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IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
VISITOR
GUIDE
HIT THE TRAIL
page 3
HISTORIC OVERVIEW
page 6
BIRTH OF SLED DOG RACING
page 20
Table of Contents
Iditarod Trail System Map........... 4
Alaska’s Enduring Trail ............... 6
Kenai Mountains ....................... 9
Turnagain Arm ........................ 10
Anchorage Area ...................... 12
Wasilla Area ........................... 13
INHT Stamp Program .............. 14
Tips for Trail Travel .................. 16
Public Shelter Cabins............... 17
McGrath................................. 18
Unalakleet .............................. 18
Nome .................................... 19
Sled Dog Racing ..................... 20
More than a Race Trail ............. 21
Volunteers Keep
the Trail Open ......................... 22
Iditarod Historic Trail
VISITOR GUIDE
Contributions and Assistance from
Judy Bittner, Annette Heckart, Kevin Keeler,
Robert King, Carrie Cecil
All photos courtesy of the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) unless otherwise noted.
Printed on chlorine-free paper
using soy-based ink.
The Iditarod Historic Trail is published by the
Alaska Geographic Association in cooperation
with BLM. This free publication is made
possible with funding from the Iditarod Historic
Trail Alliance, BLM, and revenue from Alaska
Geographic Association bookstore sales.
© Alaska Geographic
Produced and Designed by:
Cover photo: Bob Wick
Top cover photo: Anchorage Museum
2
Celebrating Alaska’s
National Historic Trail!
In 1968, Congress passed the National Trails System Act. The Act
established a nationwide system of trails to provide for outdoor
recreation and the enjoyment and conservation of scenic, historic,
natural, and cultural areas of national significance. In doing so,
the Act also recognized the valuable role and contributions of the
many volunteers and nonprofit trail groups that help to develop
and maintain our nation’s trails. Fifty years later, we continue to
celebrate the amazing work of these groups and their continued
efforts in preserving and promoting our National Trails System.
The Iditarod National Historic Trail consists of a network of nearly
2,400 miles of winter trails that wind between the communities
of Seward and Nome. It was named a National Historic Trail by
Congress on November 10, 1978. It is both a symbol of frontier
travel during the last great American gold-rush (1910-1917), and a
celebration of the role that mushers and their dog teams played in
settling Alaska. Across America, only 19 trails have been honored
as National Historic Trails. The Iditarod is the only National Historic
Trail in Alaska, and the only winter trail in the entire National
Historic Trail system.
No one entity manages the entire Iditarod National Historic Trail.
The Bureau of Land Management was appointed to coordinate the
efforts of public land managers and volunteers on behalf of the
Trail, but the actual management, maintenance, and preservation
of the Trail, including the natural and cultural sites located along it,
is a group effort.
A variety of entities (federal, state, local government, nonprofit,
and private) are actively involved in promoting the history, use,
protection, and development of the Iditarod National Historic Trail.
There are many ways to enjoy the Iditarod National Historic Trail.
From mushing to museums, hiking to historic gold mines, we hope
you can join us in celebrating the spirit and place of America’s last
great gold rush trail. See you out on the Trail!
How to Hit the Trail
Southcentral Alaska:
Check out the paved bike path along Resurrection Bay
in Seward.
Backpack over the Crow Pass Trail from Girdwood to
the Eagle River Nature Center.
Visit the Eagle River Nature Center in Chugach State
Park and see spawning salmon during the late summer.
Stroll on the Trail at Bird Point along the Seward
Highway and check out interpretive panels along
the way.
Why You Don’t Want
to Walk to Nome (in Summer)
Five hundred miles of swamp, ankle busting tussocks,
clouds of mosquitoes, and enough creek and river
crossings to make you want to grow webbed feet!
Much of the country crossed by the historic Iditarod
Trail north of Knik consists of flat, boggy basins lined
with permafrost and punctuated by black spruce.
There’s a reason the old-timers rode the steamers
up and down the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in the
summer. There are good stretches of high country
that will give you a taste of the Trail, but if you want to
seek out the flats, know before you go and bring your
bug spray!
