Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7. Denali State Park
Back on Rte. 3, the drive passes through a white-and-green grove of birch trees intermixed
with ferns that stretches all the way to the Susitna River bridge and beyond. From here
north, the terrain gradually shifts from the open valleys of south-central Alaska to the icy
escarpments of the interior.
Nowhere is this change more dramatic than in Denali State Park, a 325,000-acre wil-
derness preserve that lies in the shadow of Denali National Park. Turnouts throughout the
state park afford views of Mt. McKinley and the mammoth glaciers—notably Ruth, Buck-
skin, and Eldridge—that inch their way down the southern flanks of the McKinley group,
sometimes coming within five miles of the road.
8. Hurricane Gulch
With so many natural wonders at every turn, it's easy to forget that Alaska also harbors
its fair share of man-made marvels. A prime example of these is the bridge at Hurricane
Gulch, a 260-foot-high, 550-foot-long span across the widest and deepest gorge on the Ge-
orge Parks Highway. Built in 1971, the bridge is in turn eclipsed by the railway trestle to
the west, which is 36 feet higher, 360 feet longer, and 50 years older.
9. Broad Pass
After vaulting Honolulu Creek, the drive takes aim for a breach in the wall of the Alaska
Range and enters Broad Pass, the pivot point for a panorama of peaks that soar nearly
12,000 feet skyward. Broad Pass divides the east and west segments of the Alaska Range.
Forming part of the Continental Divide, these majestic mountains segregate rivers to
the south, which flow into the Gulf of Alaska, from those to the north, which empty into
the Yukon River.
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