Page 166 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

164  ALASK A AREA B Y AREA

The enormous concrete Igloo at Mile 188.5 of the Parks Highway
6 Denali State Park The flora of the park is dominated 7 Cantwell
by white spruce and paper birch,
135 miles (215 km) N of Anchorage. as well as moss campion and 210 miles (340 km) N of
Transport map E3. @ Anchorage– Anchorage. Transport map E3.
Fairbanks. n Alaska State Parks Office mountain avens. The park’s varied * 220. @ Anchorage–Fairbanks.
(Wasilla), 745-3975. 7 lim ited.  landscape, with valley glaciers
∑ dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/ and great alpine ridges, as well This small village takes its
denali1.htm as meandering lowland streams name from the Cantwell
and Arctic tundra, make it the River, the former name of
The majority of travelers drive favored habitat of a wide range the Nenana River. This scenic
past Denali State Park en route of wildlife, including caribou, area was originally inhabited
to the better-known Denali moose, bears, wolves, and lynx. by itinerant Athabaskan
National Park (see pp166–9), Beavers and muskrats inhabit the hun ters, but the first person
effectively creating this park’s park’s wet areas, while both mar- to settle there was trapper
quieter charm. Established in mots and pikas (small rabbit-like Oley Nicklie in the early
1970, Denali State Park sprawls mammals) can be seen on tree- 20th cen tury. As more
over 507 sq miles (1,313 sq km), less hill sides and rocky outcrops. people settled there, Cantwell
which is about half the size of Other notable sights just was desig nated a federally
Rhode Island. north of the park include the recognized tribal commu-
The park offers uncrowded spectacular Hurricane Gulch at nity. Today, a quarter of its
campgrounds, fabulous hiking Mile 174 and the Igloo at Mile residents are of Native descent.
trails, and views that equal 188.5. Built in the 1970s, this Cantwell, with a food shop
those of its more renowned enor mous, now abandoned and a lodge, is a convenient
neighbor. Denali Viewpoint structure roughly marks refueling stop. It is also the
South, at Mile 134.7 of the the midway point between western terminus of the
Parks Highway, which bisects Anchorage and Fairbanks. Denali Highway.
the park, offers the best
pan orama of Denali along the No-See-Ums
road system. The park’s Kesugi
Ridge Trail, a challenging 13- The biting midges known as no-see-ums are the smallest of
to 35-mile-(21- to 56-km-) long the biting flies. Their peskiness quotient often surpasses that of
hike, follows an alpine ridge mosquitoes, as they appear in thick swarms that are impossible
east of the Parks Highway, with to ignore. Alaska has 50 midge species, of which only a few
superb mountain and glacier actually bite. The variety found in the boreal forests of Interior
views from beginning to end. Alaska, Culicoides sanguisuga
It is accessed from Little Coal (the Latin name appropriately
Creek Trailhead at Mile 163.9 means bloodsucker), raises
large itchy welts, and can make
of the Parks Highway, with life intoler able from late June
exits back to the highway via through July. A DEET-based
the Troublesome Creek, Ermine repellant will be effective,
Hill, or Cascade Trails. At the although some people swear
Cascade trailhead at Byers Lake, by the widely available Avon
there is a campground, a visitors’ Tiny midges appear in swarms in Skin-So-Soft moisturizer, which
center (summer only), and a the summer acts as a repellant.
tasteful Veterans’ Memorial.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p244 and pp254–5

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