Hike the Trail in Girdwood, stopping at Crow Creek
Mine to pan for gold.
Visit the replica Iditarod Trail public shelter cabin at the
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters in Wasilla.
Ride the Alaska Railroad into the Kenai Mountains and
explore Alaska’s roadless backcountry at the Spencer
Glacier Whistle Stop in the Chugach National Forest.
View the waterfowl and the Knik River crossing
of the Trail at Reflections Lake, at mile 30 of the
Glenn Highway.
Interior/Rivers Region:
Charter a small plane from the community of McGrath
to visit the ghost town of Iditarod.
Fly mountain bikes to Takotna and ride old mining
roads to the Ophir goldfields.
Fish for silver salmon on the Unalakleet River along the
Kaltag Portage.
Fly into the BLM Rohn Shelter Cabin and backpack
30 miles over Rainy Pass for a floatplane pick up near
Puntilla Lake.
Bering Sea Coast:
Visit the city of Nome and experience the beaches
that were once filled with gold!
Drive out from Nome on the Council Highway to the
Safety Sound Bridge, and walk the Trail on the beach of
the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
Snowmachine, skijor, or dog mush from village to
village, stopping at public safety cabins along the way.
Cheer on participants of the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled
Race, Iron Dog Snowmobile Race, and human-powered
Iditarod Trail Invitational and Iditasport Ultra Marathon
as they travel along the coast towards Nome.
3
NOME
SAFETY
N O R T
O N
15
SOLOMON
WHITE
MOUNTAIN
GOLOVIN
ELIM
S O U N
D
SAINT MICHAEL
GRAYLING
ANVIK
CANDLE
KOYUK
SHAKTOOLIK
14
12
UNALAKLEET
N
K O
Y U
SHAGELUK
R
V E
R I
KOYUKUK
E R
R I V
O N
Y U K
EAGLE ISLAND
11
OTTER
HOLY CROSS
13
10
NULATO
KALTAG
GA
DISHKAKAT
9
8
6
OPHIR
IDITAROD
TAKOTNA
FLAT
MCGRATH
Bering Sea
Coast
Interior/Rivers
Region
A
L
A
Southcentral
Region
Public Safety Cabin
Historic Trail (Seward to Nome)
Connecting Trails
Bering Sea Coast
1. Crow Pass (USFS)*
8. Tol
2. Eagle River Nature Center (ERNC)*
9. His
3. Historic ARC [Skwentna Crossing] (AK DNR) 10. Mo
4. Rohn (BLM)
11. Big
Interior/Rivers Region
5. Bear Creek (BLM)
12. Trip
Southcentral Region
6. Carlson Crossing (AK DNR)
13. Old
Town or Place Name
7. N. Fork Innoko (AK DNR)
14. Foo
Abandoned Town
Race Checkpoint
4
K
E T
L
I N
K
O
C O
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Route
S
A
15. Top
(All cabins are available for public use without res
For more information on these cabins se
Iditarod National Historic Trail
ALENA
RUBY
1925 Serum Route
Y U K O N
7
R I V E R
TANANA
1925 Serum
Route
CRIPPLE
NENANA
NIKOLAI
5
4
G E
N
A
R
ROHN
RAINY PASS
PUNTILLA LAKE
A
FINGER LAKE
SKWENTNA
3
YENTNA
WILLOW
KNIK
SUSITNA STATION
ANCHORAGE
WASILLA
EKLUTNA
2
EAGLE RIVER
1
GIRDWOOD
HOPE
WHITTIER
MOOSE PASS
SEWARD
lstoi Headwaters (AK DNR)
storic ARC [Don’s] (AK DNR)
oose Creek (AK DNR)
g Yentna Crossing (AK DNR)
pod Flat (BLM)
d Woman (BLM)
othills (BLM)
pkok Mushers (Nome Kennel Club)
servation unless noted [*].
ee pages 16–17).
