel to attempt not Do 1. October planning, an abundance of camping, fi shing, wildlife wildlife shing, fi camping, of abundance an planning, Highw ay The highway is generally open from mid-May to to mid-May from open generally is highway The the Last Frontier – wilderness in all directions. With With directions. all in wilderness – Frontier Last the Anchorage is about 600 miles. Allow several days. several Allow miles. 600 about is Anchorage highway is a historic and archaeological glimpse of of glimpse archaeological and historic a is highway Fairbanks is 436 miles and a loop trip from from trip loop a and miles 436 is Fairbanks with a heart for adventure and a little extra time, the the time, extra little a and adventure for heart a with Denali Junction on the Parks Highway. A loop trip from from trip loop A Highway. Parks the on Junction and recreational opportunities in Alaska. For those those For Alaska. in opportunities recreational and Paxson on the Richardson Highway with Cantwell Cantwell with Highway Richardson the on Paxson yet it offers some of the most spectacular scenery scenery spectacular most the of some offers it yet The Denali Highway, 135 miles long, connects connects long, miles 135 Highway, Denali The The Denali Highway is often overlooked by motorists, motorists, by overlooked often is Highway Denali The Introduction Travel Tips Travel BLM 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 fi re pits, water, toilets, trail, of the road and initiated its deterioration. A palsa is and 22 campsites that are available on a fi rst-come, a small dome-like frost mound, usually 10 to 20 feet fi rst-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 that Several small lakes and depressions in this area survive under these harsh conditions have stunted were formed when chunks of ice broke off retreating growth caused by permafrost, climatic conditions, The Alaska Range towers above cyclists between Paxson glaciers and were buried in the glacial debris. The and Tangle Lakes. elevation exposure, and other factors. These boreal ice eventually melted, leaving circular-shaped forests, called taiga, are dominated by spruce trees. depressions called kettles. melted away, these deposits were left as elongated mounds. Eskers along this highway are some of 23 Denali Highway Orientation Sign MP 115.0/20.0 12 Maclaren Glacier Viewpoint, North America’s most outstanding examples of this Maclaren River Bridge MP 42.0/93.0 type of glacial feature. 24 Nenana River MP 116.5/18.5 The Maclaren Glacier is about 16 miles north. (gravel turnout) The Nenana Glacier is the 17 Susitna River MP 79.5/55.5 primary source of this glacial river. The river fl ows 13 Crazy Notch MP 46.0/89.0 The Susitna River is a major drainage system into the Tanana River west of Fairbanks. The The Crazy Notch was formed by the actions of in the Denali region. The river fl ows south from the Tanana River then fl ows into the Yukon River and ice and water. The Maclaren Glacier once fl owed Susitna Glacier and the Alaska Range, eventually out to the Bering Sea. The Nenana is not good for through the Maclaren River Valley and deposited a turning west through the Talkeetna Mountains fi shing because it carries a heavy glacial silt load lateral moraine—a buildup of rocks on the sides of and then south to Cook Inlet.