Great Drives - Alaska

Along the Way

Nenana & Tenana Rivers

Leaving Fairbanks, heading south, the Parks Highway passes through rolling hill country covered with spruce and birch. After 53 miles (85 km), you'll reach Nenana, at the confluence of the Tenana and Nenana rivers. The town is home to a sizable tug and barge fleet, which services Alaskan villages located along the Tanana and Yukon rivers. The docks are located to the left side of the highway (southbound). A historic tug, the Taku Chief, sits behind the town's information center. The barges move down the river as soon as the ice is gone, taking enough supplies to outfit the villages for the next year. Moving down the river, they travel at about 12 miles-per-hour. On the way back, fighting the current, they slow to about five or six m.p.h. The Nenana Ice Classic celebrates the day each year when enough ice disappears to move a metal tripod set over the river, connected with a cable to a clock. A lottery is held to determine the best guesser, who wins close to $200,000 for the most accurate prediction. The ice leaves sometime between mid-April and mid-May.

Alaska Range -- North Slope

After leaving Nenana, passing the turnoff to the small coal-mining town of Healy (Spur Road), the route begins to climb across the Alaska Range. Healy, only 109 miles (175 km) from Fairbanks, is only 15 minutes north of the entrance to Denali National Park. There are several places to stay in the town, including the historic Healy Hotel. Before reaching Denali, the highway crosses a deep canyon, carved by the Nenana River. There's a turnout on the south side of the bridge for gorge-viewing and picture-taking.

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