Image courtesy of the Anchorage Museum.
5
Alaska’s Enduring Trail
At the turn of the twentieth century in Alaska,
transportation between boomtowns like Nome,
Fairbanks, and Valdez relied on river and ocean steamers
in summer, and horse and sled dog teams in the winter.
In 1908, the Alaska Road Commission (ARC) sought a
shorter winter overland route to Nome than the existing
1,300-mile route from Valdez through Fairbanks. The
ARC dispatched Colonel Walter Goodwin and a crew of
three men with their dog teams to scout a winter trail
from Seward, over the Alaska Range, to Nome.
As surveyed, the new trail was 958 miles long—nearly
400 miles shorter than the existing overland route.
Despite this, Goodwin concluded that the lack of
population and low demand for mail service made its
development unnecessary. That was until Christmas
Day 1908 when gold was discovered on a tributary of
the Iditarod River.
In fall 1908, prospectors Johnny Beaton and Bill
Dikeman had driven a small steamboat up the Iditarod
River, built a tiny cabin, and began melting the frozen
ground and hand-digging small exploratory pits on
streambeds. Beaton and Dikeman dug 26 pits without
any luck before hitting pay dirt on Christmas Day. The
gold they found was 12 feet beneath the ground surface.
The Iditarod goldfields became the fourth most
productive district in all of Alaska. The Iditarod rush
was the last great American gold rush. Over 65 tons of
gold, or about $2.5 billion dollars at today’s value, were
taken out of the Iditarod district – and much of it by
dogsled!
Goodwin expedition measuring the Seward to Nome route with
cyclometer attached to a dogsled.
Boomtowns, Gold Trains,
and Roadhouses
Even by Alaska standards, the Iditarod goldfields
were so remote that it wasn’t until summer 1910 that
stampeders arrived. But within three months, goldseekers had built two new towns: Iditarod and Flat.
Each town was home to about 2,000 citizens. By winter
1910, “gold-train” sled dog teams packed with a half-ton
of gold each made the three-week run from to Seward.
Tons of gold came out, and tons of freight, food, and
mail went in.
Roadhouses and trail-marking ‘tripods’ lined the
520-mile route to Seward from Iditarod. Located a
day’s journey by foot or dog team—about 20 miles—
the roadhouses allowed travel without the need for
overnight camping or carrying of three weeks of
provisions. Thousands of fortune seekers, many on foot
or snowshoe, traveled across Alaska on this trail system.
By 1918, however, the steady stream of travelers along
the trail turned into a trickle. World War I drew young
miners and workers away from the goldfields. At the
same time, new winter mail contracts bypassed the
fading town of Iditarod in favor of more direct routes
to Nome.
Pre-RussoEuro Contact
1843
RUSSIANS BEGIN
USING THE KALTAG
NATIVE PEOPLE FROM
PORTAGE, A
SEWARD PENINSULA
TRADITIONAL
TO PRINCE WILLIAM
ALASKA NATIVE
SOUND ESTABLISH
TRADING ROUTE
TRAILS LATER USED AS
THAT RUNS BETWEEN
THE IDITAROD TRAIL
THE COMMUNITIES
OF KALTAG AND
UNALAKLEET
6
1867
1900
1903
1908
1908
1910-1912
THE UNITED
STATES
PURCHASES
ALASKA FROM
RUSSIA
GOLD FLAKES
ARE FOUND IN
THE SANDS OF
NOME’S BEACHES
PROMPTING A
RUSH OF MINERS
TO THE REGION
THE CITY OF
SEWARD FORMED
AS START OF NEW
RAILROAD LINKING
COAST TO INTERIOR
SEWARD TO NOME
ROUTE EXPLORED
BY COLONEL
WALTER GOODWIN
THE ALASKA ROAD
COMMISSION
SENDS COLONEL
WALTER GOODWIN
AND HIS CREW TO
SCOUT A SEWARDTO-NOME TRAIL
TEN THOUSAND
STAMPEDERS RUSH
TO MINING CAMPS
BETWEEN IDITAROD
AND RUBY
Nome Serum Run Marks the
Beginning of the End
In the winter of 1925, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria
threatened Nome’s residents. Winter ice had
closed the port city from the outside world without
enough serum to vaccinate its residents. Serum from
Anchorage was rushed by train to Nenana and then
picked up by a sled dog relay. Twenty of Alaska’s
best mushers and their teams carried the serum 674
miles from Nenana to Nome in less than five and a
half days!
