Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a composite of ecosystems representative of the many diverse regions throughout Alaska. The spectacular scenery is unrivaled. The recreational opportunities are varied and plentiful. Although continuously inhabited since early prehistoric times, the area remains wild and sparsely populated, with aircraft providing the primary means of access. Within the park the mountains of the Alaska and the Aleutian ranges meet. The Chigmits, an awesome, jagged array of mountains, are the result of centuries of uplifting, intrusion, earthquakes, volcanism, and glacial action. The two active volcanoes of Iliamna and Redoubt, form an important link to the Pacific Ring of Fire. Venting steam, snowcapped, and rising more than 10,000 feet, each is an impressive volcano to be viewed from the eastern side of the park.

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General Information

The range's eastern flank descends rapidly to Cook Inlet. Rivers cascade dramatically to the sea through forests of Sitka and white spruce. Coastal cliffs comprised of fossil remnants millions of years old are stark counterpoints to the active volcanoes and glacial streams that are currently reshaping the landscape. On marshes and outwash plains, swans and other waterfowl nest. The rocky cliffs provide rookeries for puffins, cormorants, kittiwakes, and other seabirds. Seals and whales may occasionally be observed offshore.

The western flank of the Chigmit Mountains descend through tundra covered foothills to boreal forest. Spectacular lakes and wild rivers fill the valleys, flowing southwestward to Bristol Bay. Fish include five species of salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, lake trout, northern pike, and arctic grayling. Dall sheep, caribou, and moose forage the area. Brown and black bear are present, as well as wolves, lynx, foxes, and other mammals.

This western side of the park and preserve provides many recreational opportunities. Anglers find trophy fish; hikers explore high tundra slopes; river runners thrill to the Tilkakila, Mulchatna, or Chilikadrotna Wild Rivers; and campers find lake shore sites inspirational.

This vast area also may be harsh. Planning and preparing for a wilderness experience is critical to the enjoyment of the area in all conditions: wind, rain, snow, and sunshine.

Winter is long, lasting from October to April. In some locations the sun does not rise above the peaks for several months. A fresh snow can veil the area majestically or winter winds may uncover a landscape of subtle brown highlighted by ice blue frozen lakes. Break-up in spring can immobilize the area, as ice melts and frozen ground turns to mud. Summer is the time of life, as caribou calve, buds flower, mosquitoes hatch, and salmon return to spawn. Clouds often cap the Chigmit Mountains and occasionally close the passes to aircraft. Precipitation is about a third less on the west side, but everywhere rain produces a summer floral display. Fireweed, lupine, blueberry, and bearberry abound. In autumn the burgundy-hued tundra blankets the slopes around the aptly named Turquoise Lake. A light dusting of snow over the yellow birch and red bearberry produces a truly rare visual pleasure.

Location

150 miles southwest of Anchorage, on the west side of Cook Inlet, at the north end of the Alaska Peninsula.

Address

Headquarters: Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
4230 University Drive, Suite 311
Anchorage, AK 99508

Field Headquarters: Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Port Alsworth, AK 99653

Telephone

Headquarters: (907) 271-3751
Field Headquarters: (907) 781-2218

Operating Hours & Seasons

Open year-round.

Visitation

Highest June through September

Transportation

Access to the Lake Clark region is by small aircraft. Floatplanes may land on the many lakes throughout the area. Wheeled planes land on open beaches, gravel bars, or private airstrips in or near the park. There is no highway access to the park and preserve. A one- to two-hour flight from Anchorage, Kenai or Homer will provide access to most points within the park and preserve. Scheduled commercial flights between Anchorage and Iliamna, 30 miles outside the boundary, provide another means of access.

Field headquarters for the park is located at Port Alsworth. There is minimal National Park Service facilities available elsewhere in the park and preserve. Backcountry patrol cabins, staffed on a limited basis, are located at Telaquana Lake, Twin Lakes, Crescent Lake and Chinitna Bay.

Fees, Costs & Rates

No admission or user fees for non-commercial users

Facilities & Opportunities

Visitor Center & Exhibits

A small visitor center is located at field headquarters at Port Alsworth, and feature displays covering natural history and a small ANHA sales outlet. Park displays are located in Kenai at the Bicentennial Visitor and Cultural Center.

Trails & Roads

There are no roads in the park. One 2- to 3-mile trail to Tanalian Falls and Kontrashibuna Lake is accessible from the town of Port Alsworth. The 50-mile Telaquana Trail depicted on maps is an undeveloped historic route from Lake Clark to Telaquana Lake.

Programs & Activities

Video and slide programs, nature walks, and hikes are available on request at field headquarters. An educational outreach program at area schools and communities is offered year round.

Lodging & Camping Facilities

There are several lodges in Port Alsworth, on Cook Inlet, and along the shores of Lake Clark. Lodging includes bed & breakfasts, rustic cabins, housekeeping cabins and upscale fishing lodges. Some lodges are open year-round. Only minimal facilities are available within the park's interior.

There is one designated camping area in Port Alsworth. Camping is allowed without a permit throughout the park (with the exception of private inholdings).

