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SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA

          This region is teeming with Gold Rush
        history  in  areas  like  Petersville  and
        Trapper Creek.  It is also home of the
        “largests” with Anchorage, the largest
        city in the state and Denali (formerly
        Mount McKinley) , the largest mountain
        in  North  America.    Wrangell-St.  Elias
        National  Park  is  the  country’s  largest
        national  park  and  rich  in  wildlife  and
        towering mountain peaks.  Reaching the
        coastline, Southcentral Alaska is where
        the largest tidewater glacier, Columbia
        Glacier flows into the icy blue waters of
        the Pacific between Whittier and Valdez.
        This is also where more than half of the
        state’s residents live.              Mt McKinley , Denali National Park

      Kantishna                            Petersville Road                       Chamber of Commerce, 415 E. Railroad Ave,
        Location:  90 miles inside Denali National Park      Beginning  at Mile 114.8 of the George Parks   Wasilla,  AK 99654; Phone: (907) 376-1299;
        & Preserve, past Wonder Lake on Moose Creek.  Highway #3 at Trapper Creek, the 40-mile Petersville   Email:  contact@wasillachamber.org. Iditarod
                                           Road heads through rugged terrain  toward the   Headquarters, 2100 S. Knik-Goose Bay Road,
        Situated within Denali National Park, Kantishna is   Petersville mine area.   Wasilla, AK 99654; Phone: (907) 376-5155.
      host to an old roadhouse that now acts as a tourist
      destination  within the park.   This area  was a gold   Talkeetna                  GEORGE PARKS HWY 3
      mining area from 1905-1944.  The recorder’s office   Location:  At mile marker  99 on George   & FISHHOOK ROAD TO KNIK
      still stands as a reminder of past days of glory.  Take a   Parks Highway #3, turn east on the Talkeetna
      tour to Kantishna Roadhouse for food, gold panning,   Spur Road  for  14  miles;  120  miles  north  of
      and more.                              Anchorage; 240 miles south of Fairbanks.   Knik
                                             Population:  summer  800, winter  400.  Visitor   Location: 17 miles northeast of Anchorage on
            GEORGE PARKS HWY 3 SOUTH         Information: Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce,   the west bank of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet;
                                             PO Box 334,  Talkeetna,  AK 99676;  kiosk   In  Wasilla,  S. Knik-Goose Bay  Road  runs 14
      Cantwell                               located next to the PO; Phone: (907) 414-0376;   miles southwest to the old townsite. Population:
        Location:   Cantwell is located on the George   Website: www.talkeetnachamber.org. Talkeetna   approximately 270.
        Parks Highway #3 at the west end of the Denali   Historical Society Museum; Phone: (907) 733-
        Highway #8; 211 miles north of Anchorage and   2487.                    Anchorage
        28 miles south of Denali National Park entrance.                          On Cook Inlet, Glenn Hwy 1 and the Seward
        Population: 166                          GEORGE PARKS HWY 3 SOUTH         Highway; 358 miles southwest of Fairbanks;
                                                                                  725 miles east  of  Whitehorse.  Population:
        AT CANTWELL JCT. GEORGE PARKS HWY   Willow                                301,000. Visitor Information: Visit Anchorage:
          3 & DENALI HWY 8 EAST TO PAXSON                                         524 W. Fourth Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501;
                                             Location:  On  George  Parks  Highway  3,  Mile   Phone: (907) 276-4118;  Website:  www.
      Paxson                                 60 to Mile 81; 26 miles west of  Wasilla, 34   anchorage.net.  Log Cabin  and Downtown
                                             miles  west  of  Palmer  and  64  miles  northwest
        Location:   Junction of Richardson Highway   of  Anchorage. Visitor  Information: Willow   Visitor Information Center: Fourth Avenue and
                                                                                  F Street (open daily); (907) 257-2363.
        4 and the Denali Highway 8.  344 miles from   Chamber  of Commerce, PO  Box 183, Willow,
        Anchorage,  135 miles  from Cantwell,  179   Alaska, 99688; Phone: (907) 495-9000; Email:  Surrounded by some of the most spectacular
        miles from Fairbanks, 186 miles from Valdez.   mail@willowchamber.org.  wilderness in the United States, Anchorage is a first-
        Population: 33.                                                         class destination, with all the amenities you’ve come
                                           Houston                              to expect. The city sits at the base of the Chugach
        Paxson is an excellent place to begin exploration   Location:  On George Parks Highway 3, 29   Mountains along the coast of Cook Inlet and lies as
      of the many lakes, trails, and river systems in the   miles north of Anchorage between Willow and   far west as the Hawaiian Islands and as far north as
      area.  It is a bird watcher’s paradise, with more that   Wasilla. Population: 1200. Visitor Information:   Helsinki yet it boasts a mild climate. Four mountain
      140 species of birds in its locale.   In addition  to   Houston Chamber  of Commerce,  2708 N   ranges, (the Chugach, Alaska, Kenai and Talkeetna)
      campgrounds,  the  traveler  will  find  lodges,  bed  &   Anthony Road, Houston,  AK 99694; Phone:   and  the  warm  Japanese  Chugach  current  combine
      breakfasts, and restaurants in the area.   (907) 631-8085. Email:  houstonakchamber@  to  create  pleasant  year-round  temperatures.  Spring
                                             hotmail.com; Visitor Center Phone: (907) 892-  through  fall, Anchorage’s climate  is  similar  to  San
            GEORGE PARKS HWY 3 SOUTH         6812; City Office Phone: (907) 892-6869.  Francisco’s spring weather;  winter comparisons
                                                                                usually  remind  visitors  of  ski resorts  in  the  Rocky
       Trapper Creek                       Big Lake                             Mountains, Canada or Europe.
                                                                                  The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
        Location: Mile 114.9 George Parks Hwy #3 at   Location:  60 miles north of  Anchorage.   serves as the primary port of entry into  Alaska’s
        the junction with Petersville Road.   Population:  3000.  Visitor information: Big   largest  city.  With  hundreds  of  flights  each  day,
                                             Lake Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 520067,   reaching Anchorage via air is comfortable, convenient
        Trapper Creek is the southern gateway to Denali   Big Lake, AK 99652; Phone: (907) 892-6109;   and time-efficient.
       National  Park  and  Preserve,  offering  spectacular   Email: biglake@mtaonline.net  Visitors venturing  to  Anchorage can also drive
       views and year round services.                                           from anywhere on the continent, any time of the year.
                                           Wasilla                              The Alaska Highway, which links Alaska with Canada
                AT TRAPPER CREEK             Location:  On George Parks Highway #3,   and the contiguous United States, is fully paved and
             JCT. GEORGE PARKS HWY 3         45 miles  north  of  Anchorage.   Population   offers  services  all  year  long.  Another  option  is  to
                & PETERSVILLE ROAD           8,400. Visitor  Information:  Greater Wasilla   take  the  Alaska Marine Highway to a nearby  port

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