This was to be one of the final great feats by sled
dogs during this era. Within a decade, air transport
replaced the sled dog team as the preferred way to
ship mail. With downturns in gold mining, most of
the roadhouses closed, boomtowns emptied, and the
Iditarod Trail fell into disuse.
A Partnership Effort Reopens
the Iditarod Trail
After the end of the Last Great Gold Rush, the
Iditarod Trail system was reclaimed by forest and
tundra for almost half a century until Alaskans, led by
Joe Redington, Sr., reopened the routes. Joe and his
friends created an epic sled dog race from Anchorage
to Nome following the route of the historic Iditarod
Trail. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race helped revive
dog mushing in Alaska and around the world. Thanks
to the efforts of Joe and the Alaska Congressional
delegation, the Iditarod was established as a National
Historic Trail in 1978.
Alaska Fire Service crew member puts the finishing touches
on a tripod in the Farewell Burn, 1981.
Tripods Lead to Safety
For the past century, wooden tripods have been
placed at close intervals along treeless sections
of the Iditarod Trail to guide travelers safely
through blizzards. A 1912 article in Alaska Yukon
Magazine titled “Trail Making in Alaska” described
how Colonel Goodwin, leader of the Alaska Road
Commission expedition to mark the trail from
Seward to Nome, constructed the tripods:
“… tripods… consisted of three sticks of timber
each, two of which were eight feet long and the
third ten or eleven feet long. They are so fastened
together that the longest of the three sticks projects
two or three feet over the others and directly above
the trail.”
Because the tripods sat on top of the ground rather
than in it, they could more easily flex between cold,
dry, warm, or wet seasons. This meant fewer broken
trail markers.
The same tripod design is still in use today.
Volunteer groups and public land managers work to
provide these safety markers over hundreds of miles
of the trail.
1910-1911
1912
AK ROAD
ALASKA
COMMISSION
BECOMES A
SPENDS $10,000 TO
TERRITORY
CONSTRUCT SEWARDTO-NOME TRAIL
WITH A BRANCH
TO THE IDITAROD
GOLDFIELDS
1914
1918
1925
1968
1973
1978
U.S. MAIL CARRIED
THE LENGTH OF THE
‘IDITAROD TRAIL’; U.S.
GOVERNMENT TAKES
OVER CONSTRUCTION
OF ALASKA RAILROAD,
ESTABLISHING NEW
HEADQUARTERS ON
COOK INLET
WORLD WAR I DRAWS
YOUNG MINERS AND
WORKERS AWAY
FROM THE GOLD
FIELDS LEADING TO
THE END OF THE
STAMPEDE
DIPHTHERIA
EPIDEMIC
THREATENS
NOME; SERUM IS
DELIVERED VIA
DOG TEAM FROM
NENANA
THE NATIONAL
TRAILS SYSTEM
ACT IS PASSED BY
CONGRESS ON
OCTOBER 2
THE FIRST
IDITAROD TRAIL
SLED DOG
RACE IS RUN TO
NOME
IDITAROD NATIONAL
HISTORIC TRAIL
ESTABLISHED BY
CONGRESS
7
Attractions Along the Iditarod National
Historic Trail in Southcentral Alaska
Dorothy E. Page Museum
and Visitor Center
PALMER
WASILLA
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race Headquarters
Knik Museum
Alaska Sled Dog Mushers
Hall of Fame
Reflections Lake & Palmer Hay Flats
State Game Refuge
KNIK
EKLUTNA
Eklutna Historic Park
EAGLE RIVER
Chugach
State Park
Eagle River Nature Center (ERNC)
ERNC Public Use Cabins
and Yurts
ANCHORAGE
Anchorage Museum
Alaska Public Lands
Information Center
Ship Creek /
Indian Pass Trail
Crow Pass Trail
Crow Pass Cabin
(USFS)
Bird to Gird
Bike Trail
Turn
a
Winner Creek Trails
Crow Creek
Mine Site
Alyeska Roundhouse Museum
US Forest Service Ranger Station
GIRDWOOD
gain A
rm
