Kennicott River Lodge

Must Visit

by cpd44

I was born and raised in Alaska. McCarthy is the best place in the state to visit. Pristine wilderness, wildlife, amazing bike trails, no cars......other then the stray Mccarthyite's subaru (long story), Kennicot Mine, and the largest standing bar mirror in the state.

Great 4th of July festival. Drive in, fly in, camp, hotel, no star through 4 star accomodations, bike rentals, a pizza shop, and in the 90's you could bungee jump off the McCarthy bridge.

Sully Took my wife there on our first "overnight" trip. She bungee jumped off the bridge, rode mountain bikes to Kennicot, and I think our daughter was conceaved there.

Sully

Cheap Rent

by zrim

The amenities are not much to speak of, but it has a million dollar view.

McCarthy has year-round residents, but its summer population swells by ten times or more. I suppose a ramshackle cabin like this might work as a summer residence (though it doesn't look like it would do much to keep the biting flies and mosquitos out) but certainly this place would not be much use in the -40 degree temps in the dead of winter.

You see shacks like this all around rural Alaska.

Pretty Far Out There

by zrim

Here is how you get to McCarthy: fly to Anchorage (not all that bad only a five hour flight from Minnesota); rent a car and drive to Copper Center (about 7-8 hours); sign up for the shuttle to McCarthy (runs about $100 a person); get up at 5:30 a.m. to be ready for the 6:30 a.m. departure; drive over decent roads to Chitna (little bit less than 2 hours); drive over the worst imaginable road, a converted railway bed complete with undisposed railway spikes, for about 2 and a half hours to the parking lot just shy of McCarthy; cross the Kennicott River by pedestrian bridge and hike twenty minutes into town.

Kennecott Mine

by Aurora907

"Closest to McCarthy..."

The Kennecott Mines are a great area for hikes and offer many photo opportunities. It is approximately 3 hours from Chitina as you cannot too drive fast. There are many potholes, old railroad spikes and curvy turns that keep you from speeding.

"The 'ol post office"

Be sure to bring lots of film or memory cards, as there is much to photograph both of natural scenes and historical.