Page 162 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

160  ALASK A AREA B Y AREA

and lakes of Nancy Lake State
Recreation Area provide a serene
environment for canoeing,
fishing, and wildlife watching.
The high light is the two-day
Lynx Lake Loop canoe trail,
which winds through 14 lakes
and ponds. Canoes can be
rented at South Rolly Lake in the
sum mer. Many lakes in this area
have beaver lodges and dams,
and every lake has at least one
pair of loons, whose haunting
calls punctuate sum mer
evenings. During the win ter,
Cottages lining the shoreline along Big Lake the park’s trails and canoe route
become excellent Nordic ski
1 Big Lake legally. They are banned in some trails and snowmachine routes.
60 miles (96 km) N of Anchorage. parts of the state, including
Transport map E3. * 3,300. Anchorage and much of the 4 Willow
n 3261 Big Lake Rd, 892-6109. Mat-Su, due to the possibility
_ Big Lake Ice Fishing Derby (Mar). of setting wildfires. Fireworks 70 miles (113 km) N of Anchorage.
∑ biglakechamber.org stands are permitted in only Transport map E3. * 2,100.
one area near the southern @ Anchorage–Fairbanks. n 495-
Dubbed Alaska’s “Year Round end of the town, and it is worth 9000.∑ willowchamber.org
Playground”, Big Lake lives up to visiting for their advertising
the moniker. In the sum mer, the alone. The most imaginative is Founded in 1897 after the
lake echoes with the roars of Gorilla Fireworks, featuring enor- discovery of gold in the
motorboats, floatplanes, jet mous inflatable gorillas and a Talkeetna Mountains, Willow
skis, and fireworks, while in range of psychedelic vehicles. flourished until the 1940s, when
the winter, it buzzes as snow- mining stopped and the town
machiners take to the trails. 3 Nancy Lake State lapsed into obscurity. It gained
While the community itself is national visibility in 1976, when
small, most of the sur rounding Recreation Area voters selected it as their new
lakes are lined with the vaca tion Nancy Lake Parkway, Mile 67.3 Parks state capital. Investment poured
cabins of city dwellers trying to Hwy. Transport map E3. n Ranger in, land prices skyrocketed, and
get away to the outdoors. How- Station, Mile 1.3 Nancy Lake Parkway, myr iad plans surfaced for the
ever, in contrast to Big Lake’s 495-6273. &   ∑ dnr. new “capital in the wilder ness.”
constant hum of activity, many alaska.gov/parks/units/nancylk/ The hype evaporated after
of these lakes, including the nancylk.htm a 1982 referendum in which
Papoose Twins, Big Beaver Lake, Alaskans declined to fund the
and Horseshoe Lake, are quieter. The Susitna Valley landscape predicted costs of the move
Most have public boat launches is dominated by the winding from Juneau. The town now
that offer access to quiet sailing, ridges and small hills – eskers serves as a Parks Highway snack
kayaking, and canoeing, as well and drumlins – left behind by stop, and, more importantly,
as the chance to view otters, retreating glaciers. Here, the as the restart location for the
musk rats, and nesting waterfowl. low-lying bogs, forested slopes, Iditarod (see p49).
Devastating forest fires in
1996 burned much of the area,
but it now provides a first-hand
look at the regener ation of the
boreal forest.

2 Houston
60 miles (96 km) N of Anchorage.
Transport map E3. * 1,900. @
Anchorage–Fairbanks.
Stretched out along the Parks
Highway, this small service
center is the only place in the
Matanuska-Susitna Valley where
fireworks can be purchased Small roadside museum on the Parks Highway at Willow
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p244 and pp254–5

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