HOPE
Portage
Whistle Stop
Hope Historical
Museum
WHITTIER
Turnagain Pass
Trail of
Blue Ice
Chugach State Park
Johnson Pass
Trail
Chugach National Forest
Spencer
Whistle Stop
Iditarod National Historic Trail (INHT)
Hiking Trails / Biking (part of INHT system)
Roads
MOOSE PASS
Railroad
Museum
Chugach
National Forest
Hiking
Whistle Stop/AKRR
Visitor Center
Historic Mine Site
Bike Trail
Wildlife Viewing
Seward
Community Library
and Museum
Public Use Shelter
0
8
5
10
20
Miles
Kenai Fjords
National Park
Visitor Center
SEWARD
Begich, Boggs
Visitor Center
Southcentral Region
Kenai Mountains
Seward (Mile 0)
Look for the tripod and
historic Iditarod Trail
monument located along the
shoreline of Resurrection
Bay next to the Alaska
SeaLife Center. This is the
southernmost terminus for
the historic Iditarod Trail.
During the gold rush era,
thousands of people set off
from Seward trying to realize their dreams of fortune.
A paved segment of the historic trail follows the bay for
one mile to the small boat harbor. See statues of historic
mushers, including one of the famous Japanese musher
Jujiro Wada, along the waterfront trail.
Johnson Pass Trail
This 23-mile trail is part of the historic Iditarod Trail
system. It is one of many commemorative Iditarod Trail
segments in the Chugach National Forest. Popular
with mountain bikers and hikers, this trail offers
spectacular scenery with hemlock forests, wildflowers,
and sweeping vistas. This is an excellent trail for a
multi-day family outings. Wildlife viewing, hunting, and
fishing opportunities also exist. Trailheads at mile 64 of
the Seward Highway (north end) and mile 32.5 of the
Seward Highway (south end).
Seward Community Library and Museum
The Resurrection Bay Historical Society maintains a
museum in downtown Seward that tells the history
of the area and the Iditarod. If you visit during the
summer, be sure to catch one of their evening programs
on the history of the Iditarod Trail.
For more information on the mission and activities
of the Resurrection Bay Historical Society visit
www.resbayhistorical.org.
Alaska Railroad & Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop
Hop on board the Alaska Railroad and follow the
main route of the historic Iditarod Trail deep into the
roadless backcountry of the Chugach National Forest.
The Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop is the first in a series
of whistle stops that offers hiking, glacier viewing, and
amazing scenery. Trips can be arranged through the
Alaska Railroad at www.akrr.com.
9
Turnagain Arm
Portage Valley-Trail of Blue Ice
MILE 0
Kenai Fjords National Park
Information Center
The Trail of Blue Ice is a segment of the Southern Trek section of
the historic Iditarod Trail system. Located in the Chugach
National Forest, in the glacially carved Portage Valley, the trail
starts at the Moose Flats Day Use Site. This wide and wellsurfaced trail runs five miles to the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center.
All sections are accessible and great for a family outing.
Seward
of Yesteryear
“Seward Route
to the Iditarod
the Only Way”
Headline from Seward Weekly Gateway Paper, Nov. 1909
Although officially founded in 1903, the
town of Seward bustled with prospectors for
at least a decade prior to its incorporation.
The year-round ice-free waters of
Resurrection Bay made Seward an ideal port
and supply point for booming Interior Alaska
mining communities.
