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About
McCarthy Alaska
The wilderness town of McCarthy Alaska is the gateway to Wrangell St.
Elias
National
Park and lies within its borders. Our trips into the backcountry
of the park fly out of the McCarthy airstrip. The former mining
site of Kennicott is only a few miles away.
Abandoned in the late 1930's, Kennicott's red buildings are still
scattered along the mountainside overlooking the Kennicott Glacier,
Root Glacier and Mt. Blackburn, making it a picturesque location that
photographers drool over.
McCarthy
bloomed as the service town for Kennicott. Hotels, stores, pool
halls and other "entertainment"made up the bustling Alaskan town.
At its peak, McCarthy had around 500 buildings of which a handful
still remain. When Kennicott ceased operation and the last train
left in 1938, McCarthy slowly died. The area is now home to approximately
25 - 30 year round residents and has become a popular destination
for many travelers from around the world.
The McCarthy Road has become the main entranceto the Wrangell-St.
Elias National Park and the only road access to McCarthy and Kennicott.
This 60 mile dirt road follows the old railroad bed that linked
Kennicott with Cordova. The McCarthy Road ends at the Kennicott
River where a footbridge allows access to McCarthy and Kennicott.
Shuttle service is available from the footbridge to town and between
McCarthy and Kennicott.
McCarthy has several options for overnight
accomodations, a lodge, a few restaurants including The Potato(an
eatery/espresso stand), Tailor Made Pizza, a bar, gift shop, flight
seeing services, a museum and a guiding company now make up "downtown"
McCarthy Alaska.
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