Food & Supplies

Food service is usually available associated with lodging facilities. There is one cafe in Port Alsworth. It is open from May 15 through October. Groceries and camping supplies are not available within the park. Fishing licenses, fishing gear, and fuel may be available locally.

Other Concessions & NPS-Managed Visitor Facilities & Opportunities

Various commercial use operators utilize the park and preserve. Most are related to wilderness use, such as guide services, boat rentals, and air taxis. Lists of operators are available from Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The Alaska Natural History Association manages a bookstore located at Port Alsworth Visitor Center.

Recommended Activities & Park Use

Sight-seeing, hiking, camping, backpacking, sport fishing, mountaineering, river running, flight-seeing, bird and wildlife watching, lake kayaking, photography, and hunting in the preserve.

Summer season activities in the Lake Clark area largely center on backpacking, river running, and fishing. For all activities you must either arrive fully self-sufficient, or make advance arrangements with a guide, outfitter, or lodge operator. There are no maintained trails in the park, however the western foothills offer ideal backpacking on open, relatively dry tundra. The mountains themselves are steep, rugged, and subject to year-round inclement weather. The lowlands can be boggy, with wet tundra punctuated by maddening tangles of alder.

Sport hunting is permitted in the preserve in accordance with state of Alaska and federal regulations. Big game animals present include Dall sheep, caribou, moose, black and brown bear. The park is closed to sport hunting.

Basic Visit Recommendations

Fishing vacations at various lodges; backpacking and camping for a week at remote lakes; river float trips

Visitor Impacts

Hunting season in preserve during fall; subsistence use only in park

Additional Information

The airstrips at Port Alsworth are privately owned. Many acres of land within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve are privately owned. Residents practice a subsistence lifestyle. Most of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is wilderness. While in the backcountry it is not unusual to never see another party. It is imperative that backcountry users be self-sufficient and have the knowledge and skills for safe wilderness travel. Use care in selecting campsites away from game trails and bears. Cache all food and scented items away from campsites. Use minimum impact camping techniques and restore your campsite to a natural appearance before leaving. Do not leave or bury garbage, please pack it out. Insect repellent is essential and mosquito head nets are recommended. Weather conditions in the region change suddenly and may cause changes in plans, which often delay scheduled pick-up by aircraft by as much as several days.

Adjacent Visitor Attractions

Katmai National Park, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, McNeil River State Game Sanctuary

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History

This area has been occupied since prehistoric times and archeological investigations are continuing to trace early settlement. Attapaskan Indians developed villages at Kijik and Old Village at Telaquana Lake. Russian explorers, traders, and missionaries traversed the region, and the salmon industry attracted American and foreign settlers. Recent years have produced an economy based on subsistence lifestyles, commercial fishing, and recreational activities.

Following Captain Cook's 1778 explorations of what is today Cook Inlet, Euro-American contacts steadily increased. Navigators visited and traded with the coastal Dena'ina toward the close of the 18th century, and the Russians established settlements and trading posts along the Kenai Peninsula as part of the fur trading activities. Some evidence suggests that the Russian Bocharov may have reached Iliamna Lake in 1791, and perhaps established a small and temporary trading station in that area. Unfair dealings and mismanagement by the Russians marked this period.

During this period of Russian hegemony in Alaska, missionary activity by the Russian Orthodox Church was widespread. The remains of a Russian Orthodox Church in Kijik have been documented.

Van Stone and Townsend estimate that between 1875 and 1890 that there was a population of from 150 to 175 at Kijik. Other Dena'ina settlements during the 19th century were found at Telaquana Lake, and on the Mulchatna and Stony rivers. In the 1890s American traders penetrated into the Lake Clark area. Lake Clark was named for John W. Clark, "chief of the Nushagak trading post in 1891." By this time epidemic diseases were making significant inroads in the aboriginal population, including a major measles epidemic in 1902. By the early 1900s almost all of the Inland Dena'ina in the general area were concentrated at the north end of Iliamna Lake and at Nondalton. Important factors in this move were increased access to Bristol Bay and its salmon fishing and canning industry, as well as proximity to the trading posts established there. Fur trapping remained a major economic activity among the local people. In addition, the resources of the Lake Clark region continued to be heavily used by the Inland Dena'ina, as has continued to the present day. Van Stone and Townsend have concluded: "Representing as it does the peripheries of Tanaina Indian expansion inland... the Iliamna-Lake Clark area is an extremely important one from the stand point of ...understanding Eskimo-Attapaskan boundaries and the problems of contact between the two groups. More specific than this, however, is the importance of the Lake Clark region itself for an understanding of 19th century Dena'ina expansion... and affords the ideal location for the study of the regionally specialized contact Dena'ina culture."

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve was established on December 2, 1980. The park contains approximately 2.6 million acres; the preserve contains 1.4 million acres. Wilderness designation has been placed on 2.4 million acres of the total.

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Reservation Information

Permits and reservations are not required for non-commercial uses. Reservations, however, are recommended for most visitor services from commercial vendors.

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