The first wave of commerce came to Seward
in the late 1890s with the discovery of gold
on the north side of the Kenai Peninsula
at Hope and Sunrise. As new gold strikes
were made in other places around Alaska,
community boosters worked hard to
make sure that Seward stayed on the map.
They pressed for the development of a
government trail leading from Seward to
the new Iditarod goldfields in the Upper
Innoko Basin. In December 1909, the
town hired a Japanese businessman and
adventurer named Jujiro Wada to help
survey a route from Seward to Iditarod.
Despite several setbacks along the way—
including prolonged temperatures of minus
60 degrees Fahrenheit—Wada and his team
were successful.
Newspapers touted the advantages of the
Seward route over the Richardson Trail from
Valdez to Fairbanks. In 1910, the Alaska
Road Commission decided to spend $10,000
to construct a trail connecting Seward to
Nome.
10
Begich, Boggs Visitor Center
Built on the terminal moraine left behind by Portage Glacier, the
visitor center offers interactive displays, videos, and educational
programs about the natural history of the Chugach National
Forest. The visitor center is open seven days a week during the
summer and closed through the winter season.
Seward Highway All-American Road
Considered to be one of the best scenic byways in the United
States, the Seward Highway extends 125 miles from Seward
to Anchorage along the Kenai Peninsula and Turnagain Arm.
When following the Seward Highway, you are actually following
much of the historic Iditarod Trail. Road signs direct drivers to
numerous trailheads and campsites located just off the highway.
Hope Historic District
The small, quiet communities of Hope and nearby Sunrise were
once booming gold rush cities in the late 1890s. Many of the
old buildings and charm of the gold rush days still remain in
Hope. In fact, the downtown store opened in 1896 and is still
serving customers today. Be sure to check out the Hope-Sunrise
Historical and Mining Museum.
Girdwood
The town of Girdwood was established in 1906 as a
place to rest and gather supplies before crossing the
Iditarod Trail over the Chugach Mountains. Today, the
town hosts some of the most easily accessed and
historically intact segments of the Iditarod Trail. Wide,
paved bike paths parallel the Alyeska Highway in the
lower valley, while moss-shrouded rainforest sections
start at trailheads from mile 1.6 of Crow Creek Road.
For more information, visit the U.S. Forest Service
Glacier Ranger District office just off the Alyeska
Highway, or look for maps at nearby trailheads.
Crow Creek Mine
Visitors can pan for gold, camp, and get a feel for life
in a historic gold camp at one of the largest intact
historic mines in Southcentral Alaska (summer only).
Established in 1896, the Crow Creek Mine was the most
productive placer mining camp in the Turnagain-Knik
region, and a heavy user of the Iditarod Trail to Seward.
Crow Pass Trail
At the end of Crow Creek Road, a 3.5-mile segment of
the historic Iditarod Trail route leads to Crow Pass—the
highest point on the entire Seward to Nome trail. This
is one of the most scenic hikes in all of Southcentral
Alaska and a great way to experience the Trail.
Adventurous backpackers can continue over the pass on
a 24-mile traverse of Chugach State Park, finishing at
the Eagle River Nature Center. The Forest Service rents
a public use cabin in the Crow Pass area. Summer use
only is recommended due to avalanche hazards. Tips for
traveling on the trail can be found on pages 16 and 17.
Bird to Gird National Recreation Trail (Girdwood to
Indian Pathway)
Roundhouse Museum at Alyeska Resort
The Roundhouse Museum is located in a historic
chairlift terminal high above the Girdwood Valley. The
museum exhibits focus on outdoor recreation and skiing
but include some information about the history of gold
mining activities in the area as well. Accessed via the
Alyeska Resort tram, the museum provides a grand view
of the Iditarod route across the Chugach Mountains.
Open summer and winter.
First cut by trail builders in 1908 seeking to avoid the
avalanche prone Crow Pass Trail, today’s route is a wide
13-mile, bike-friendly asphalt trail. There are frequent
turnouts, numerous information displays, and great
opportunities for wildlife viewing along this portion of
the trail. Trailheads are located at the Bird Point rest
stop at mile 96.1 on the Seward Highway and behind
the Chugach National Forest Ranger Station on the
Alyeska Highway in Girdwood.
Winner Creek Trails
Long a favorite with local residents, the Winner Creek
segment of the historic Iditarod Trail provides access
to the spectacular Four Corners Gorge and an exciting
hand-operated tram over the chasm. The Winner Creek
Trail is accessible from both Crow Creek Road and the
Alyeska Hotel. The Upper Winner Creek Trail to Berry
Pass provides a nine-mile route to a spectacular alpine
pass. There are multiple water crossings along this
primitive trail.
11
Anchorage Area
Ship Creek / Indian Pass Trail
Mile 118
Alaska Public Lands
Information Center
Anchorage of
Yesteryear
Anchorage was a blank spot on the map
when the Seward-to-Nome government trail
opened in 1910. All of this changed in 1915,
when the federal government established
the townsite of Anchorage as the
headquarters of the soon-to-be-built Alaska
Railroad. The main route of the Iditarod Trail
soon included the new boomtown, and dog
teams loaded with hundreds of thousands
of dollars of Iditarod gold became a regular
sight on Anchorage’s main streets.
Every winter until 1919 when the railroad
segment to the ice-free port of Seward was
completed, Anchorage received its winter
mail and supplies by dog teams traveling
the Indian Valley/Ship Creek Trail. The main
hotel in town even included dog kennels in
the basement for visiting mushers.
A largely unimproved, 20-mile traverse through rainforest,
alpine and sub-boreal forest, this excursion is best done on skis
in winter. Improved segments at either end provide enjoyable
‘out-and-back’ day trips, but to travel the full length requires
a bit more planning and fortitude. It is accessible year-round
on the Ship Creek side via scenic Arctic Valley Road just north
of Anchorage, off the Glenn Highway at Arctic Valley exit. The
trailhead at Indian Valley is located just off the Seward Highway
by the community of Indian at mile 23 of the Seward Highway.
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Ceremonial Start
Every year on the first
Saturday of March, dozens of
mushers and dog teams start
their journey to Nome with a
warm-up trip over the trails
of Anchorage. From Fourth
Avenue, teams fly down the
Cordova Street hill to the
paved Chester Creek bike
path, and head east to finish
their run at the Bureau of Land Management’s Campbell Tract
Facility. Good opportunities for wildlife viewing can be had on
the trails year round.
Alaska Public Lands Information Center
This interagency visitor center on Fourth Avenue can
provide details on Iditarod Trail-related recreation described
in this guide, as well as other opportunities throughout
Alaska. Open year-round; more information available at
https://www.alaskacenters.gov/.
Eagle River Nature Center
The upper Eagle River Valley was once described by U.S.
Army explorers on the Iditarod a century ago as a “miniature
Yosemite.” The nonprofit Eagle River Nature Center provides
nature studies for adults and children, nine miles of hiking
trails—including a portion of the historic Iditarod Trail—and
overnight camping (by reservation) at a public use cabin and
three yurts. Located at mile 10 on Eagle River Road, the site is
open year round.
Eklutna Historic Park
This Dena’ina Athabaskan village site, established in 1650, was
a winter Knik River crossing site for the historic Iditarod Trail.
A museum, historic Russian Orthodox church from the 1840s,
and colorfully decorated graveyard ‘spirit houses’ provide a
window into the past. Open to the public from May 15 through
September 15. Guided tours are available during the summer
season. On Eklutna Village Road in Chugiak.
Image Courtesy of the Anchorage Museum Archives:
Alaska Railroad Collection.
12
Wasilla Area
Reflections Lake at Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge
Excellent waterfowl viewing and stunning Chugach mountain
scenery can be found at the over-the-Knik River ice crossing
site of the old Iditarod Trail. A flat, one-mile gravel trail winds
around Reflections Lake leading to a 35-foot tall viewing tower
on the northwest side of the lake that offers hidden views into
this unique intertidal wetland. Access at the Reflections Lake
exit at mile 30 on the Glenn Highway.
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters
A large log building houses a museum with memorabilia,
displays, and photographs dating back to the first runs of
the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1973. A public shelter
cabin replica is located on site with artifacts and information
associated with the historic uses of the Iditarod Trail. The
site is open year round and dog sled rides are offered May to
September. Mile 2.2 Knik-Goose Bay Road.
Knik Museum—Alaska Sled Dog Mushers Hall of Fame
Located on the main route of the historic Iditarod Trail where
it passed through the gold rush era town of Knik, the museum
building was previously used as a pool hall and roadhouse. The
first floor contains artifacts and photographs from the historic
Knik townsite, while the second floor is home to the Sled Dog
Mushers Hall of Fame. Visitors can take short walks along a
portion of the historic trail that passes near the museum. At
mile 13.9 Knik-Goose Bay Road.
Dorothy E. Page Museum and Visitor Center
Owned and operated by the City of Wasilla, this museum
consists of eleven historic structures in downtown Wasilla,
including two listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Experience interactive dog mushing and gold mining exhibits,
as well as a temporary, rotating exhibit space. Open year round,
although summer and winter hours may vary.
Mile 147
Knik Museum and
Mushers Hall of Fame
Knik of
Yesteryear
During the Iditarod gold rush, Knik was
the last major outfitting center before
stampeders struck out for gold mines
375 miles to the northwest. Stampeders
would travel to Knik either by trail over
the Chugach Mountains, or by steamship
up the Cook Inlet from Seward. At its
peak population, Knik was home to 1,500
people, a variety of businesses, and was
the hub for a number of trails to goldfields
and coalfields. The founding of Anchorage
and the Alaska Railroad’s bypassing of Knik
caused the town’s rapid decline—by 1920
the majority of its population had moved on.
“Normally a small and quiet village,
Knik was in the throes of a boom.
The hotel was a new, two-story frame
building, but construction-wise a mere
shell. From the small downstairs lobby
one could hear a man change his mind
in the farthest room upstairs”
Harold Peckenpaugh, 1912,
from Nuggets and Beans
13
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Alaska
Iditarod National Historic Trail
Passport Stamp Program
The Iditarod National Historic Trail is a proud participant
in the Passport to Your National Parks Program. This
program was created to help visitors explore their
National Parks and has become a popular way for people
to document their travels to all of America’s Public
Lands! More information, including how to purchase
a Passport, can be found at www.eparks.com, or from
Alaska Geographic.
Many of the historical sites, museums, and visitor centers
mentioned in the previous pages are participants in the
Passport Program (see full list below). You can go to
these sites to get your Iditarod National Historic Trail
stamps! These pages, filled with historical postcard
images of locations and activities along the Iditarod Trail
are a place for you to collect INHT stamps.
Iditarod NHT Passport Stamp
Participants
Seward:
Center
Kenai Fjords National Park Information
Hope:
Museum
Hope and Sunrise Historical and Mining
Portage:
Begich, Boggs Visitor Center
Girdwood:
The Roundhouse Museum
Anchorage: BLM Anchorage Field Office (Campbell
Tract)
Knik:
Alaska Public Lands Information Center
(Downtown Anchorage)
Alaska Railroad, Anchorage-to-Seward Route
(Aboard the Train)
Knik Museum and Mushers Hall of Fame
Wasilla:
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters
McGrath:
McGrath Museum
Nome:
Nome Visitors Center
PO ST CA RD
Why November 10, 1978?
The example passport stamps shown in this Visitor
Guide include the date November 10, 1978. On this day,
Congress designated the Iditarod National Historic Trail.
15
Tips for
Trail Travel
There are many different ways
to get outside and enjoy the
Iditarod National Historic Trail.
In the summer season, popular
trail activities include hiking,
biking, packrafting, and camping.
During the winter months, skiing,
dog sledding, fat biking, and
snowmachining are just some
of the ways you can experience
all that the trail has to offer.
Regardless of when you go, here
are a few thi